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I was so  blessed to have given a talk this past Sunday (the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary) on the power of the rosary at an Altar Rosary Society Communion Breakfast. The fidelity of the women I met there and the testimonies they shared with me of how they have seen the power of the Rosary win battles in their own lives was inspiring and I was truly blessed to be among them. Part of my talk focused on the role of Mary as our Mother and Teacher, based on this powerful quote from Pope John Paul II. Click here to read my reflections . 

August 8 is a special day for me because not only is it my birthday, but it is also the feast day of one of my favorite saints -- St. Dominic, a Castilian priest and founder of the Dominican Order. In addition, the founder of my Oblate community, Fr. Marie-Dominique Philippe, is a Dominican. This is a special feast day for the Community of St. John. St. Dominic was a remarkable man – a bold and brilliant priest who is the patron saint of astronomers and scientists. As the saint who preached the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, he converted the Albigensians and set the world on fire with the Truth of the Gospel message. Dominic Guzman was born in Castile (Spain) in 1170 to affluent aristocrats, Blessed Joan of Aza and Felix Guzman. When she was pregnant, Joan had three dreams. First, she dreamed that she would give birth to a son who would be a brilliant light to the Church.  Second, she dreamed that she gave birth to a dog and that it broke away from her, carrying in its mou...

Lent is a time to focus on our discipline of prayer. Here is a prayer story from November, 2015: After completing my  54 Day Rosary Novena jaunt around the house  - I felt compelled to begin another when given a small tattered copy of  Rosary Novenas to Our Lady  (see image below) by a stranger when I attended a friend's Ultreya to hear her give her testimony.  As one who believes in GODCIDENCES (if you ask me there are no coincidences in life especially in spiritual matters), there was no way I was going to ignore this invitation from Our Blessed Mother to spend another month and half in prayer with her! The grace and blessings as I closed on the first 54 days was truly remarkable!! One of the most miraculous moments came when I went to my bank on November 30 - prepared to beg for leniency with overdrafts I was sure had been incurred after paying an unexpected HUGE house bill and then a creditor unwilling to hold off on their payment for just a few days,...

As a Mathematician I have a great hunger for knowledge.  I seek knowledge in Mathematics like a bulldog would, I dig in, latch on, and don't let go until I have what I want.  Because this is the method I have used to acquire knowledge, it was no surprise that I would employ these same techniques when it came to seeking after God.     It is written,  "there is no one who seeks God" , well I did.   I went after God, and sought Him diligently  and by God's grace I will tell what I found.  ..... TO READ MORE...CLICK HERE!

Praying the Rosary can be a challenge. The 15 minutes required to complete the meditation (for some reason) appear as 15 hours, longer than a session of heavy cleaning…or working out. Should you manage to overcome the “time constraint” and actually pick up some beads, you are faced with new obstacles. You must sit idle and focus – kind of like when you binge watch Netflix, only not. What’s more? You are expected to meditate, not only upon the words of the various prayers, but upon the Mysteries of the Rosary depicting key events in Christ’s life. Needless to say, the Rosary is not for the faint of heart.

Our neighbor, Maria Magdalena, whom we know and love as Magda, died alone in the middle of the night. Her lungs collapsed from a respiratory infection after a bout with the flu. We prepared food for many of her family when they came in from Mexico.   After her husband, Adrian, drowned in the lake behind our homes almost 5 years ago she was too sad to worship at the Romanian Baptist Church where they had married 19 years ago. She was active in a nearby Bible church with others in the neighborhood. At the visitation we were a little surprised that a Hispanic deacon we know was there to say the Rosary. But of course, those from Mexico needed to say those prayers. It is part of their culture, part of who they are, and who Magda was as a child. The deacon alternated between Spanish and English decades. We were the only ones in our area of the chapel saying the decades. The row of teachers from the school where Magda taught first grade, all remained seated in f...

In today's Gospel reading we learn  that Jesus explained to Martha  that what her sister Mary chose, that is, to remain in the presence of Jesus,  lovingly listening to Him,  could not be taken away from her. Continued @ mommynovenas

All... I was afraid to write some of the posts I have posted lately.  Part of me didn't want to write them, because of what they could cost me.  Yes, I have written the truth, I will not deny that, ever.  And I was commanded to write.  He said,  "You MUST write."   "OK I will." And write I shall.  The truth I tell could cost me dearly.  It has already begun to cost me, but because of my love, I will be obedient.  The Mathematics I love, may be only a dream, a certificate on the wall.   I may never get to use it.  Not my will but yours.  When you know the truth, any pain of any loss is small compared to the pain of the state of souls in the world. .... READ MORE.

Another time praying the Stations.... I was at the 6th Station, offering the Station to God, asking the Father that one drop of blood that just one drop of our Lord's precious blood cover what I was praying for.  At this station, I am all the way at the back of the Church, with my back to the Altar.  I hear the Lord say to me,  "Don't Turn Around."  ....  To find out why I was told that. . . CLICK HERE .