Notable Quotable

“If God were to take away all His blessings, health, physical fitness, wealth, intelligence, and leave me but one gift, I would ask for faith – for with faith in Him and His goodness, mercy, love for me, and belief in everlasting life, I believe I could suffer the loss of my other gifts and still be happy – trustful, leaving all to His inscrutable Providence.”

--Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

Oh man... Crossword Calamity

My Mom is usually pretty good with Biblical crossword clues, but tonight was a bit different.  I was a bit amused and somewhat surprised.

Mom: Is there a book in the Bible called Moses?

Me: No, he's in Exodus.

Mom:Well, is there a book of the Bible about a prophet?

Me:  About 16 or so...

Mom: Oh...Do any of them start with an M?

Me: Micah

Mom: Thanks

Quote to ponder...

"Not 100 in the United States hate the Roman Catholic Church, but millions hate what they mistakenly think the Roman Catholic Church is." -- Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

Stephen Colbert on the Divinity of Christ

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Food for thought

"The truth is not always the same as the majority decision."

--Pope John Paul II

Sainthood pending...

Incase you were wondering, the little boy this is about is my future nephew and the ringbearer in my wedding.  He is incredibly precious, and the fact that he is alive is miraculous.  He was born with severe brain damage and wasn't expected to live.  He was released from the hospital on hospice--they thought he might die within days.  His grandmom asked many friends and her fellow Pauline Cooperators to pray for the intercession of Blessed Fr. Giacuomo Alberione.  Today Owen is 2 1/2 and an absolute joy of a toddler.  He is also a perfectly normal toddler, well minus the fact that he can throw a frisbee a good 40 feet.  His recovery is being looked into as part of Fr. Alberione's cause for sainthood. Earlier this week, a postulator from the Vatican visited the Vatican to investigate and determine whether this is a true miracle. Read the accompanying article here.

Psalm 150 for Post 150

 Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy sanctuary; give praise in the mighty dome of heaven.

Give praise for his mighty deeds, praise him for his great majesty.

Give praise with blasts upon the horn, praise him with harp and lyre.

Give praise with tambourines and dance, praise him with flutes and strings.

Give praise with crashing cymbals, praise him with sounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath give praise to the LORD! Hallelujah!

--Psalm 150 (NAB)

This is my 150th post so I thought I would post the 150th psalm.  It is a beautiful song of praise.  It has on more than one occasion been a reminder to me to praise God.  I am often much better at remembering to praise when things are wonderful, but I often forget to give the Lord the glory and honor He deserves in those times when life brings me to my knees. 

Here is a video that includes the song "Let Everything That Has Breath" by Matt Redman.  This song seems to be a reflection on Psalm 150; it also seems to be an invitation to join in the praise.

Verse of the Day

There is no Holy One like the LORD;

there is no Rock like our God.

I Samuel 2:2 (NAB)

Background

    This verse is a portion of Hannah's prayer of praise to the Lord.  She was barren for many years and it pretty much made her miserable.  She prayed fervently one day at the temple promising to dedicate her child to the Lord if only God would give her a son; her praying was so intense that the priest at the temple thought her to be drunk.  She told the priest of her plight and he assures her that God will remember her.

   The next time Hannah and her husband Elkanah have relations with each other, Hannah concieves Samuel.  When Samuel has been born and subsequently weaned, Hannah brings him to the temple, dedicates him to the Lord, and leaves him to be trained up as a priest.  It is during this visit to the temple that Hannah takes the time to thank the Lord for his blessing her with a child and praising him for all that he is.

Personal Relevance

   Recently I have realized a depletion in my trust in the Lord.  I have been looking to the world and others to help be my stability.  Thankfully I have a wonderful fiancé who reminds me that when the going gets tough, I need to take an honest look at my prayer life and adjust as needed.  This verse serves as a good reminder to me that God is my rock, and if I want to be on solid ground I should stop relying on things with foundations made of sand.  I am not saying a perfect prayer life will eradicate all woes and hardships, but it will make them manageable.  Also since Hannah experienced great grief and then through prayer found her relief and found great joy, this verse gives me a measure of hope when I am in doubt.  Hannah also dedicates her joy to the Lord by offering up Samuel to his service.  It reminds me to be thankful and to offer up my joys and successes for the glory of the Lord.

A Mormon Doctor's View of Humanae Vitae

I found this article about a Mormon Dr.'s view on Humanae Vitae .  It is definitely worth reading.

Latin Mass...

Ishmael and I have been attending Latin Mass most weekends.  At first we both had an incredibly difficult time following everything.  Today I felt like for the first time I really understood what was going on enough so that I wasn't panicked when I lost my place in the missal.  

On a related note, it is so nice to be at Mass with other women who wear chapel veils and dresses/skirts.  I am beginning to appreciate modesty at Mass more than ever.  Modesty is pretty much the norm at the church we have been attending.  It makes it really shocking to return to Novus Ordo Mass where women and girls are dressed in short shorts and spaghetti strap tanks or  hooded sweatshirts and ratty jeans now that fall weather has hit.

"Mary in a half shell"

In the free section on craigslist today someone listed a statue of Our Lady however the ad had one major mistake. The advertisement reads:

If you are into collecting concrete lawn statues, or you just plain, love Mary Magdalene, then PLEASE, come get this thing out of our yard!

I have a feeling these people aren't very well versed in scripture.  I think I may write to them.

Creation's revealing Your majesty...

“If you begin to live life looking for the God that is all around you, every moment becomes a prayer.”--Frank Bianco

This quote always reminds me that appreciating creation 

is a good way to follow I Thessalonians 5:17.   Here are some of the parts of cre

ation I am thankful for today...

Flowers...

Ishmael (and my future nephew Owen who I get to see next week!)

Friends...

The Roman Catholic Church... don't consider it part of God's creation?  Look in the Bible...

The title for this post comes from the lyrics of Chris Tomlin's song Indescribable

Lost and found photo of the day

I have been sifting through some of my old photos, and have decided to start posting a find a day for the month of July.  This photo is from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.; it was taken on a 1 day Marian Pilgrimage in October 2005.

What is freedom really?

Check out the webcast of Cardinal Arinze to find out. The first few minutes are an intro to what he will be discussing.

Quote of the Day

" I say, if we can believe someone can be saved by a blister, is it really too hard to believe that bread and wine can become Jesus Christ in the flesh?"--Mickey Addison,Saturday Morning Catechesis 

I think they doth protest too much...

If you have ever wondered why the Catholic Bible has more books than Protestant versions, this article is a good way of explaining the validity of both Judith and Tobit.  For all of you Baruch, Wisdom, Maccabee and Sirach fans, I'll try and find something for you.  Also, anyone who loves the extras in Daniel and Esther, I'm working on it.

One big family...

I read about this in the newspaper and then Kimberly at Catholic family Vignettes posted this. I felt moved to post it as well. Please take a few minutes to watch the video. It is beautiful.

Amen to that!

"Freedom is not only a gift, but also a summons to personal responsibility."--Pope Benedict XVI

He may be 81, but Benedict XVI is a very intelligent, yet clearly humble, man.  

Vocation of a wife...

As I have started to prepare for the sacrament of Holy matrimony, I have been trying to discern what the true vocation and role of a wife is.  As a Catholic woman this is very important to me. Today I was reading a post in a blog by Kimberly, a Catholic wife and mother, that revealed to me what it means to follow God's calling to be a wife.  The explanation  is both beautiful and moving.  Women and men alike can gain wisdom from this post.  To those of you with feminist points of view, read with an open heart and an open mind.  God's plan for wifehood is full of sacrifice, but it is clearly the key to a fruitful marriage.  

Kimberly--Thank you for giving me permission to link to this post.  God bless you and your family.

speechless

I found this video on youtube today. It made me cry. I do caution you to view at your own discretion. 

It contains extremely graphic scenes fromThe Passion of the Christ.