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"How can we better manifest our faithfulness than by being faithful amid distractions. Alas! Solitude has its temptations, and the world has its trials; but through all we must have good courage, because help from Heaven is ever nearest to those who put their whole trust in God, and who earnestly seek His Fatherly help with humility and patience. Be not distressed, then, at the little vexations and troubles that a multiplicity of domestic affairs bring upon you. No! rather be thankful that..... To read more, visit The Sincere Gift

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely,” (Proverbs 3:5). God sees everything. He sees the clerk short-changing the old man, the boy stealing the heroin, the man cheating on his wife, the girl lying to her teacher. He also sees the teenager turning in the $100 bill he finds in the parking lot, the wife praying for her non-Christian husband, the daughter loving unconditionally her siblings who taunt her. He sees everything. He is a just and loving God and that’s why we can trust in him. His 360-degree vision takes in the full panorama of time and space. He sees behind closed doors and around corners. He sees things that happen at work, things that happen in our government, things that happen in our schools. He not only sees all in the present, he sees all that is beyond us and he sees all that is behind us. He sees it in the full context we will never see. And because he sees everything, everywhere with loving eyes, we can trust

I'm Laura Paxton and I am free. I am free to play, to create, to express myself, to explore my world. I am freer to think and to reason and daydream than I ever have before. I read more. I have meaningful work that I enjoy very much. I wake up each day with the joy of purpose before me. Only about five years ago, I existed in a cramped, dark apartment where I had given up on life, agoraphobic, eating mostly chocolate bars for sustenance and playing online scrabble all day long to keep my mind off the pain trapped deep inside. How did I end up there? Let's face it... I'm autistic. I'm bipolar. I've lived on the dangerous edges of life. I've been raped,  survived a near fatal suicide attempt, was almost successfully murdered and lived homeless at times in my teens. Over the course of my life, I've also been taken advantage of, tricked and abused because of my poor judgment, (which was poorer than most people's to begin with,

Some Catholic Fun : 7 quick takes to make you smile because sometimes we take ourselves too seriously.  "Nothing in man is more serious than his sense of humor; it is the sign that he wants all the truth." Thomas Merton Joy cannot be held at heel . ... means to put our lives in the hands of God, especially in our most difficult moments.” —  Pope Francis , May 23, 2014, via Twitter ... continue>

This past weekend our family went on a retreat with the  BSCD . It was our annual regional gathering. We had it at St. Leo Abbey  in St. Leo, Florida. It is always good to get together, reconnect with other like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ and encounter the Lord together. It was a powerful time and the Holy Spirit definitely showed up and blessed us! The Lord started speaking to me right off the bat when we arrived. We were letting our children run around on the beautiful monastery grounds before we went up to our room. My five year old daughter was enjoying herself at first but then she kept encountering bugs which were scary to her. continue reading >

I discovered  joy in the most unlikely place,  in the midst of suffering. Years ago, living in poverty, united with a husband struggling with depression and surrounded by the clamour and demands of nine children, I was stretched to my limits of endurance. Lack of sleep was part of the reason that most of my inner walls of defense crumbled and hidden, inner demons tormented my dreams. I felt my emotional pain physically, as though a dagger had pierced my heart. Angels'  Wings It was easy to picture myself as a victim. It was easy to let go of my innate optimism and sink into moments of self-pity. I did not want mere happiness. I knew that there is a world of difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is dependant on circumstances but I knew that it is possible to dwell in joy, even in the most dire of circumstances. To me happiness is a fickle, surface emotion that is fleeting at best, impossible to even touch when I am surrounded by difficulties. Yet it was pre

Just like C.S. Lewis, I was  Surprised by Joy . Of course there are certain serious Catholic bloggers who have a problem with my spirituality. Often traditional, Pre-Vatican ll prophets of doom, who religiously fast and recite prescribed set prayers for hours each day, take exception to my childlike spirit of joy. Yet this path was not of my choosing. I craved a life which would embrace an intense regime of self-sacrifice as a consecrated, contemplative religious.  When God called me to marriage and to be a mother, I really did feel like I was accepting second best. Then, twenty years ago, a consecrated, contemplative who served in a  listening house,  said to me, ” You really have been given the best of both worlds. You are married with children yet you are living the contemplative life.” Her response still brings tears to my eyes. To live a childlike spirituality of joy is not easy for a modern day adult.  Of course St. Therese understood this humble, little way

One word we hear at this time of year is "joy."  It sings to us from carols, calls to us from cards, marches across banners in the mall.  I've heard it said that JOY is found by putting your focus and priorities in the proper order: J   esus   O  thers  Y  ourself   Is this "priority of focus" how St. Paul could write, in the face of persecutions, "I am filled with consolation, and despite my many afflictions my joy knows no bounds." (2 Corinthians 7:4)..? Is this "priority of focus" what enabled some of the Church's greatest saints to endure adversities with joy?  I pray that we may we all burst forth with "the joy of right priorities" at this holy time of year.   “Rejoice in the Lord always!  I say it again: rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)    from The Cloistered Heart

Tis the Season to Eat, Drink, and… a. ) be unhealthy—and stressed? b. ) be bloated—and fatigued? c. ) be joyful—AND nourished! Hmmm. Yes, it’s that time of year again… “the most wonderful time of the year”, of course! But as we begin to unpack our Christmas decorations, do you feel as though it's time once again to leave all your wellness goals, and good intentions for health, back upon the shelf?   Have you been lead to believe that being joyful and well nourished, at the very same time, just isn’t an option during the holidays??  But it is!  It is!  It’s a very real option… a pro-active choice that we have---that can actually make us feel better when we awake on January 1st – in body, mind, & spirit .  Oh, what a great new start that could be!  OUR OPTION "C" !! But it’s really less about our actual Thanksgiving and Christmas-day meals; and rather more about our approach to the whole 35-day season [last year it was 41 days] that will reall

The Christmas season—which ought to be one of peace and good cheer—is often everything other than tranquility and happiness. For many people (women especially), family events, shopping, and fractured relationships bring stress and steal the joy of Christmas. For a Christian, this really doesn’t have to be the case. It really shouldn’t be the case—and a few tips to take into the Christmas season will help replace angst and strain with harmony and pleasure. 1. Remember that Christmas is about the celebration of the birth of Christ; see others through His eyes. If you are in the process of forgiving someone, don’t feel you’ve failed if this Christmas you aren’t jumping up and down with joy to see that person. Forgiveness is a process. Take it one step at a time—and be okay with that. 2. The physiological aspect of stress can be countered by breathing. That’s right—breathe this Christmas season! Breathe deep. Studies show that when we are stressed we don’t breathe deepl

The Best Part of Waking Up is… JOY in Your Cup! I’ve been letting the following words [provided by a priest, as well as the Pope!] steep well within my heart today, and hope you’ll find them well worth tasting, too:  Joys are hidden in sorrows! I know this from my own times of depression.  I know it from living with people with mental handicaps.  I know it from looking into the eyes of patients, and from being with the poorest of the poor.  We keep forgetting this truth and become overwhelmed by our own darkness.  We easily lose sight of our joys and speak of our sorrows as the only reality there is.   We need to remind each other that the cup of sorrow is also the cup of joy, that precisely what causes us sadness can become the fertile ground for gladness.  Indeed, we need to be angels for each other, to give each other strength and consolation.  Because only when we fully realize that the cup of life is not only a cup of sorrow — but also a cup of joy

Tonight found me in an unlikely-for-me place: a glow-in-the dark indoor miniature golf course in a strip shopping mall off a state highway. I proposed the location for a Saturday night date with my husband and he agreed. While we waited our turn at mini-golf, we played skee-ball and a few rounds of Hoop Fever. We had a great time. Our teen sons would be grateful they had not come along since while we played - me cheating and my husband diligently marking his own score with a glow-in-the-dark pencil - I was singing and dancing to the 1970s music that blared through out the facility. Why did we end up here tonight? Keep Reading

Peace between warring nations comes with a hard-fought truce. Peace between the oppressor and those afraid to resist comes at the price of slavery. Peace pursued constantly through pleasure and consumption is a fantasy that leads to obsession with whatever it takes to live stress-free:   comfort foods, constant distraction of entertainment, addictions. We strive to live so that we don’t hurt anywhere. Our relationships work to our advantage. We have everything we want on our happiness checklist. For now. Are we depending on ideal circumstances for a transient peace? Peace on our terms? We ask God for peace. We ask him to take away our pain and struggles so that we can have peace. Yet in the middle of a health crisis, a faith crisis or a relationships crisis, where is God? We find him there with us. Like the soldier in battle or the cowering slave, we stay poised to discover the peace that defies our understanding—and our control. No one can take that peace away from us. Peac

A gorgeous jacket caught my eye as I was flipping through an issue of a fashion magazine, trying to find the“perfect” haircut—you know, just cute enough to say I am still “fashionable”yet not too cute as to say “I’m 55 years-old trying to look 30.” The jacket was what I would call “car length.” It was covered in an animal print. I loved it! At that point, having lost my focus on trying to find a picture of a perfect haircut to take to my stylist, I intently surveyed the different animal print products—from handbags to pants to shoes—each seeming a bit wild and yet quite appealing. Of course at my age I couldn’t fathom donning a full-on animal print ensemble—or maybe I was never at the correct age to wear such an outfit—but there was still something attractive about an animal print accessory, and most especially that coat! It just seemed “fun.” Sometimes, as Christian women, we forget that we are called to have fun. In our day-to-day living in which we embrace o

Jesus tells us in John 15: 9-11 “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.” Wow! Who could ask to be loved more than that? The Father loves Jesus more than we can ever imagine or put into words. Jesus tells us that he loves us that much. That love is unfathomable. It’s a gift that we can never earn. Then he tells us his desire for us. “Remain in my love.” Is there anything we wouldn’t do to keep that love flowing into our heart? Our response can only be, “Yes, Lord, we want to live in your love always. Tell us how.” “ If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love .”   This is the Lord’s clear direction on how to keep our love relationship with him alive and vibrant. Do what he wants. Trust him. Do what we know will bring us everlasting happiness. Believe his word. Live in him. Not only do we have the commandments, the guidebook, but also we have the Guidance Couns

    Today I got to help my friend K., who teaches at the same high school I do, celebrate her daughter's first birthday! It has been a long time since I have been to a child's birthday party, given that our own sons are 13 and 16 years old. So I didn't mind driving an hour each way to help her large extended family and circle of friends celebrate Joy's first year on the planet. Keep Reading...

A gorgeous jacket caught my eye as I was flipping through an issue of a fashion magazine, trying to find the “perfect” haircut—you know, just cute enough to say I am still “fashionable” yet not too cute as to say “I’m 54 years-old trying to look 30.” The jacket was what I would call “car length.” It was covered in an animal print. I loved it! At that point, having lost my focus on trying to find a picture of a perfect haircut to take to my stylist, I intently surveyed the different animal print products—from handbags to pants to shoes—each seeming a bit wild and yet quite appealing. Of course at my age I couldn’t fathom donning a full-on animal print ensemble—or maybe I was never at the correct age to wear such an outfit—but there was still something attractive about an animal print accessory, and most especially that coat! It just seemed “fun.” Sometimes, as Christian women, we forget that we are called to have fun. In our day-to-day living in which we embrace our

It's already a year since my grandmother passed away...  I remember how she used to tell me that her favorite devotion was to Our Lady of Sorrows.   She felt that her life had been filled with sufferings and that only her own death can spare her from it.   Our Lady of Sorrows I wish I can tell her now that her sufferings are nothing compared to the love that Jesus can give - if only she will open her heart to accept it.  Read more:  In The Midst of Sorrow: To Grandma on her 1st Death Anniversary   by Samantha Catabas Manuel on  Coffee Moments with Sam  

My girlfriend K., like me, was raised Catholic and like me, did not receive a full grounding in the faith.  She asked me yesterday how best to show her gratitude to God for answered prayers. "Prayer works!" she told me yesterday. "It really really works!" I'd like to ask you, dear readers, what your suggestions might be. Read more here...

Michael Coren’s column in last week’s Catholic Register reminded me that I can be a cranky, cantankerous Catholic. He actually wrote about holier-than-thou Catholics, but they do tend to be cranky and cantankerous, don’t they? I have found myself – and maybe you have too – chatting with other Catholics about the state of the Church and how it needs to improve, whether by enforcing reverence at Mass, imposing a dress code (skirts for women, ties for men), policing the Bishops, or outlawing guitar music. You know how it goes: it begins with giggling about Fr. Distracted’s tendency to wander off topic during the homily, and the next thing I know, I’ve condemned every person in the pews for not being as pious as me. It may be there are serious errors in my parish, and to be sure the Church must be vigilant against false teaching and laxity. To judge words or actions is not wrong. However, we cannot compromise fundamentals of the faith, and charity demands that when we spot error we