Join us in a Novena!!

Today my mom and I will start an Immaculate Conception Novena. What is a novena? A novena is a nine-day period of private or public prayer to obtain special graces, to implore special favors, or to make special petitions. (Novena is derived from the Latin “novem”, meaning nine.) According to Scripture, after Jesus’ Ascension into heaven, he told his disciples to pray together in the upper room and devote themselves to constant prayer (Acts 1:14). Doctrine proposes that the Apostles, Blessed Virgin Mary, and other followers of Jesus prayed together for nine consecutive days, concluding in the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

The Novena we are saying can be found here:

http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/novena/immaculate.htm

What exactly is the Immaculate Conception? It’s not what you think it is…most think it’s the conception of Jesus in the womb of our Lady. In actuality, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is HER conception in the womb of her mother St. Anne. Church Doctrine states that from the moment of her existence, her conception, Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin. (“macula” in Latin.)

The Immaculate Conception is church dogma.  In Luke 1:28, the Angel Gabriel greets her by saying, “Hail, Full of Grace!” This “exchange” was from the Annunciation…when Gabriel told her she would become the mother of Jesus. In order to become the mother of our Lord, she was given the gifts appropriate for such a role. And one of these gifts was being born without original sin. Take a peek at “New Advent” for more information on the Immaculate Conception.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is Wednesday, December 8 and it is a Holy Day of Obligation.  What is a Holy Day of Obligation?

On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass. Moreover they are to abstain from those works and affairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body. ( I love my church! )

We invite you to join us in this Novena!  Even if you aren’t Catholic…give it a whirl!  I dare you!  The Blessed Virgin Mary has never been known to fail anyone who calls upon her for her intercession.

What Child Is This

I saw this version of What Child Is This last year and it blew me away.  Enjoy!

I Am Not Adopted

Just wanted to clarify a misconception from another post, I am not adopted! I am an an adopted Missouri girl, I was born in Ohio but consider Missouri my home.

Advent Begins Sunday!

The first Sunday of Advent is this coming Sunday.  I know, I know, it’s hard to believe, my year has totally flown by.  Today we’re celebrating Thanksgiving and pretty soon we’ll be saying hello to 2011.  So, being as there are still a few days left before Advent starts, I was reflecting on what I was going to do to make this Advent special.  I’ve never really “done” Advent very well.  I’m a great Lent “doer” as a matter of fact Lent is my favorite time of year.  I really enjoy everything about Lent.  I know, it sounds crazy but I gain much more than I ever give up during Lent.

I feel like I fall short with Advent. I really want to have a good Advent and was brainstorming and praying about what to do.  I did some Googling and came up with this:

http://www.usccb.org/advent/

It’s the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website and they’ve created a comprehensive Advent and Christmas season interactive site.  I am so excited about this!  Simply click on the advent calendar date and the site takes you to the readings for the day, a prayer, a reflection and an “act.”  What are you going to be concentrating on this Advent?  What do you want to meditate on or do to anticipate the birth of our Lord, our Baby Jesus?

Thank you Lord!

As we approach Thanksgiving, I am so grateful for my life, my family and my friends! I am thankful for a job that I can work out of my home. I am thankful for the health of my mom and my dad. I am thankful for my brothers and my sister in law. I am thankful for my whole family, my dog, my bird and even my trials and tribulations. Yes, I said even my trials and tribulations. They have made me who I am today. I may not act like it all the time, but I am truly thankful! Recently, I have been struggling. Struggling with the call God has placed on my life. Struggling with dreams that were never realized. Struggling with God himself and struggling with me and my selfish wants, desires and my crappy attitude. I believe a lot of us struggle with this. It is not just me. Hopefully what I’m about to share might help someone else out there who might be struggling.

Even though it is not my choice, I am called to be single. I am called not to have children of my own. I am called to be a care giver for my mother. I’m not going to lie. It is hard sometimes. I get very pissed at God. Recently my reality hit me like a ton of bricks, “Oh my God, this is it…this is my flippin’ life!” I must confess that I panicked for a few minutes. I got really sad and scared. While this is not a new realization or revelation to me, I live this life every single day; it just hit me in an all new and powerful way. For some reason on this particular day, it put me into a tailspin. Was it the fact that I just turned 40 + something?

I had to settle myself, think about it for a while, pray about it and lean into my reality. Then, I realized that it is truly a blessing. I believe that I will always struggle with what wasn’t. That life I dreamed of that never came to pass. I think that’s human nature. But when all is said and done, I really feel honored to be chosen to help my mom. I know that if I were married and had children, I would not have been given this privilege. It’s like a pay back to her for all she’s done to raise me. God’s providence in the life of my mom worked this out in both of our lives even before I was born. This is not a surprise to him. He knew all of this. Our steps are ordered. And I need to walk in thankfulness.

I pray that my life is pleasing in God’s eyes. I want to be a good and faithful servant and do what God has called me to do. I want to embrace my vocation happily. It is such a daily struggle but, if I count my blessings on a daily basis, not only at Thanksgiving, it miraculously turns my pity around and makes my life a prayer that I offer back to Jesus. And besides, this is not my eternity. And for that, I thank you Lord!

“John of God” – REALLY???

I truly believe in miracles. I believe in healing. I believe God answers our prayers. They may not be the answers we want to hear, but God does answer us. I am the world’s biggest skeptic. Being an adopted Missouri girl, you have to “SHOW ME” when it comes to these types of things. I can spot a fake a mile away. I am a good judge of character. I know when people are lying to me. I have great “holy spirit” gut feelings. It is very seldom that I am fooled. That is why I thank God every day for my faith. My personality says that I could definitely be an Atheist. Wednesday I saw an Oprah show featuring “John of God” a “healer” from Brazil. I am not a big Oprah fan; I’ll let you know that right off the bat. However, I have been taping this season because it’s her last, her 25th season finale. Her guests have been very good. You may or may not have heard of this “John of God”, I hadn’t until I watched this Oprah show. I was shocked I had no clue who he was. I am pretty in touch with all things and people who are Catholic and in the public eye. John of God is a man who heals people (or so they say.) He lives in Abadiania, a remote town in Brazil. He is internationally known as John of God or João de Deus. People claim he is arguably the most powerful unconscious medium alive today and possibly the best-known healer of the past 2000 years. They say João is a humble man who is very clear about one thing: “I do not cure anybody. God heals, and in his infinite goodness permits the Entities to heal and console my brothers. I am merely an instrument in God’s divine hands.” The medium Joao Teixeira has no formal medical training. He claims he’s a “simple farmer.” Instead he gives over his consciousness and incorporates the spirits of past doctors and saints. These entities give talks, examine the waiting masses and conduct the visible and invisible operations. It is estimated that he has treated, either directly or indirectly, up to 15 million people during the past 40 years. He does not charge anything for his services. However, there are a ton of people out there profiting from this man. They have to be! The Brazilian tourism industry, the hotel industry, the private tour guides with their tour fees, he’s got books and DVDs, they sell crystals and his “cure all” herbs – Passionflower. Can you say…Kickbacks?? I think so. Even if he doesn’t charge a dime, he’s making money. Thousands flock to see this man every week. He treats hundreds every day. He does actual surgeries without anesthesia, does “eye scrapings”, he also does “non-physical” surgeries and distance healing. I’ve done some research on this man; one website suggested he is a Catholic, a “Spiritist” and “medium.” (Extremely common in Brazil) Can you be a spiritist and a medium and Catholic? Could and would our God be behind this man and his works? The healing entities who work through John of God are the spirits of deceased doctors, surgeons, masters and saints, each one, exceptional people during life on earth. As a full trance medium, the spirit Entity incorporates into his physical body so completely, during the sessions, that John of God has no recall of the work performed through him. Occasionally, the spirit Entity makes their identity known. More often, by distinct attributes in manner and speaking style, John of God’s helpers can identify which Entity is working through him. Principal among them is St. Ignatius Loyola, the Entity for whom Casa de Dom Inácio is named. Others are Oswaldo Cruz, a famous doctor in Brazil over 100 years ago, who eradicated yellow fever and was a key figure in the founding of Brasilia, Dr. Augusto de Almeida, a surgeon and spiritual master who performs many of the surgeries, and Dr. Jose Valdivino, a surgeon. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: Divination and magic 2115 God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility. 2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future.  Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone. 2117 All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others – even if this were for the sake of restoring their health – are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another’s credulity. Personally, I think its all bunk. I believe God works in mysterious ways. BUT, my gut is bothered by all of this. I have an uneasy feeling. I smell a rat. Is this evil at work? I think so. How do you explain all of these healings? I have no idea. And, honestly I don’t care. What I do know is if you pray for wisdom and truth, God will show it to you. He will lift the veil. I feel bad for all of the suffering people out there who have no hope and are being sucked in by this guy. My mom is sick. She has a disease that can claim her life. She is being healed every day.  IF they only knew who their DIVINE HEALER was… Oprah’s site: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Do-You-Believe-in-Miracles_1 http://www.johnofgod-healing.com/frm_john_of_god.asp

Lynn and a conversation with the Holy Spirit

I have a very dear “old” friend that I have reunited with about 6 yrs ago. We went to high school together. We sang in the choir together. We had some classes together. Even though we really didn’t hang out a lot in high school, I have always considered her my friend. I saw her and her awesome husband at our 20th reunion and recently at our 25th. We’ve been chatting and Facebooking ever since. She is an amazing woman, a devout Catholic and a mom of 7. In all honesty, I am kind of jealous of her. She has a way about her that makes you feel so special. She radiates holiness. Her family prays the rosary every day and she is a daily mass attendee.

She called me the other night. When the phone rang I was tempted to put the call into voice mail because I was tired. I didn’t feel like talking. I talk constantly every day for my job. I just wanted to vegetate. (Like my brutal honesty?) I picked up the phone and I’m so glad I did.

Background: I have been sort of suffering from a spiritual dryness as of late. I pray, don’t get me wrong, I pray a lot. I pray constantly through my day and I pray before I go to sleep. However, I am not being the Catholic I aspire to be. The daily mass attending Catholic, the weekly confession kind of Catholic, the daily rosary saying Catholic, the novena saying Catholic, the visiting the Blessed Sacrament, the Adoration attending Catholic. My life circumstances have changed a lot. I used to be a better Catholic. I used to be the Catholic that Lynne is.

Our conversation had been a long time in coming. She’s so busy with her big family and I am so busy with my life – Just picking up the phone to connect with my friends is so hard for me and sometimes exhausting to me. I hate to say that. But Lynne blessed me by picking up the phone for the both of us.

She had a lot of miraculous things to tell me – things happening in her life and in the lives of those she knows that truly touched me. People going to confession for the first time in years, people who are in the final stages of life accepting Jesus and their long rejected Catholicism, people going through conversion. I thought to myself, “Lord, I want to witness those things happening in the lives of the people I know!” Again, I was jealous. My life has been dry. As I was listening to her, a conviction came over me. A conviction that I needed to “step it up and get back to how I was meant to live and act.” I audibly heard “Get off of Facebook in the morning, instead, say your rosary, pray, read good Catholic books.” “Pray without ceasing and you too will see miracles.” It was so awesome…It was like a release. A warm Holy Spirit breath coming through my blackberry. Thank you Lynn for being such a wonderful influence in my life!

I’m Back!

So much time has passed since I posted anything. I thought about shutting down this blog but logged in recently to a comment asking me to continue blogging as we need more positive stuff out there. I agree! So, my prayer again for the future is to write entries of my own and not just repost videos or material from other people. To get creative like so many other bloggers do. It amazes me to read what others write. I wonder if blogging is a talent. If so, do I have it? Will anyone want to read what I write? Do these amazing bloggers just have this natural ability to write or can anyone do it? I think it might be a talent. But I also think that others can obtain that talent, even though it may not come naturally to them. I am going to try to nurture and cultivate this talent in myself. I have a lot to say, I just need to get it down on “paper.”

Recently I have been following a blog written by a woman who goes to our church.
http://trisomyjourney.blogspot.com/

I do not personally know her or her family but it is a raw and amazingly honest journey. Their 7th child, a boy, was diagnosed at 20 weeks gestation with Trisomy 13. They named him Jedidiah Joseph. Please do yourself a favor and read her blog. You will see why I love Catholicism so much and why I believe what I believe – the beauty of Catholicism is captured in her entries. She lays it all out there. It is a heart wrenching and joyful story of life and love. All life is precious, all life deserves a chance to be born and all life is a blessing and miracle from God! Jedi blessed me in the 13 days he was on this earth, and he will bless you too. St. Jedi, pray for us! My heart goes out to this family. I cannot imagine.