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Her name is Fiat. That cute little goldfish--her name is Fiat. Fiat , of course, is Latin for  let it be done . In Lisa Hendey's brand-new book,  The Grace of Yes , Fiat is both the charming little goldfish on the cover as well as the simple yet profound theme guiding readers through the pages of the book.  The Grace of Yes  explores eight virtues that help us build a habit of generosity. The goldfish name surfaced (ha! fish pun!) after CatholicMom.com hosted a "Name the Goldfish" contest. The goldfish is essentially just a decoration, I realize, but the community goldfish-naming phenomenon is no mere ornament; the CatholicMom.com clever fish-naming campaign epitomizes the way Lisa--the site's founder-- habitually reaches out to others. Since the year 2000, when Lisa launched CatholicMom.com out of her California home, Lisa's work has connected countless moms (and other people) seeking to integrate faith into daily life. Read more as part of today

I'm at work. The phone rings. The caller ID tells me it's school calling. "Hello?" "Hi, Mrs. Urbanski. This is the school nurse." The upshot: my daughter Rose is sick, and won't I please come pick her up? Absolutely. I finish up the task I was working on, say goodbye to my coworkers, and head out the door. It takes me longer than I expect to reach school; by the time I arrive, Rose is miserable. See what happens next at Praying with Grace . . . .

God was lavish with me on Sunday, drawing me close to him through church, music, family, community, and nature. Why would I sabotage his invitation to intimacy, his consolation? I must continue to pray and discern how to help others who suffer, certainly, but the panicky guilt I suddenly felt constricting my heart was a dirty trick. The movement I had noticed all day was joyful consolation; only an enemy would be interested in sucking the gratitude out of me. Once I got that straight, I decided to accept God's gift, gratefully, and to store up the peace for more difficult times that might lie ahead. Brimming with joy, then, I made this little list of 5 things that make me happy. Maybe they will make you happy too, or remind you of other happy things you've been meaning to thank God for. And now,  Things That Make Me Happy: Find out at Praying with Grace !

Come! Let us sing to the Lord and shout with joy to the rock who saves us. Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving and sing joyful songs to the Lord. Psalm 95:1-2 "Americans spend more money on music than on sex or prescription drugs." "There is no known culture now or anytime in the past that lacks [music], and some of the oldest human-made artifacts found at archaeological sites are musical instruments." Both of these provocative lines come from books written by Dr. Daniel J. Levitin. The first is from his 2006 best seller This Is Your Brain on Music: the Science of a Human Obsession , and the second is from his more recent book (2008), The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature . Once a professional musician, sound engineer, and record producer, Levitin is now a neuroscientist who runs the Laboratory for Musical Perception, Cognition and Expertise at McGill University. In The World in Six Songs, Levitin

Tribal Textiles   License : CC Fanny Schertzer Who’s your "tribe"? Who supports your mission as a family? Historically (and pre-historically), humans congregated in tribes. Tribal living made us safer, distributed our work, and connected us with strong bonds. Many people, especially women, probably didn’t have much choice about the tribe they belonged to or their place in it. Our modern, mobile society has improved things in this respect: if I don’t get along with my family or I hate the weather, I can always pack up and move. Yet this mobility has weakened our bonds. Read on at Praying with Grace !

Want to start a fight? Ask two teachers what they think about memorization as a learning tool. (Go ahead! Try! I'll wait here with some bandages and antiseptic ointment.) Click here to watch the video! Personally, I have always been a fan of memorization, even though (or perhaps because) I don't have a great memory. In the Google Age, of course, facts are always just a click away! But I often feel annoyed with myself when I am forced to do an Internet search for something I should just . . . know. When Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries flew into the news after 9/11, I was ashamed that I had never memorized the geography of that region. When the US invaded Iraq, I had no mental context for the battle and had to spend time searching for maps of the Middle East. Sure, the maps I needed were easy to access, but I was frustrated, even embarrassed, that my brain had never permanently recorded a basic image of that region of the globe. Memorization provides perpetua

The Apostleship of Prayer is happy to share our new video series: " Praying with Children ." Check in  here  each week for a new prayer tip! Watch the video  here I've had conversations with countless parents and educators over the past few months. These gracious people have helped me enormously as I finalize the manuscript for my upcoming book, cleverly named  Praying with Children . And while we look forward to the fall 2015 release of the book from Ave Maria Press, many parents and educators requested that the Apostleship of Prayer also make brief videos of the most practical, succinct prayer tips from the book. Ta Da! Read on at Praying with Grace !

In these last days of September, we continue to pray for Pope Francis' Evangelization Intention this month: Service to the Poor. Pope Francis knows serving the poor is a divine mandate: "Whatever you do for one of these least brothers of mine, you do for me" (Matthew 25:40). We must serve the poor as Jesus did, as he continues to call us to do as the Body of Christ on earth. But the Pope calls this month's prayer request an  evangelization  intention, because he knows serving the poor also attracts others to Jesus and his Church. We share the Good News of Jesus in our deeds--if not also in our words--when we care for the poor and disenfranchised. As a mother and as the director of children's ministry at the Apostleship of Prayer, I love to consider how to help children encounter poverty in a prayerful way. Many, many children know poverty from the inside, of course. Even in this prosperous country of ours, too many children experience hunger, poor nutrition, ho

Not long ago, a wonderful woman came to visit me at the Apostleship of Prayer. She is helping her son prepare for the sacrament of Reconciliation, and she wanted to show me the materials she was using. Here they are: Adaptive Reconciliation Kit by Loyola Press Beautiful. The vibrant colors, the simple text, the attractive art--everything draws me in to these materials. They are part of Loyola Press's offerings for students with special needs. Loyola Press's adaptive kits have been on my mind a great deal this month, because September is the month Pope Francis asks us to pray for people with mental disabilities. My  reflection  this month is about my own brother, Mark, who enriched many lives through his challenges. And each September morning, as I rise and pray my Morning Offering, I remember Pope Francis' prayer intention, keeping his prayer close to my heart throughout the day. Today I give thanks to Loyola Press for their excellent materials for children with s

Photo Source . . . Suffering and sin pressed on me heavily this morning, making me feel constricted, helpless. Feeling burdened and discouraged, I boarded the bus for work. Immediately I noticed something new on the bus: a PA system recently installed that announces every upcoming stop. I couldn't help but notice the new system, because it's loud and relentless. The computerized voice blared out each bus stop as we approached: 120th Street! 118th Street! Watertown Plank Road and 116th Street! Watertown Plank Road and Mayfair Road! Transfer to Route 31, State Street Branch! Given how deflated I was feeling, my first reaction was to be annoyed by the new two-block warning system. And then, by God's providence, I started to imagine why the automated voice had been installed in the first place. Read on at Praying with Grace

Don't you just love a season with an unnecessary letter? A misspelled  Autum  looks so weird, while  Autumn  embraces its gratuitous silent letter and invites us to linger on that final  mmmmnnn  sound. I am excited about autumnnn. Strangely, autumn is the time for school to start and family calendars to EXPLODE. Sometimes I want to hire an event planner just to help us get through a week of school, work, sports, music, theater and church activities. This autumn is no different than any in that regard; we really do have an abundance of scheduled opportunities. Nonetheless, I plan to slow down. Read on at Praying with Grace !

Dear Friend, You are pregnant. Married just over a year and working steadily at your career, you were hoping to wait a while longer before this day arrived. But here it is. You wish this pregnancy felt more like a deliberate choice rather than a shock. But let me propose something, something you already know, which is worth considering now in a new way: with this pregnancy, God is visiting you. You might quickly object--and rightly so--that God was  already  a frequent visitor in your newlywed home; there was no rush for God to send a baby at this particular moment. In truth, God has been your constant companion, accompanying you in your first year of marriage, in your engagement, in your courtship, in your college years, in high school, in your childhood . . . in your own mother's womb. Read more at Praying with Grace .

Does your summer bend the rules a bit? In our house, bedtimes become a little fuzzier, trips to the pool cut piano practicing short, and french fries count as a vegetable at cookouts. The ambling summer months feel expansive, and spending time outside on long sunny days gives one plenty of "scope for imagination," as Anne of Green Gables would say. Imagination is always available, of course, but sometimes the leisure of summertime reminds us how creative we can be. Slow days ease the rigidity of lock-step schedules, and imaginative play breathes life into our family activities. Suddenly that pile of leftover mulch becomes a human ant hill. A bucket of water becomes a stew, flavored with rock-onions, twig-carrots, and maple-leaf-spices. My brothers and I always pretended the cracks in our driveway were cavities in a giant's tooth, and we (newly appointed dentists) had to clean out all the gravel with sticks before the giant's anesthesia wore off. Ah, summer! Cal

Mom and Dad Head-to-Head in Family Jeopardy Today is my first post on this lovely, collaborative blog. How exciting! I'd like to share some intriguing stories about my recent family reunion which involved 43 people, a giant tent, a rotted board with rusty nails, a shattered patio table . . . and prayer.  Here's an excerpt to pique your interest: My mom and dad gave our whole family a great gift: they taught us how to pray. We prayed at meals, at bedtime, and whenever we heard a siren. We prayed the rosary. We went to church every weekend. We prayed at tense moments: when fighting grew chaotic, Mom would holler above the noise: "LET US SPEAK OF THE CHRIST CHILD!" We are strong-willed, flawed human beings, but we pray. I am convinced that this instinct to pray--an instinct cultivated by my parents through God's grace--has helped us remain conscious of our dependence on God. Read the whole report at Praying with Grace !

  Apostleship of Prayer Pope Francis in Brazil   [ Wikipedia ] Universal Intention - Respect for Women That all cultures may respect the rights and dignity of women.  Evangelization Intention - Vocations   That many young people may accept the Lord;s invitation to consecrate their lives to proclaiming the Gospel.

Pope Benedict's Prayer Intentions for August 2012 General Intention Prisoners.   That prisoners may be treated with justice and respect for their human dignity. Missionary Intention Youth Witness to Christ.   That young people, called to follow Christ, may be willing to proclaim and bear witness to the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Posted by  Fr Seán Coyle  at  11:46