The New year

Raise your hand if you've ever started a New Year's Resolution. *raises hand* So many of us start New Years resolutions. Perhaps we want to live a healthier lifestyle, Lose some weight, mend some friendships, become better at managing our money or time, or maybe make an effort to get rid of a bad habit.

Now, Raise your hand if you've ever actually kept that resolution all year round. *Puts hand down* If your hand is still raised, CONGRATULATIONS! But chances are likely that you are one of the many many people who somehow get off track or forget or something like that. Don't worry, it happens to everyone. After all, That's why we're celebrating the new year, right? A new chance!

Think back on good 'ole 2013. Perhaps it wasn't such a good year for you. It was a pretty mixed year for me, as I would think it would be for most people. It was the best of times, It was the worst of times, and I found out that Charles Dickens is my favorite author.

 I'm off track now. Anyway, Maybe something happened this year that really turned it into a bad year. Perhaps you have suffered a loss of a family member. Maybe you lost your job. Maybe you lost everything. Maybe you got into some trouble that has left you in a real bad spot. I really don't know what you are going through right now, But if it's any of the above, or worse, I hope that in this new year you will discover peace, and that Blessings and Grace will fall down upon you like rain. Try to Place yourself in God's Hands. It's the safest place in the entire universe and beyond. really imagine yourself in God's hands. He loves you so much. He hasn't abandoned you. Never will and Never has. You can't even begin to imagine how immense His love is for you. Imagine the ocean. Multiply the Incredible vastness of it's depths and width by 999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999.  . .. . . . . . . . . .  And you are not even CLOSE to how much God loves you!

Remember, 2013 is passing. The past is the past. I think a wonderful way to kick off the new year is to go to confession sometime soon. Then you can start with a new year, and a clean soul! How's that for another chance!

Are you going to make another resolution this year? Perhaps you could try something spiritual. Maybe pray more. Go to Mass and Confession more. Reach out to those who need hope, support, love, faith etc. Perhaps you could volunteer some time each week or month at a soup kitchen, a mission center or other charity. Maybe you could try to bring a friend or two or hundred closer to God.
If you've been away From the Church for awhile, There is no time like the present to come back. God will welcome you with open arms, Just like the prodigal Son's Father.
Maybe you have a friend who's been away from the Church, and you could encourage them to come back.

Whatever you chose to do this year, Don't give up! Just because you miss a day or more, doesn't mean you can't continue! Keep up the Good Work!

I hope you all have a Blessed new year, filled with Hope, Love, Faith and Friends.

Merry Christmas!!!

Ah, Christmas. 

Christmas Eve always seems like the longest day of the year.

Christmas Day always seems like the shortest!

Christmas is such a wonderful time. Families gather from near and far to celebrate the birth of our Savior. We make the best meal of the entire year, exchange gifts, play games, watch Christmas shows, and maybe even sing some carols. It's so fun. 

But it's very easy to get caught up in the things that this world has to offer. The presents, food, shows etc, they are all great fun, and if used properly, can help make the celebration greater, and bring us closer to God. But thy can easily get out of control, and push the manger scene out and steal the center of attention. 

We have to always remember to keep Jesus as the center of our festivities. We need to be sure to thank God for bringing our families together, for giving us an abundance of wonderful food, and for giving us many different traditions and activities to celebrate he Birth of His only begotten Son! 

I wonder what Mary and Joseph were thinking when they were turned away from that inn, and tole they hey could stay in the stable. I wonder if they knew at that time that it would be an important part of His Coming. I don't know what went theoughthier  heads that  night. Maybe they were a little scared, a Little nervous, perhaps a little confused. But i know they Trusted Him anyways. 

Over and over in the Bible, God expresses His love and compassion for the poor, helpless and otherwise needy. If Jesus had been born in an Inn, how would all those poor shepherds have gotten there? Theres only so much room in an Inn Room. But they were privileged to be among the First to welcome the new born King. He came as one of us. A commoner, not born in a palace, but in a dirty old stable. He didn't appear from Heaven in all his Glory that night, he just quietly cams as a little baby. A humble little baby. He didn't have a soft bed to lie on, or a nice warm house to stay in. No fancy garments, no fancy rooms. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes. He was laid in a manger. (In case you don't know, a manger is like a food trough filled with hay for animals!) 

Wow. God loves us, the normal people who don't have anything extraordinary so much, that He chose to come as one of us. Just a seemingly normal little poor baby. That's not to say He doesn't love extraordinary people, or wealthy people either. God loves all of us very much. But the poor often feel lonely and abandoned by God. He want us to know that he loves each of us for who we are; His Children, not for what we have, what we've done or what we will do. He just loves us. 

I know it might be a little late to remember this throughout your Christmas Day, but I'm sure there will still be a few more festivities or merry greetings here and there. After all, we still have 12 more days of Christmas to go. 

Take a few moments this week to ponder Hid love for you, read John 3:16, one of the most famous verses fine Bible. Why? Because it helps us realize how much God really does love us. Read it over and over. Savor each word. Write it on your Heart and keep it always close in mind. That's what Christmas is all about. That God loves us soooooooo sooooooooooooo much that He sent his only Son down to save us. And we celabrate the Birth of His son. And we celebrate that depth of His Love. 

I hope you all have a Wonderful Christmas Season, and  i hope God blesses you abundantly. 

Just Shepherds.

Late one night, while tending sheep,

We saw a new star in the east.

We saw a light, an Angel that night, bringing us tidings of joy.

We followed that star, late that night,

We followed into the east,

We followed to a lowly stable,

All were kneeling, man and beast. 

We wondered "What this? Why are we here?

Why is everyone kneeling? 

We see a stable, a manger and child,

Is this why the star was gleaming?"

We managed to get at the front of the crowd,

Where a million angels were singing.

We looked upon him and finally realized,

this is why the star is gleaming. 

He was wrapped in a swaddle, and laid in a manger,

What a lowly place for a King.

In a dirty old stable,

In a little old town,

The town of Bethlehem. 

Yes, we saw the great savior, this newborn child,

before whom we knelt in the cold.

 There Before The Lord of Heaven and earth,

There before the Son of God.

When we finally realized why we were there,

our eyes were filled with tears.

What Love God has for his lowly creatures,

That tonight we would be here.

We aren't tenants in a royal court,

We aren't even servants In a palace.

We are certainly not a prince or a King,

No where even close to that. 

No, we are only shepherds here,

Just shepherds, dirty and poor.

Yet God let us see his Glorious Son,

In his human child form. 

Our hearts were changed on that dark night,

Which started so ordinary,

But then We saw that heavenly light,

And it was extraordinary. 

The Manger

A blessed advent to you all! I'm so excited for advent, that iv'e actually changed my alarm sound to play the "Gabriel's Message" song when it's time for me to get up! A good way to start the day! 

Anyway, advent is a time of reflection and preparation. I remember when I was little, I had a subscription to this Kid's magazine called "K4J" which stands for "Kids for Jesus". I love that magazine. They always sent an activity for the month. One month they sent out a Hebrew alphabet decoder. That was pretty cool, but now I'm off topic. Anyway, For advent one year, or maybe several years, they sent out a little manger. You had to pop it out of the card stock/paper that it was made of and food it into the manger shape (which was more or less just a box without a lid in this case) and then it gave direction on how to use it. 

So what did you do with the little paper manger? Well, you made a bed for Jesus by filling it with little prices of paper hay! But you didn't just go around filling it up at any time. You had to earn each piece of hay. Whenever you did something nice, you would put a piece of hay in the manger. The goal was, of course to encourage kids to do good and remember The true meaning of Christmas, while having fun and trying to fill up the manger by Christmas! 

While we may not be able to make a little manger out of paper and fill it with paper hay, what a good idea it is to make some sort of resolution for advent. After all, the first week of advent is when the Catholic Calendar starts, so it's like Catholic new year! We can still celebrate the classic New Years too, so we get two New Years…… but people make "resolutions" for the regular new year, why not the Church new year? 

I admit, I'm not too good at resolutions. I either don't do them (which is a common problem) or i get so wrapped up in them that they become part of my OCD and continue for who know how long or else…… can you say anxiety fest!? 

But for this advent I'm tryin to do something more irregular, so that my OCD has a harder time of taking control of it. I'm trying to do something more like the "Manger game" and do a random nice thing, an extra prayer or reflection, or somehow give of myself each day. If i forget a day, I'll try again the next day. If i do more than one in a day, woohoo! 

If you want to do something like this too, it's really easy. I'll give you a few ideas, and you can do whatever you want with them. You can make them a habit, or they could give you ideas for random good deeds. 

•Read the Bible. Even just a chapter or page, or 15 minutes a day. If there is something you don't understand, which there probably will be at some point, just ask someone who might know it better. It could be a friendship builder in that way. 

• say some extra prayers. If you don't say the Rosary every day, do it! Of you don't say h Divine mercy chaplet every  day, you could do that too! You could even start partying parts of the Divine Office (also called the breviary or liturgy of the Hours) such as Lauds or compline. 

•write a note to someone, highlighting their positive qualities. You don't have to write your name on it if you don't want to.

•do the grocery shopping or bills for your spouse

•take out the trash or do the dishes for your mom or dad

•refrain from negative responses in a conversation turned sour. Take a deep breath, and tell the person that you are getting a bit upset and if needed, take a break. That's a lot better than losing your temper. 

• find an Advent reflection booklet  and read a little each day. We found one for free in the back of our Church, so you might try checking there first. 

•Go to Mass on a day that you don't have to. (In addition to the days that you do have to, such as Holy day of Obligation and Sundays!!) 

•Write a short poem or draw/sketch/paint/anything something pertaining to Jesus' birth, Mary's meek response to God's call, the shepherds and Angels, or the star. 

•sing in Church of you don't already. Even if you sound terrible, Sing! You are not there to sing for the people, if they don't like your voice, that's thier problem. You are there to Worship the one who created you, and he also created your voice. 

•cook a meal for your family

•help out at a food bank or soup kitchen

•find a way that you could help with something at your Church. Do they need sacristans? Servers? Choir people? Gardeners? Maintenance help? Youth ministers? Sunday school teachers? Greeters? Lectors? Financial support? Prayers? 

•take a walk and breath the crisp air of winter. Thank God that you at alive and notice his creations. Even the teeny tiny ones, which are some of my favorites. 

•say at least one nice thing to a person that either you don't get along with, or that doesn't like you. 

•donate something to charity

•give up socks for a day

•send a real card in the mail to someone you haven't talked to in a while. Be sure to write God Bless You or sow thing to that extent on it so where where they can see it. 

•think about God. Think about how Jesus humbled himself to come down to us in the form of a tiny little baby, be born in a stable,  and lay down in a manger, which is a place where they put hay for the animals to eat by the way! The King of Kings chose to be born in a poor, lowly, stable! And lay in a food dish for animals! Ponder that. Dwell on it. Think about it often. 

Any little thing you do can be a piece of hay for the manger if you offer it to God. Whether you enjoy it or not. 

NCYC: I'm back!

Wow! NCYC was really fun, Very inspiring, and super amazing.
I got to listen to a lot of great people, and talk to a lot of great people. I met people from all over. There were even people there from Alaska and Hawaii! I did not have the pleasure of personally meeting any of them, but I met a lot of other people!

There were a lot of great talks. My favorite talk was "The perfect trap". The person giving the talk was trying to teaching us that comparing ourselves to others is a trick of the evil one. He also told us a touching story about I boy who has Down Syndrome. I instantly connected with it because my own little sister has down syndrome. It was a very nice story (with a happy ending!)  and I think nearly everyone in the room was a little teary eyed by the end.

There were also a lot of great musicians there. My favorite was Matt Maher. He seemed like a really nice guy, and seemed to be very humble, and looked actually a little nervous. It was actually nice seeing a big name Christian musician seem a little nervous. That probably seems odd to you, but I get really nervous when I have to do a public speaking thing, so it doesn't make me feel so awkward. During part of the show he said "I didn't come here to preform. I didn't come here so that you'd like me" I can't remember what he said after that, but just that line was so great.

On Friday morning we helped pack meals for the poor. We were only packing for about maybe a half hour, but during that time our group, along with lots of other people, packed almost 5000 bags! each bag serves 6 people, so you do the math. That alot of people! During the entire conference, people packed more and more bags. I can't remember what the total number of bags packed was (I am still super tired!) but it was A LOT!

My favorite part? Well, it's a long story that starts out sad, but ends real happy!
So I bought an official NCYC hoodie, and i also bought an NCYC patch. I thought it would be cool to put the patch on my AHG uniform. I'd be the only on in the troop with that patch! Anyway, some time around lunch I lost the whole bag, hoodie and patch. I went back to look for it, and couldn't find it. I checked with lost and found, they didn't have it. I gave them my phone number, they never called. Someone must have stolen it or something. Well, the next day, one of our youth leaders, whom we will call P., asked me if i would like to go back to Inspiration Junction and get a replacement. Having food allergies, I had to bring my own food, so they had leftover money for my food. Our leaders decided that I could use this money to replace the stuff I had lost. (We have the best youth leaders, just saying.) anyway, we went back to both of the NCYC official stores in the inspiration junction, and both of them were out of both small, and medium hoodies! A large or above would be way too big for me. ah, disappointment.

 So, P. and I walked around the junction to see if there was any other cool stuff that I could get in replacement of the hoodie.  As we were walking, these nuns were handing out yoyos saying something like "if you already have a yo-yo, take another! Take a whole bunch! Give 'em to your friends! Give 'em to your friend's friends!" so P. took a few, and I took one for each of my younger siblings. Then I saw some cool t-shorts, and the guy there offered me a deal, I could get 2 t-shirt, a cd, a poster, some buttons, and a guitar pick for $25 bucks! that was really great, and I really liked the t-shirts. (Now things actually start getting interesting.)

So, P. and I are walking around with a bunch of yoyos, and I've got my little bag of stuff, and we are probably going to drop something any second. So we are walking around, and we see this Priest with a bunch of bags! P. walk over and asks if he's giving them out. He is, so we each get one with great relief that we don;t have to worry about dropping everything now. I realize that this priest is a Redemptorist priest! "The redemptorists were started by St. Alphonsis, right?" I ask. Well, the answer was yes, and then we got to talking a little about St. Alphonsis (who is one of my favorite Saints) and then P. made me explain my Halloween costume (I went as St. Mellangel.) and the guy looked pretty impressed that i knew so much about Saints that "weren't in the top ten" as he put it. Then he asked me if I had ever considered  a religious Vocation. I told Him yes, and this is what he replied. "It's there. You just need to. . .  Massage it a little"
Funny way of putting it, but it got the message across! He took my name and said He'd pray for me, and we parted ways.

So, all of this may not make much sense to you, so i'm going to try to make it a little clearer. I really am seriously considering a religious vocation. I was going through alot of stress about the trip before hand, and I just remember thinking to God something like, "Oh God, I am so stressed out about this, Maybe you'll just let me know my vocation while i'm there?" I was trying to we hopeful, I was really stressed.
 St. Alphonsis is one of my favorite Saints. I'm going to share something with you that is a little uncomfortable for me. I suffer with something called Scrupulosity. Long story short, Scrupulosity is religious OCD. St. Alphonsis is the patron Saint against scrupulosity, because he suffered with it too. Anyway, this message about my vocation, coming from someone in the order that St. Alphonsis started really hit me. Later on, P. brought to my attention that Losing my hoodie may have been Divine Providence, because if I hadn't lost that hoodie, I would never had met that priest. it was really cool, and I am so glad to have had that experience.  Thank you God!

isn't it so cool when God sends you a message in the little details that only you would notice, or that would only have meaning to you? I LOVE when He does that! I admit, I didn't think of losing the hoodie as Divine providence until after P. had mentioned it, but I do believe it was. I was just so excited to have met a Redepmtorist Priest, I didn't even think of it!

Well, I had a great time. There were some weird part, but most of the event was really fun. I had a great time. God is just so amazing!

NCYC!

I am very excited (and blessed!) to be going to the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) this year. My Parish is starting a youth ministry program, and I was selected to be in the leadership. All 7 of us leaders are going to NCYC to get really motivated and Set on Fire with the Holy Spirit so that when we come back, we can start up our youth group and share that fire with others.

I am very excited. I am also quite nervous. I admit that I have never been to anything like this before. I also admit that it is a bit out of my comfort zone. But I really want to go and learn more about my Faith, and I really really want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and I am sure that He will be there to fill each of our hearts, who ever will ask for Him to come to them.

I am also hoping to learn more about discerning ones vocation. There are several workshops there that are made to help youth learn to discern, and learn more about the vocations that they may be called to. Over the last year or so, I have really been thinking about what my vacation may be. I am quite drawn to the Religious life, and I think about what it might be like everyday. I am thinking that I may be called to that, and I hope that this event will help me discern what God wants me to do.

 I am trying to stay as open as possible to anything that God wants me to do, and not get distracted by dreams. It's hard, and I admit that I do have a preference. I am more attracted to the religious life or chaste single life, but I am trying to be more open to whatever God's will may be for me.

I am very excited.  This will be my first Youth Ministry trip, and I hope to get to know the other leaders more. I pray that the other Youth of our Parish will be inspired to join us when we come back, so that we can share the fire with them. Wouldn't it be great if we could get all the youth of our Parishes to join us! I hope that we can help a lot of other youth learn more about their Faith and grow closer to God!

Well, I hope to write an update about my experience(s) when I return, and let everyone know how it went, and somethings that I learned..

Come, Holy Spirit!

Maggie Monday!

HEWOOOO!!! Long tym no see! errrrrr, post. . . . . . . Incas you forgeted, Dis is Maggie, and today is monday, and dat means maggie monday. Da day weyr i gets to post on dis blog!

Wel, i keeps heering abowt dis "Trick for Treating" tingy coming up. Eveybody is eksited. Dey is al going to dres up and do dis "trick for treat" ting!

What in da world is dis? Trick for Treat!? I does dat all da tym! I sit down, or i wave, or i lay down, or somting lik dat, and i get a treat!  trick for treat! So, on dis trick for treat ting, maybe dat meens dat al da hoomans dres up lik dogs, and get treats wen dey does a trick? I hope dat i don't has to shar my treats wif da hoomans. . .. .  maybe dey get dier own treats. . .  i hope so. And maybe dey will even share wif small dogs! It is called trick for treating, so nobody sayd dat small dogs dont cownt!

So. . . . .  Dis trick for treat ting hapens on dis "howl oh wee" day. . . .  ..  Howl oh wee. .. . . . . .  I tink dat dis must be a shorted werd for "Howl, oh wiener dog!" day. . . . . .  Hmm. . . .So, sinse i is part wiener dog, does dis meen i get to bark and howl al day on "Howl oh ween" day? Dat woold be grayt!


So, i is doing som thinking. . .  . On "Howl, oh wiener dog!" day, evey wiener dog gets to howl and bark, and evey body get to go "trick for treating" and get treats. And hopfuly dey wil shar wif small dogs, lik me, Maggie!

Dis sownds lik da won of da bes days eber! A day where i gets to bark all day and get treats?! I tink yes!

wel, i will hopfuly chek in next monday, and maybe tel you how dis whole "Howl, oh wiener dog!" day went wif all dis "Trick for Treating"! It sownds lik it is going to be berry fun.

I hop i gets som steak . . . . . .

-Maggie :0)

How do they feel

Have you ever been rejected by someone? Have you ever felt that your presence was unwanted? Have you ever felt like you must be a total nut because everyone is treating you like an object instead of a person? Have you ever felt like you just don't matter, and you feel like everyone wishes you didn't even exist? 

Felt like You are just a good for nothing? Like you are a blob of mush that isn't really a human? Like an alien being? Like an unwanted price of trash? 

(Disclaimer, you are not any of these things!!!) 

Doesn't drive you nuts sometimes, when someone totally ignores you or dislikes you, except when they think they can get something from you? And then If they find out they can't et it from you, dump you again?

Doesn't it feel terrible to be unloved, unwanted? Doesn't it make you feel bad when you are running late, and someone pesters you about it? Or perhaps you show up somewhere unplanned, like maybe your car broke Down and you need help, and someone makes a big fuss about it, or maybe even refuses to help you?

Yeah, I'd say these will make you feel like you just wanna go curl up in a ball in your'e bed and cry.

Well, have you ever thought about how an unborn child feels? Maybe their thoughts aren't quite as complex as these yet, but they are humans too. They can feel. 

People say that they are just a blob of cells, they aren't really human, thy are more like an alien, they don't matter, they aren't good for anything, etc etc etc!

And once they are born, they instantly become human because they can finally  do something when they grow up. (They've been a human the whole time, people!!) but if they have a disability, well, they go right back to thinking like they are just an alien or something. 

If people can convince a mother that the CHILD within her is really just a blob cells that she needs to get rid of, or that it's really just a part of her own body that she is allowed to reject, they can convince her to KILL this CHILD through abortion. 

If we can convince her of the truth, that this CHILD within her is really a human, it's not just a part of her own body, that it is another person, with his/her own heart, his/her own mind, his/her own soul, perhaps they will bring the child to term and let it live. 

Life is always the right choice. Not always the easiest. Who ever said that the right thing to do was easy? Um, Iv'e heard quite the opposite on several different occasions! You have to give up somethings. It's in giving that we receive. It's gonna be tough at times, but the reward is worth it. It's gonna make you cry, but it's gonna make you laugh! 

Always, always chose life... It's brave. It's unselfish. It's hard. But it's always right. 

God: Master of Life

God is the Master of Life.

He is the one who created Life in the first place. Then, He gave live to All living things. He is one one who gives life, and the one who takes it away, the Master of Life. At least that's how it is intended to be.

 Contraceptives prevent, or at least limit, the possibility of conception, the start of life. These interfere with God's plan of the Giving of Life. 

Abortion is the killing of a child before it is born. This premature taking of a human life, this Murdering of a child, interferes with God's plan for the life and death of this child. 

Euthanasia is the so called "mercy killing" of sick or elderly persons. First off, there is no such thing as a "mercy killing." Murder is murder and that is that. Secondly, no matter what the person maybe gong through, God already has a plan. Maybe they have to suffer patiently for a time. But God will eventually Call them ack to Himself, and they will die in a natural way. Euthanasia, the so called "mercy killing" of elderly, sick and handicapped persons, this murder, interferes with God's plan for the Life and Death of this person. 

God always has a plan. Although we may suffer now, there is a saying who h i find most comforting, although it's not always %100 accurate, i think that if we trust in God and strive to do His will it is. 

"Everything will be ok in the end. If it's not ok, it's not the end yet." 

I don't know who said it, i saw it on Pinterest once and adopted it as a favorite saying. 

We might have to suffer through an unplanned or crisis pregnancy. Don't abort the child. We might have to suffer through a terminal illness, or watch a loved one go through it,  which i admit might be worse, but don't end the life because of the suffering. There is always Hope! 

God is the Master of life and death. Let Him take care of that matter, don't interfere.  and let us keep trusting in His plan. 

Pro-life month! and Guardian Angels!

Well, October is pro-life month, and i'm a day late! AH!
As you may have notices, I've totally re-done my blog! It really looks alot better now, i think.

So what are you going to be doing for Pro-life month? Are you going to some Pro-life Masses? Saying some Rosaries for the end of abortion? Writing some extra blog posts about life?. . . . .  Hehehe. . .

I'm going to be doing the last mentioned thing (or at least trying!) for sure. I'm also going to try to do the one in the middle. I don't know if I will have the chance to do the first mentioned, but if I can, I will!

So here marks the start of my pro-life blog posts for the month of October. They won't be everyday, but i
m going to try to do it at LEAST once a week. knowing me, we'll see how long that lasts. It's the thought that counts though ;)



Today is the feast of the Guardian Angels. Did you know that it is sometimes believed that each person has a guardian angel from the moment of conception?

"So by a natural law, each human being at conception is under the tutelage of a divinely chosen guardian angel. By God's will, each person's angel is distinct from every other and has complete knowledge of his charge, of you, and your needs." - Rev. Alfred Boeddeker
see Also here

Some don't believe this. Some believe it's at Baptism that they are assigned. See Here

I think they are assigned at conception. It seems more probable to me, because God cares about each of us, even if we aren't baptized. And perhaps a person's Guardian angel could help bring them to the Faith.

I'm not really sure where i'm going with this, other than the fact that Life starts at conception. And if we are assigned our guardian Angel at conception, How cool is that? That Angel is there to guide that child, even thought he/she hasn't been born yet.

Even If you chose to give a child up for adoption, that Guardian Angel will still be with that child, always. To light, to Guard, to rule and Guide as the prayer says. They will always be watching out for you, even if you don't feel it. And if you keep the child, the same applies!

What an awesome God we have, that gives us such protectors and Guides!

Memorare

Today I'm gonna do the "Memorare". I've been reading a book by St Alphonsis ligouri (one of my favorite Saints!) called "The Glories of Mary". I have an abridged version, but it is an incredible  book and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to change, want to learn more about Mary and her relationship with God, or wants to be helped in some way, such as reduction of temptations. 

And now, our feature presentation…

Remember, oh most Gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known, that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided.

Mary wants to help us. We are her children. Remember when Jesus was on the cross, he looked down at His Mother and his disciple (John) and said to His Mother "Behold thy son" and to the disciple (John) "Behold thy Mother"? That's when Mary became our mother, and she loves us with more love than any mother on earth ever could. You'll see where I'm going here. Anyways, like any good mother, she wants the best for us. When you pray to Mary, you are certain to have you prayer fulfilled. Mary will pray for you to her Son, to God, and since she is His mother (as we learn in the above mentioned book. Please read it!) He will grant it as a favor to Mary. Not to mention that all graces pass from God, through Mary's hands to get to us (also in the above book).

Inspired by this confidence, we fly unto thee, o Virgin of Virgins our Mother! To thee do we come, before thee we stand, sinful and sorrowful.

Since we have learned that Mary is in God's favor, and that He will answer her requests, why should we not fly unto her, like little children running to their mother when something scares them, or hurts them, or when they are sorry for something. Why should we not ask for her protection and prayers, if we are so certain of being protected and prayed for!?

Oh Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in thy mercy, hear and answer them. Amen. 

Mary is the Mother of Jesus, the Word incarnate. Here humble ourselves to implore that she may take our requests and in her mercy, for God has made her merciful, to hear them, and answer them. 

Again, I highly recommend you read "The Glories of Mary"! It has helped me understand so much more about who Mary is, what her relationship with God is, what she can do for us, and much more. 

9/11

Remember 9/11,
The day the twins were felled.
The flames rose high,
the smoke rose higher,
thousands of people were killed.

Remember the tears the were shed that day,
of children who lost a parent.
Remember the mourning wails of wives,
who that day lost their husbands.
Remember the panic, the terror and fear,
that in the air was imminent.

Remember the Compassion of Firefighters,
Police officers and others.
The plunged among the burning flames,
They went and risked their lives,
to come to the aid of the burning people,
 to the aid of those trapped inside.

Remember the gasp of the nation,
And the panic that then ensued.
Remember the great uncertainty,
and the grief that hence pursued.

Remember to pray for the people,
who lost a loved one that day.
Remember to pray for every soul,
whose bodies lost life that way.
For every person who joined in grief,
everyone who shed a tear.
For all the selfless rescuers,
who stood up to the fear.

Prayer for the ones who lost a relative,
a friend,  pray for them all!
Pray for those who lost a piece of their hearts,
when they got that last phone call.

Pray for those who sent the planes.
God grant them a change of heart!
Oh please Lord, Rescue them!
please save them from this deed.

Pray for all affected that day,
by the events that we call 9/11.
Pray for the people who died that day,
May Eternal light shine upon them.

The our Father

 Today I'm going to do the Our Father, or the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name 

God the Father is, well, our Father! In an adoptive sort of way. "Art" basically means are, so when we say "Who art in Heaven, we are pretty much saying "Who is in Heaven" therefore, we are attesting to the fact that God is in Heaven. Hallowed mean Holy. God is so Holy, that even His name is Holy! Our human minds are incapable of fathoming how great His Holiness is. 

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth, as it is in Heaven.

When we say "Thy Kingdom come" I am honestly not sure if we are just acknowledging the fact that God's Kingdom is coming, or if we are, in a sense, Welcoming it. Maybe both. We are Also basically telling God that we want His will to be done like it is in Heaven. Which means we want what He wants to be done, done, and we want it done perfectly, like it should be, and is being done in Heaven. 

Give us this day our Daily Bread,

Here we are asking God to supply for our needs. I think we may also be asking Him to give us our spiritual bread (The Eucharist) as well as our physical bread (food)

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Here we are asking God to forgive us, like we forgive others. It is debated on wither or not a person holding a grudge should say this prayer because of this particular line.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Here, we are not implying that God leads us to temptation. He allows us to be tempted, but He doesn't do the tempting. We are simply asking Him to lead us away from the temptations, and deliver us from evil. 

In Mass, it is added at the end:

For the Kingdom, The power, and the Glory are yours, now and forever.

Here we are attesting that The Kingdom belongs to God. All power belongs to God. All Glory belongs to God. They are His now, and will be forever. 

The Hail Mary

I don't have much time for a long  post right now, so this week I'm going with a shorter prayer; The Hail Mary.

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. 

We Hail Mary, because she is queen of Heaven. She is full of grace, because she never sinned. The Lord is with her, because The Lord was born of her, and she is now in Heaven with Him. 

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit if thy womb, Jesus.

Mary is blessed among women, because God chose her, out of all the women on earth he could have chosen. He made her special, He protected her from the stain of original sin which everyone else is born with. 

Jesus is the "Fruit of her womb". He is blessed above all, the Son of God and The word made flesh. 

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 

We Mary the "Mother of God" because she was Jesus' mother. Jesus is God, so that makes Mary the "Mother of God". Here, we ask her to pray for all of us, who are sinners, now and when we die. Mary is a great intercessor for us in Heaven. 

Prayer "Analysis" The Apostles Creed

Well, once again, I haven't posted since the ancient times of who knows when. But, also once again, i really hope to start posting more. And, also once again, that will probably only last a few days/weeks. LOL the never ending cycle of blogging…

Anyways, have you ever noticed yourself "going through the motions" when you pray? You'll say the words, but they all blend together and you really aren't paying attention. I admit, this is me. A lot. 

So, to help all of us poor distracted sinners refocus our minds, I thought it would be cool to do a "prayer analysis" where, each week (hopefully it'll last!) I'll go through a prayer, bit by bit, trying to explain what it really means, until I run out of Prayers that I know. 

So to start, let's Kick it off with the Apostles creed.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth.

You are stating here that you firmly believe that God really does exist, you acknowledge Him to be God. He is our Father, and the sole creator of all. 

And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord. Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary,

Here you are stating that you firmly believe that Jesus is God's only Son. You are also stating that He was conceived, not of a man, but by the Holy Spirit. And was born of the Virgin Mary. Therefore, Since He was "Born of the Virgin" that means Mary was still a Virgin. And she still is…

Suffered under Pontus Polite, was crucified, died and was buried.  He descended into hell.   

Here you state that you believe that Jesus was crucified, and Died. I think it is still uncertain what the scriptures mean by "Descended into hell" but I could be wrong.

The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, and sits at the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty. 

Here you state you belief that Jesus truly did rise from the dead. He ascended up into Heaven, and Sits at God's right hand. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, The Holy Catholic Church, the 

Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection  of the body, and life everlasting. Amen

Here you state that you believe in the third person of the trinity, The Holy Spirit. You believe that the Catholic Church is the right way to go. You believe in the communion of Saints. You believe that our sins can be forgiven. You believe in resurrection. You believe that we can abstain life everlasting, in Heaven. 

Well, there it is. It's not perfect, and still has a few parts that i couldn't really explain. But there it is, none the less. 

Mental Suffering

I have been thinking lately about the immense pain that Jesus went through during His passion. I've been thinking a bit about His mental suffering, which i think, sometimes can be over looked.

One of His own friends betrayed Him, turned Him in for money, and kissed Him to tell them which one to take. One of His friends denied Him three times. In fact, nearly everyone in the city turned against Him. They spat on Him. They mocked Him. They made their dislike of Him known, very well. They dressed Him up in a ragged purple cloak, put a reed in His hand and a crown of thorns on His head. "Hail King of the Jews!" They cried, while spitting on Him and beating Him. 

11 of the 12 left Him, except for John, His beloved. 

Everyone in the world, except for Mary, has of will probably commit at least one sin during their life, choosing their own will over His ultimately good and Holy will.

Even one of the guys who was crucified with Him was rude, ink

Me and selfish towards Him. 

And That's just some of the mental anguish. I didn't even mention the physical suffering! 

I sometimes feel that my mental suffering is worse than my physical suffering. I feel that the betrayal and denial of friends, the mocking, the hatred, the spitting, the humility and utter abandonment of nearly everyone you hold dear, would be enough to make a person, well frankly, I don't know. I might just curl up in a ball and die right there. But Jesus didn't.

I think that sometimes it's hard to connect our mental suffering with the suffering that Jesus endured. When we think of the Passion, we usually go right to the stour going at the pillar, the crowning with thorns, and most of all, the Crucifixion. We think of the whips, the kicks, the Bruises and blood. We think of the beatings, the falling, the piercing of thorns and the nails. Which, don't get me wrong here, is ultimate, incredible, horrible, tormenting, worst-pain-you-could-ever-imagine, anguish. 

But i think maybe we forget the hidden pain sometimes. The utter abandonment. The betrayal. The denial. The hissing, roaring, jeering crowd crying out "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" 

The fact that they would rather release a murderer than the Son of God. The mocking. The humility. The spitting. The-worst-mental-pain-you-could-ever-imagine, anguish. I think His Sacred Heart had already been pierced, with creation's hatred, before the lance even touched it. 

Suffering that we hold inside can, in my opinion, make our physical suffering worse. 

Ultimate physical suffering + Ultimate mental suffering = t

t= I don't think it's possible to imagine that level of suffering. 

HHS mandate

The time has come. The HHS mandate will sadly become effective beginning tomorrow.

What is the HHS mandate anyway?

The HHS mandate is a contraceptive mandate. It will require all employers to supply insurance for their employees and this insurance has to cover contraceptives.

So how does it effect us?
Contraception is opposed to the Catholic faith. It prevents, or at least prohibits the reproduction of Human life. In fact, some contraceptives can even kill an unborn child. It therefore prevents reproduction the way it's supposed to be.  We cannot, in good conscience, allow this! We will have our money going to pay for contraceptives.

So what can we do?
Pray, pray, pray, pray and once again pray! Pray that somehow, someway, we will be spared, and if not, that we will know what to do when the time comes. Pray for all employers. Pray for all employees. Pray that more people in this nation will come to realize the Importance of Religious freedom, and the sanctity of human life.

This is an attack on our Religious freedom. We need to fight. If we don't show them that we won't stand up against one freedom being taken away, what else will they take? I'm going to say something here, and I want you to think about it. I believe that Religious freedom is THE MOST important freedom and fundamental right. Because without God, we cannot do anything. Nothing will ever stop the faithful from finding some way to Worship, Praise, Serve and Love God, but we may be imprisoned of killed for it. Throughout the centuries, Christians everywhere have been martyred for their Faith. I'm not saying that we are all going to be martyred tomorrow, next week, or next year. I'm just saying, that I think things are going to get a bit harder here.


Please pray! Please pray!

ATTN: Alter servers.

How to be a good server

Have you ever served at Holy Mass before? Are you going to soon? 

Do you know what a privilege this is? Do you know what an incredible responsibility, awesome experience, and wonderful way to serve God this is?

Do you realize, that when you are up in the Sanctuary, when the Priest raises the Most Holy Sacrament at the Consecration, countless Angels surround our Lord. And you are right there. Closer than anyone other than the Priest himself, to this amazing mystery. 

Jesus is truly present in the Holy Eucharist. You believe this, Right? How should you act, while you are serving the King of Kings? How should you look? How should you walk, sing, pray and watch?

You should try to look your very best. This is the King of Kings we are talking about! How would you dress to see an earthly king if you ever went to see one? How much better you should dress to see the King of Heaven and Earth!

Walk as if the Angels were walking with you. As if you were one of them. Silently, carefully, respectfully and with a purpose. 

Sing as if you could hear the Angels singing among you. It doesn't matter if you are the worst singer in the world, Don't be embarrassed. God made you, and your voice, and He loves you. It doesn't matter what anyone else in the whole world thinks, you are there to serve God, not man, and you should sing for God.

Pray with as much reverence and fervency as you can muster, while still being aware of the task at hand. While serving, we often don't get much time to kneel and pray without having a task to do. But that doesn't mean you don't pray at all. The Mass itself is the Highest form of prayer that we have. Participate! Respond as if you were being talked to directly! If you can though, it might be a good idea to take a little time before or after Mass to pray, and don't forget to thank God for the wonderful responsibility you have now.

Watch as if at any moment, a miracle could happen. Because one does. In every single Mass. The bread and wine are transformed into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

There is also another reason you should watch. Especially during Communion time. After you have receive our Lord, quietly and Prayerfully, watch others receive Him as you are praying.  It's beautiful, to watch so many people receive Jesus. Children, Elderly, Young men and women, all come to the Lord. But, sometimes someone makes their way into Mass, who does not have the good intentions that others do.

It is sad, and scary, to know that there are some people in this world, who want to take the Most Holy Eucharist, and do terrible things to Him. We cannot allow this. Watch to make sure that each person consumes the Most Holy Sacrament. If you see someone who has taken the Host, and not Consumed it (unless it is in a Pix) please tell the Priest! This is an emergency, and should be addressed immediately! We need to make sure that the Eucharist is safe! This is our LORD! I don;t want to scare or distract you, but it does occasionally happen. 

When you are serving, you have a very important job. If there is one word I want you to take away from this lesson, it is REVERENCE. Reverence is so important, and in my opinion, the one of the keys to being a good server. Every time you pass in front of the Tabernacle, either Genuflect or make a Deep Bow. If you are unable to do one of these for any reason, at least bow your Head! Keep your hand folded prayerfully at all times, unless you are carrying or holding something. Pay attention. Do not play with your Cincture, daydream, chat with the other servers, twiddle your thumbs or allow yourself to be distracted in any way from the very important tasks at hand and prayer.

Allow yourself to absorb the wonder you are witnessing. (and this goes for all Masses you attend, not just when you are serving.) You are watching a Miracle. Each time you look at the Host, you are looking at Jesus Himself, even though our human eyes just see a Host. Angels surround Him at all times. You are seeing this all so closely. Don't be afraid to be amazed, and have it show. 

If people in the congregation see you looking in Wonder at Jesus, perhaps they will too, like we all should be. If they see you being reverent, perhaps they will be too, as we all should. If they see you participating fully in the Mass, with every fiber of your being, perhaps they will too, like we all should be!

But if they see you daydreaming, not paying attention, not being respectful, not participating fully, then they might not either. We need to inspire others to do the right thing!

Finally, please remember that everyone makes mistakes. Try to preform each task the best that you can, but if you do make a mistake, it's not the end of the world. Everyone makes a mistake at some point. Don't panic.

Never, ever, ever let serving at Mass become a bore. Don't just go through the motions. This is a privilege! Don't take it for granted. This is something that you should be thankful for. Remember that you are serving God.

The 4th

The Land of the Free,

The home of the brave, 

is what this celebration is for.

For purple mountains, for Fruited plains,

for whom many have fought in war.

For freedom of Religion,

the right to bear our arms,

 for “We the people”

for forests and farms.

For freedom of speech,

For the fifty states,

for pilgrims feet,

for equality of race.

But the land of the free,

the home of the brave,

is becoming a frightful place.

The innocent are killed,

Our Religion is threatened,

and so is our right to bear arms.

The purple mountains, no longer majestic,

the fruited plains no more.

The country used to be such a great place,

a home worth fighting for.

The rocket’s red glare and the bombs in the air,

may have to begin once more.

For We the People

We the free,

We need to stand up now.

Evil is threatening to take this land,

and has already taken taken a toll.

So celebrate the rights we now still have, but sadly we may soon lose,

Celebrate  the land of the free, but remember the loss of it too.

Remember the country that this tattered land once was,

with majestic eagles soaring. 

The red, white and blue, 

the victory too,

and the ocean’s waves all roaring.

Celebrate the land of the free!

But remember it’s not all that it used to be.

Old glory is fading,

but still, It is waving,

and silently whispering “Hope.”

The gentle sounds of the Rosary

Don't you just love that soft tinkling sound, that Rosary beads make? It's so peaceful and beautiful. It kinda reminds me of the  clinking sound of the incensor or the trickling of the Holy water on a baby's head when it's being baptized. 

But an even more beautiful sound than the beads, are the voices of those using them. When you hear people saying the Rosary together, it's so powerful. The Rosary is sort of hard to understand. It's a weapon. But it's so peaceful and beautiful! When we think of weapons, we generally think of fear, terror, death and sorrow. But the Rosary only brings that to the evil one. To us, and those for whom it is prayed for, it brings peace, grace, love and blessings! It's so mysteriously beautiful. 

To hear a group of people saying the Rosary together, is to hear an army chanting a battle cry, and a grateful people singing a hymn of praise, at the same time. 

It's like a lion's roar and a sparrow's song together! It just depends on who you are. 

It's so important to say the Rosary. It is a wonderful way to contemplate the life of Jesus with our Mother. She always wants to bring us to her Son, and Jesus always wants to bring us closer to Him. The Rosary is a great way to start making your way towards them. 

It only takes about 20 minutes. Considering that you have about 12 hours in a day, that's not very much time. 

If you don't know how to say the Rosary, that isn't a problem either! Just go to www.rosaryarmy.com

They have sheets that teach you how to pray the Rosary, and they even have podcasts of each of the Mysteries to help you out! They are great! 

And if you don't have a Rosary? Well, you can just use your fingers. Or, if you go to the above site, you can request a free one. I have also seen them out at Catholic Churches for people to take home. They aren't hard to get. 

 Hear the beautiful sounds. Contemplate the beautiful life of Jesus.  Feel the peace that comes from prayer. Trust God to give you grace, and Use the grace that God gives you. Enjoy the Blessings, even the littlest ones.   Pray the Rosary!!! 

Numbers

Well, once again, it's been awhile.

So tonight, for some reason, i just started thinking about God and numbers. I noticed thay There are a few numbers that i can think of that sort of have something to do with God, even if it's sort of a loose connection.

1: there's only One true God.

2: there are two testements in the Bible.

3: The one and only, living and true God is three Divine Persons in one. The Holy Trinity.

5: The Five wounds of Christ, the Five mysteries in each Rosary.

7: The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sorrows of Mary. Seven Sacraments. 7 is also the Perfect number I believe. 

12: there were twelve Apostles. 

I notice that i can come up with more odd numbers than even numbers. I think that is quite interesting. Do you think maybe God is trying to tell us something with that? I think maybe. Maybe He's trying to remind us that no matter how odd we are, He can still make us into wonderful things. 

I don't know, maybe I'm just stretching it a little, but i think it's pretty interesting. 

Prayers

Well, looks like I forgot to post a challenge on Friday. So that i don't mess up the schedule, please just continue with last week's challenge, and I'll make a new one on Thursday or Friday ^-^

Anyways, I want to thank you all for your prayers. Í remember that I posted awhile back that i was going through a hard struggle, and asked for prayers. 

I am still struggling. But over the last few weeks/last monthish, I have felt a lot better. Things have been going a lot smoother in my mind and I have actually experienced peace and joy again :)

Unfortunately, it's come back on me a bit the last few days. But i think I'm getting strep throat. Of i do have it, that could be the cause. 

Thank you so much. I don't think it is possible to overestimate the power of prayer, and i believe that it is impossible to pray too much. 

Well, now i have another prayer request for you. If you would just send up even a little prayer, it still counts. God still hears the tiniest whisper and knows the intent of the heart. Please pray For my little sister. I'm not going to reveal any details at this time, but she's having a bit of a hard time and may have some medical issues, but we don't know yet. So please pray for Health and if needed, Healing  for her in both body and in mind. 

Thank you so much. If you ever have a prayer request that you would like me to pray for, just let me know. Each one of us needs as many prayers as we can get. 

A prayer is a song, a voice, a cry,

A glance, a tear, a thought, a sigh.

An asking and receiving,

A praising and singing,

A yearning, a welcome,

A thank you, a plea.

A prayer is a heart lifted to God on high,

Or a heart that's brought low and emits a small cry.

A burst of thanksgiving, of love, of praise,

Or an outpour of longing, of sorrow and pain.

A want to get better, or just stay the same,

A peaceful moment, or of anguish and shame.

A prayer can be shouted, or sang, or told, 

Or whispered, unspoken, a feeling of the soul. 

In what ever feeling, of sorrow or joy,

A man or a woman, a girl or a boy,

When you send up your prayers to our Wondrous  Lord,

Rest assured that your prayers will never go unheard. 

Mary

What do you think of when you hear the word "Mom"? You probably think of your own mother. Caring. Kindness. Gentleness. Thoughtfulness. Comforting. A warm, loving, yet strong heart to guide you through life. 

Your mother is a gift from God. But did you know that you have two? Let's go back to Jesus' passion. Remember on the cross, when Jesus' told the disciple (John) "Behold your Mother"? There! Mary is now our Mother! Even after your own Mother has passed, as all of us someday will, we still have a Mother. She prays for us all the time. She interceded for us. She brings refreshment to those suffering. 

There is a misbelief that Catholics "Worship" Mary. I would like to clarify that. We do Not worship Mary. We Honor Her. We Love Her, we Honor Her, we ask for Her intercession and prayers, but we do not worship Her. 

Think of what she went through here on earth. First God asked her to give birth to His Son! What an Honor! But also, Carrying the Son of God in your womb would be slightly frightening in some ways. How Powerful He is! But She still said yes. 

Then, when  St. Joseph found out that She was with child, He was confused. He had decided to leave her one night, when an Angel came and told him not to. But still, despite this frightening event, She carried on. 

Then, after years of watching Jesus grow up, teach people, heal people, comfort people, cast out devils and preform countless miracles, She watched His Passion. How anguished She must have been! How dreadful, painful, sorrowful and scary that must have been for Her! Watching Her Son, God's Son being beaten, scourged, mocked, made to wear a crown of thorns, spat on, despised, Falling with a heavy cross on His Back three times, had Nails put in in His hands and feet, dying on the cross, pierced with a lance, and put in a tomb. Wow. But still, She trusted in God. 

And then, His amazing Resurrection! How joyful, awestruck, relieved, and wonderful She must have felt when She saw Jesus Risen from the dead!!!

She was there for His Glorious Ascension, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and eventually, She was taken right up directly into Heaven by God. 

Isn't that a life worth Honoring? Wow. I forgot to mention above, that she was conceived without the stain if Original sin, and never sinned in Her life! Mary truly had an amazing life worth Honoring. 

So that's why we pray to Her. She want to bring us closer to Her Son, Jesus. 

So this week, "Call your Mother" for Mother's Day, Say a Hail Mary each day! 

Where you were standing

This really interesting thing happened the other  day. Well, interesting for me anyways. So I was sitting outside. I noticed some tiny white flowers growing. They almost looks like little white bells hanging on A beautiful green pole from where i was sitting. Cute, right?

So here's the interesting part.

Later on, I picked one. They are not bells at all! Actually they are kinda flattish. They have four or five petals (i can't remember) with tiny stripes that are the prettiest shade of purple you've ever seen. The detail in these little tiny flowers is so incredible, it blows me away. I have no idea what they are called, but I've sort of "nick named" them in my mind as "Fairy Flowers" because they are just so tiny!! (I love tiny detailed things!!!!!!! Alot!) God is such a wonderful creator! He doesn't just make the big flowers pretty. He tiniest ones are beautiful too! I wonder how those are pollinated. They are to small for a bee to get nectar from.

Anyways, that's not quite what I'm getting at here. You'll now notice, that the flowers look Completely different from what they really looked like from where I was standing. Sure, i thought they were cute little guys, but i had no idea how much beauty and detail was in them. 

This reminds me of people. Just walking by, people are often completely different than how they seem. 

Let's say You walk by a really pretty lady. If you got to know her, you would realize that perhaps she's not really that pretty on the inside. Now you walk by a little old woman. She's old and kinda wrinkly, not someone you would typically hang out with. But if you got to know her, you would realize how beautiful she really is. How beautiful her life was. How strong and brave this seemingly feeble old lady really is. How many trials she's endured, and still holds on. How many miracles she's witnessed. 

You see where I'm going now, don't judge people by appearances. Yes, if they have 18 facial piercings, 20 tattoos, a 9 inch green Mohawk and wear black chains all the time, perhaps they might not be the best person to get to know. I'm just saying that just because some one seems like someone you typically would not make friends with, doesn't mean they aren't. 

Even the seemingly 'just simple little white flowers', really could have alot of intricate detail and beauty, and may actually be a completely different shape than you thought they were from where you were standing.

Communion

Today, my sister made her First Holy Communion! It was so beautiful, and she did great!

Throughout his Homily today, Father was talking about first Communions. He suggested that the children ask their parents or grandparents about their First Holy Communion. He mentioned one lady in particular, who was one of the first children to receive first Holy Communion at our Church. Of course, she has passed away now, but he said that she remembered her First Communion almost 100 years later.

First communions are beautiful things. We get all dressed up, prepare ourselves in body and soul, be on our best behavior
and watch as Jesus comes into these young children for the very first time.

But what about 2nd Holy Communion? 57th? 9835th Communions? Do we get all dressed up for that? Do we prepare ourselves in both body and soul? Are we one our best behavior?

Each and every time you receive the Eucharist, you are receiving the Same Body, Same Blood, Same Soul and Divinity into your heart as you did on your First Communion day. Jesus still comes to you even if you have lost count of how many times you received Him into your soul. I think I remember keeping track for a little while, but I think probably after the 10th I forgot LOL
I wish I had remembered to keep counting. It would be so cool to know when my 1000th Holy communion is! Oh well, I was only 7.....

Anyways, what I'm trying to get at is, Don't take Communion for granted. Ever! You don't have to dress in a wedding dress or a full fledged three price suit and tie every time you Receive Holy Communion, but at least try to look your best, and wear nice clothes. You probably wouldn't wear jean with holes in the , if you were going to meet a king, right? Well God is the King and Lord of all. Keep that in mind. If you honestly don't have anything else to wear, He will accept you anyways. But if you do, wear nice clothes out of respect for the King and Lord of all.

How about your soul? How's that looking? How long has it been since you went to Confession? If a king was coming to your house, you would do a major clean up, right? Why not do that for your soul also? Because the King and Lord of all is coming to visit your heart.

How about your actions in Mass? Are you paying attention? Following along and responding when you can? He's, our mind wander frequently. But that's no excuse. If you notice your mind starting to drift off, bring it back. If a king was on his way to your house, would you listen to his words? Would you pay close attention to everything he said, and heed it? Well, the King and Lord of all is speaking at Mass. He often teaches us through the readings and Gospel. Pay close attention.

Not to scare you, but you never know when your last opportunity for Holy Communion will be. There are people in this world that don't get to receive Jesus in Sacramental Communion. There is a slow rising against Christianity. What will happen if we are the next ones to not have the opportunity for Sacramental Communion, either because of this rising, or because, well, we never know when our last day is.

So whatever you do, don't ever ever ever ever EVER take Holy Communion for granted. Make every Communion as if it is you first Communion, and quite possibly your Last Communion here on Earth.

A little bit closer

Well, I successfully failed at April's blog challenge! Yay! (LOL) oh well, sometimes your'e just walking along, mindin' your own business when life comes and hits you in the eye!


Anyways, I'm starting another one, which I'm sure will end up like the last one. This one's called "Just a little closer". It's going to be a challenge for you also! Some time during each week (for i don't know how long, hopefully a long time but probably a short time) let's say, Thursdays or Fridays, i will write a post, however long or short, and put a little challenge in it to move us "Just a little closer" to Him.

Remember, all journeys start with one step, Rome wasn't built in a day, and people don't learn to walk overnight.

So, for this week, here it is.
Let's start simple. Lets say, everyday for the next week, we Thank or Praise God at at least one random time during the day. Especially if it's a time you wouldn't normally do it.

For instance, you're stuck at a red light, your just thinking "who invented red lights? Really! There are no other card on the road! Left? Nope! Right? Nope! No cars! And yet, here is this little red light telling me that I can't go."

Instead of continues this battle against the red light, stop. Think instead "Who DID invent the red light? I guess it is to keep us safe anyways. Oh well, at least we have things like red lights to keep us safe. Thank you God for having that person, whoever they are, invent the stoplights."

Or you're little sister keeps coming up and poking you. "Hey? Hey! Are you gonna play with me yet?
Do you have a snack?
Will you read this book?
When's mom gonna get home?
Where did she go anyway?
Can you call her and tell her to get ice cream? The really yummy kind with lots of chocolate?" Etc. etc. etc…
Your'e just about to pull your hair out and yell "FOR GOODNESS SAKES! Be quiet child! Can you be quiet for FIVE SECONDS?!?!?!?!" ( believe me i know LOL)

Stop. Think instead "hmm… i wonder what it would be like to not have a little sister. Actually, it would be quite sad. Sure, she's Loud and crazy and goofy and sometimes grumpy, but what about other times? The time when she makes me feel cool? The time when she lets me play with her hair? When she makes me a cookie? When we go on a walk? When we read stories and play pretend? When we do all the stuff that i liked when i was little, but now I'm "too old" to do it without a younger person? I guess it's not so bad after all. Thank You God so much for giving me this little sister of mine, and please grant me some patience also.

It could be even simpler. "Wow. That flower is beautiful. God, you are a wonderful creator." "Mmmmm this is a good cup of coffee. Thank you for giving us coffee beans, God." "It would be so awful to be a dog. You could never see any if these beautiful colors that God created, wow."

So there's our challenge. Can YOU do it? It's such a little step, but little steps still bring us a little by closer. And the closer we get, the better.

Reach out!

Alright, Iv'e challenged myself here with the inspiring blog challenge (and am failing miserably LOL) and now, I have a challenge for you! *Dun dun duuuuun!*

So, i challenge you to… *insert drumroll*… Reach out!

There's a song, I'm not sure who it's by, (maybe Mercy me or someone who's right on the tip of my tongue, Er, fingers)
And i think it's called "If we are the Body" or something like that. Here's part of it. Or, how I'm pretty sure it goes.

"And if we are the Body, why aren't His Arms reaching? Why aren't His hands healing? Why aren't His words teaching? And if we are the Body, Why aren't His feet going? Why is His Love not showing?! There is a way. Jesus is the way. "

At first you might think "What? His words certainly are teaching! Of course His arms are reaching!"
Yes, they are. Jesus is always reaching out and teaching us etc. This song is referring to US!

We are supposed to be reaching out as Jesus' Body. We are supposed to be reaching others through His words. We are supposed to be moving through the world, reaching others. We are supposed to be spreading God's love for us.

God often works through People. If no one is willing to let Him work through them, Who is He going to work through? Sure, He can do anything. He could just appear or something if He wanted to (He already came down to Earth, performed numerous miracles, and DIED for us, for goodness sake!) But He wants to work through us.

Because, if something that obvious happened, If all of the sudden the sky grew white and we heard a giant voice thundering down from the Heavens or something like that, It just wouldn't be the same. Sure, lots of people might finally believe that God is there, lots of people might get to be converted, but no one got the opportunity to help.

We get closer to God through Doing good deeds out of
Love. If we don't have an opportunity to do good deeds, to help others get closer to Him, then we have lost an opportunity!

God doesn't make people do things, that's why He gave us free will. So we could have a choice.

The thing is, We have the opportunity. Are we losing it? Every time we chose to leave a good deed undone, or to leave a hurt unforgiven, a person broken, a thank you unsaid, a friendship undone, a hungry person unfed, a naked person unclothed, a person thirsting for water's thirst unquenched, leave a lonely person without a friend, a sorrowful person uncomforted, etc, we have lost a valuable opportunity to help others, and through helping others helping God, and to tell the truth, helping our own souls. We are losing it!

Are you losing it?

So, my good person, I CHALLENGE you to reach out at least once a day for the next week. It can be something as simple as saying thank you, opening the door for someone, helping your mom carry in the groceries, or patting someone on the back for a job well done. Or it could be as big as getting on your next mission plane, flying to Africa and feeding starving children (which unfortunately, most of us don't have that opportunity.)

It doesn't have to be big. You never know what is going on in someone else's mind. That person you just said thank you to, or praised for Doug a good job? May e they are truly depressed, or just feel down about the selves, and you've just let a little day of light into their day. That homeless dude on the side of the road that you just gave five bucks to? Maybe he hasn't eaten in a day or two. That bag of groceries you just carried in for mom? Maybe her back is hurting today, or maybe she's stressed out.

Anyway you can think of, that might make someone thank God, is a way of reaching out in my opinion. If you can make them think "oh, i really needed that. Thank You God!" Or "well, this person doesn't think I'm so terrible. Perhaps I'm not. Thanks God." Or anything like that, you have reached out. You age bright them, and yourself, just a little bit closer to the goal. Every tiny inch counts!

So reach out! Don't lose the opportunity!

April 16: Making people smile.

Serving

Well, so much for the whole blog challenge thing LOL I'm not even going to try to catch up, I'm just going to skip to today.

April 15 Serving Mass.
I love serving at Mass. It is such an amazing opportunity. You get to be soooo close to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and get to see it so close up. I feel like a really different person when I serve at Mass. I can't explain the feeling very well. I really can't describe how awesome it is to have the opportunity to be up there on the Altar, helping so Physically close to the Tabernacle and Jesus Himself.

You know that amazing feeling you get when you've done something really good? Or when you're standing in the forest or a field and take a deep breath of the flower scented fresh air? Or when you take a deep drink of the coolest, most sweet clear water? Or when you make someone's day? Or when you wake up in the morning, the birds are singing, and the sunbeams are dancing on your face, you stretch out, Thank God, and just know it's going to be a good day?

That's the feeling. That's the feeling I get from serving. I feel so tiny, yet important at the same time.

Yes, there is some anxiety involved. I'm always afraid I'll drop something, or forget something, and do something wrong. And then there's the scrupulosity that tells me I don't deserve this feeling (which i really don't, but that's not what I'm getting at) because I'm too sinful, and tries to ruin the happiness.

But If i let myself make it past these anxieties with God's help,
Then I feel amazing.

If you have the opportunity to Serve at your Church, and think you might be called to do it, Give it a try! It's awesome.

Wings

Sometimes I wish I had wings.
I could fly away from everything.
Fly from the fear, fly from the darkness, fly a little closer to the light.

But I can't decide what kind.
What kind of wings would I need?
What kind of wings would be best,
To suit my needs and personality?

Perhaps the wings of an eagle,
Strong wings flying majestically.
Feathers soft and quiet.
Feathers strong and brave.

But the wings of an eagle,
just wouldn't be right.
Eagles are brave, and stand to fight.
It would take more than fear to get into flight.

How about the wings of a butterfly?
Flitting this way and that.
Colorful, silent, beautiful flight,
Perhaps these wings would be just right.

But butterfly wings just might not work,
Butterflies don't really have a care in the world.
They fly joyfully from one flower and then to the next,
No butterflies don't worry and the wings aren't right.


Dragonfly wings are super fast,
Buzzing and transparent,
They just might last!
Would dragonfly wings be right for me?

No, dragonfly wings won't do at all,
They make all their cares seem super small.
Everything they do just looks like a game,
And my fears are too good at making me feel ashamed.


The wings of a heron are graceful and true,
Huge, and a beautiful shade of blue.
With wings like that I could ride the breeze,
I could fly away from it all with ease.

But the wings if the heron are a bit too slow,
True, they are graceful, but I think the answer is no.
The heron just looks so relaxed and free,
And I'm sad to admit, that's like the opposite of me.

Oh which pair of wings would work for me?
At first i thought this might be pretty easy.
I'd just pick a pair of wings and fly away.
Pick a pair of wings and escape from the day.

Maybe the answer isn't the wings,
Although they are beautiful, wonderful things.
Maybe there's a lesson that i can learn,
Even though the fear makes my stomach churn.

The wings of an eagle,
So brave and true,
If I'm brave like an eagle,
i might make it through.

The wings of a butterfly,
Full of joy and cheer,
If i let myself have joy and cheer,
Maybe i wouldn't be here.

The wings of a dragonfly,
Playful and free,
If i don't let the shame take hold,
Maybe I'll just be me.

The wings of a heron,
So peaceful and slow,
I need to slow down and let
The fears just go.

So maybe I need to grow my own pair of wings,
Combining the good qualities of each of these,
But maybe the healing doesn't come from flying away,
Maybe the healing comes a little bit each day.

So if I ever get some wings,
Perhaps I won't fly away from everything.
I'll be brave as an eagle,
With a butterfly's joy,
No more shame, like a dragonfly,
And with a heron's peace and pace,
I just might get by.

Maggie Monday!

Hewoo! Dis is Maggie! It has bean a looooooooooooooooooong tyme sinz i said somting on master's blog!

Well, things has bean pretty crazy aroond heer. A bunch of small humans, master's "neeses" and "nefoow" has cum to visit fur a while.

Dey is berry hyper. Dey like to play ruff and be silly all da tyme! Sum times it drives me crazy. Lik when dey jumps on master or sumthing. Dey shood not do dat! Dey mite hurt master! So den i barks at dem, to tell dem to stop dat, but i don't think dey understand me berry well.

But sum times dey is berry nice. Like wen dey leevs food on da ground, and when dey let me :) I is just a very nervus dog, so sometimes i get scared. But, it's ok.

So, day is da only noos i has today. Maybe i will say somting agin next week!

-Maggie :0)

P.s. Master says dat fur April 8, she says dat wen i is good and does tricks, it makes her berry happy :0) and also she says have a Happy Feast of the Annunciation.

Spring!

We are having very spring like weather here! It's been warm enough to wear short sleeve almost all day! (It was a tad bit chilly this morning, but after that it was just wonderful!)

Now it's raining. It's supposed to be pretty warm and rainy all week.

I Love Spring. Everything comes back to life. The trees and getting buds which are growing well, the air is getting warmer, the daffodils have sprung up, and anything that hasn't bloomed yet is at least starting to bud, the earth is getting greener every day, the bird are nesting, the breeze is blowing, and everything is wonderful.

It really funny. In the spring, I think everything gets greener Everytime it rains! Right now, it's not super green, but it's getting greener. And i bet it will be even greener tomorrow, because of the rain.

I find it fascinating that plants grow so quickly when they are young. One minute it's a seed that is getting a bit swollen, the next morning it's a three inch high sprout, next week it starts getting it's first real leaves, and boom! Before you know it, within a month or two, you have a plant!

They kinda remind me of children. One minute they are little babies, the next a kid, and then the next they are all grown up and are having babies of their own!

Spring also falls at the perfect time for us here. In winter, everything seems dead. There are weeks of grey sky, grey trees, grey/brown leaves, grey weather, grey everything. It seems like it's going to last forever. But then, little spots of green start popping up. And before we know it, knew life is everywhere!

It's much like Lent! Everything seems dead. We, at times, seem dead within. On Good Friday, Jesus dies! But then, we start seeing "spots of green" popping up. We start to realize that everything isn't dead. We aren't dead, and if we are, Jesus will bring us back to life! Jesus isn't dead! He Rose again! New life is everywhere!

So it is very fitting that spring should come at the end of Lent.

I can't wait for the trees to get leaves, the flowers all to bloom, and the air to get even warmer! Mmmmm, spring! It makes me want to spring! I think it's probably my favorite season :)



April 7th
Thinking of spring, and new life!

Divine mercy

Tomorrow is Divine Mercy Sunday!
The day when the Fountain of Jesus' Mercy is just so great and overflowing and ready for us to come to it.

Mercy.

Mercy is a mysterious thing when you think about it. It's a special kind of forgiveness. Because, really, who doesn't get at least a bit upset when they think about all the terrible things they have done through their life. I sure do. I get a bit more than a bit upset.

Our sins, really, deserve punishment. God is the most Pure, Loving, Holy, Glorious, Good, Amazing, and Indescribably Wonderful. And we go against Him all the time.

But when we are sorry, He sees this. He sees the sorrow for our sins, the desire to do better, and the fear of pain and punishment. He hears our cries, no matter how bad we are. He hears us. He always hears us.

And then, He Forgives. Not a human forgiveness. Human forgiveness is imperfect in my opinion. Yes, we forgive the wrong that someone has done to us. But, we may remember it, and have a tendency to maybe be a bit wary of that person. Like, if someone makes fun of you. You forgive them, but you might not want to hang around with them for a little while, because you don't want to feel that pain again.

But God just welcomes us back! He isn't going to do the above. He won't leave us. In fact, He wants us to come back to Him, now! He loves us so much, He's not going to give up on us! He's not going to leave us, ever!

Even though we may deserve great punishment,
He is merciful. God is amazing.





Oh yeah, April 6
Listening to the song "Blessings" by Laura Story

blog challenge

Oh boy, i forgot some days.. LOL

April 3
taking walks in the woods and just listening.

April 4
planning gardens

April 5
sitting in a tree.

hopefully i can come up with some better answers over the next few days. I haven't had the best day today :/

April Blog challenge

Happy Easter! (A bit late, but we are still in the octave of Easter. It's Easter Tuesday!) The Lord is Risen!

Well, to help me feel a bit better, and to help you feel a bit inspired, I have decided to do a blog challenge this month! I have never done one before, so I am going to make one up LOL i will probably miss a few days (kinda like how i was gonna post more for Lent… yeah.)

So, for each day in April, I will post a little bit about something that makes me feel happy or Peaceful or gives me hope, or generally good in some way. After all, Easter is a time of celebration, joy, hope and new life. So hopefully this will help me to experience these things better.

I guess I should post one for yesterday too. So here goes

April 1: Thinking of Heaven. Sometimes (not very often though) I just try to Imagine what it will (With the Lords help and abundant Mercy!!) be like to be welcomed into Heaven. I see this "wall" of cloud or mist, and i walk into it. There I see the most beautiful sight ever. I'm standing on top of a hill covered with the greenest grass you've ever seen in your life. The hill dips into a lovely green valley. On the left of the valley is a Beautiful forest. Slightly to the right of the valley is a glorious mountain. Coming out of/off of the mountain is the most breathtaking waterfall. The water is so clear and blue it looks like it's made of crystal. God sits on top of this mountain.
Jesus is standing right next to me, welcoming me. In front of me also is a large group of Saints that have prayed for me, greeting me. Imagining this image in my head, makes me very peaceful, but also perhaps a bit sad. Because i know I don't deserve it.

April 2: Reading about Saints that have gone through what I am going through. One of these is St. Alphonsis Ligouri. He was scrupulous, and may never have been "cured" of it. But He made it to Heaven. You see, one of the things about scrupulosity is that, almost every fault we have, almost every little thing we do wrong (or even think we may have done wrong) seems like a mortal sin, even if it's not. Then we think, Obviously if we are *always* in a state of mortal sin, this is certainly displeasing to God. Therefore, Heaven often seems like an unattainable dream. So reading and learning about scrupulous Saints, especially St. Alphonsis, really gives me hope. If he made it, without being cured of scrupulousity, or even just bearing it for most of his life, then perhaps I could too, even if i can't be "cured". Everything is possible with God.


Welp, there you have it. My first post of my first attempted blog challenge.

Struggles

In my last posts i mentioned that i was going through a hard time and needed some Prayers. I am still struggling, but If you have been Praying for me, I thank you very much. I don't think the power of prayer can be overestimated. If you would keep Praying, that would be simply wonderful.

So today i decided to kinda go out of my comfortable little circle and tell you a little about what I am struggling with.

You may or may not have heard the term "scrupulosity" or "scrupulous" before. It's also referred to as "the doubting decease" and "Religious OCD". The latter term gives you a better idea of what it is.

Basically, I have an "over developed conscience" if you will. At first you would think, "we'll isn't that a good thing? Having a well developed conscience is good to help you on the right path and keeps you out of trouble, right?"

Well, yes! Our consciences are a wonderful gift from God. I don't even want to think about what would happen if we had no conscience. But, the way my conscience works is a bit odd. Instead of being too lax about somethings, my conscience is too strict about somethings. It's hard to explain. I don't want to go into *too much* detail, but I do want to give you an idea of what's going on, not really so that you will "feel sorry for me" but to give you an understanding of what I am going through and also that you will be aware that other people are suffering from this also, and they need Prayers just as much as I do. Sometimes it's easier to Pray for people if you know what you are Praying for.

Basically, almost every mistake I make is a sin, and probably a mortal one, in my mind. Some how, somewhere, my mind sees a little venial sin as a mortal sin,
Even when it's not. Here is an example that may help you understand it a little.

A lot of times i will have obsessive "bad thoughts" which are basically just temptations. the temptation isn't a sin, right? It's when we give into it that it becomes a sin. we cant avoid simply having temptations. well, these "bad thoughts" that won't leave me alone, will almost send me into a panic attack about weather or not i brought up the thoughts and entertained them? was it a mortal sin? Should i go to Communion on Sunday? Maybe i should rush to confession right now? i probably have had a panic attack because of these things before. Then i end up feeling absolutely terrible and end up in quite a depressed mood. Then of course i start obsessing over wether or not feeling this way is despair, another sin, which makes me feel worse, and i end up as a sobbing mess.

That's just one example. And it's not just me who has these problems. Like i said above, there are more people with this condition. So many that there is even a newsletter that you can get called "Scrupulous anonymous" that is run by a Priest or a group of Priests, that is specifically meant to help scrupulous people overcome this condition. And believe me, it's no easy task.

So if you've been Praying, again, thank you a thousand times! Please continue to Pray if you would, but not just for me. Please pray for Healing for all scrupulous people. It's really tough and the fear and anxiety that comes with it sometimes feels like downright torture. Not all scrupulous people's scrupulosity is as bad as mine, but there are some who are worse off.

One more thing. I'm not trying to scare anyone into sinning more or anything. I don't want you to not have a well developed conscience. Our conscience is a good thing. Scruples can be a good thing if they don't get out of hand. These things where given to us to help us on our journey to Heaven. To stay away from sin, to avoid all evil, to help us please God more! Don't stop growing in your faith. Don't ever stop. This condition is just something that i have, along with others. It's not something that Happens overnight. It probably has something to do with how our brains work and change (hence the term "Religious OCD". OCD is a disorder of the mind)

Thanks for the Prayers, and please keep Praying!

God bless you! And have a wonderful Palm Sunday tomorrow!