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To all new mums, young people starting out at university or in the work world I am about to tell you something that goes against all that your education has taught you to think and do. Since preschool, adults have pushed you to excel, to rise above your peers. My generation has groomed you for success, to get into the best universities and snatch the most prized careers. Well, it is nice to have confidence, to fulfil your dreams and have a sense of satisfaction in your chosen field of work but that will not make you happy. Just take a look at the generation that has gone before you. The all to common mid-life crisis is a testament to the failure of a life focused on career advancement to the exclusion of family. Men and women bemoan the fact that they did not have time for nurturing and loving their spouse or children. All to often family life crumbles to ashes, sacrificed on the altar of success. As for childcare, society relegates it to women who are often treated as second clas

I’ve always had some sort of exercise routine—even if it wasn’t much of a “routine,” per se. Eating well and staying fit has been part of my life more out of necessity than desire. It rises from chronic illness rather than vanity. The catalyst for me “working out” has been my calling to live out my vocation as wife and mother and never how I look in a bathing suit. In fact, I use the term “working out” rather loosely since the same chronic illness that requires me to monitor my bodily well-being hinders my ability to really drill down and push myself to any physical limits. It’s not that I haven’t tried. I have—but there are always severe consequences. So I’ve had to find that balance between “working out” and not killing myself in the process. Enter yoga. Or the idea of yoga. The appeal of the gentle movements and stretching of yoga really drew me in as I searched for the perfect exercise routine that would tend to my body but wouldn’t break me, and so I began researc

Obedience.    I am mastering the art of surrendering to the will of the Lord in my life. Hundred times, I have been in a situation that my desire differs from His. Hundred times that I fall from the hype of my emotion. Hundred times, He reminds me that He is in control of my life. Life is full of surprises. I can attest to that! What you got to do is to treasure each and every moment, and be ready for the series of events that shall unfold. No one knows when things could last. Today you have everything, the next day you don't have any. No one knows the details of tomorrow. What is certain is that these happen with the permission of the Lord.  Who knows, the next episode could be the desire you've been praying for a long time.  Or, it could also be the other side of the coin. Either way,  I have to put God on top of those to set things in its proper perspective.   I have to remind myself that I am a disciple that follows a divine command.  I have to believe that His plan

A life committed to the Lord. A life walking in Christian path. A life dedicated for my Creator. Ideally that's my standard of living in a not so friendly world. At times, the sinner in me wins over the heart of a servant. There are times that I struggle to live a holy life. It is when I cannot understand the  CHILDISHNESS  of a person. It is when I tend to be so irritated for a person’s  IMMATURITY . It is when I cannot handle my  TEMPER . It is when giving is overpowered by  SELFISHNESS . It is when I don’t feel like loving the  UNLOVABLE PEOPLE . It is when I don’t wanna care for anyone. It is when I wanna be distant with people. It is when I became  IMPATIENT  with people around me. It is when the  IMPERFECT ME  brag about the imperfections of others. It is when I became impatient for the blessings I’ve been praying for. It is when I allow the evil run my thoughts, my words and my actions. It isn’t easy to live a Christ-like life. Really, it isn’t. Most of the time,

The Lord is my creator. Everyday I pray. I religiously attend Sunday masses. Little did I know that how I knew God is of little depth. What I knew of the role of the Lord in my life is too shallow. Yes, the Lord is my priority… but He is a priority I could easily trade-off for all the other things. I was so amazed on how the Lord called me. It was a very painful invitation. He took away the things and people I valued the most, leaving me empty that I may allow myself to seek more of Him. Those pains are perfectly created to lead me to the place I am standing right now. The Lord asked me to let go of the things I got used to. The Lord asked me to let go of the people I long to be with. The stubborn child in me melted. I realized that the more that I repel, the more that I’m hurting myself. Anyhow, at the end of the day, it's still the Lord who is in control of everything. I rested my case. It was then that I grew my relationship with the Lord. He has been my best buddy. I t

St Francis and Brother Leo meditating on death , El Greco, 1600-02 [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                   Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  Luke 12:32-48 [shorter: 35-40]  (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) [For shorter version omit italics] Jesus said to his disciples: "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. "Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may op

Remember when God spoke to Elijah on Mt. Horeb?  There was a mighty wind, an earthquake, and a fire, but it was not until Elijah heard a gentle whisper or “a still, small voice” that he knew God was present (see 1 Kings 19:11-13). God wants to be present to you and me too. He desires to commune with us in a gentle whisper. In order to “hear” Him—to be open to receive Him—we must be silent. Blessed Mother Teresa said, “We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature —trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.” Our modern world is full of noise and activity. With four young boys at home, silence is a rare blessing for me. Still, there are many ways I can cultivate silence both during and away from my prayer time. Except for on long trips, I do not turn on the radio or CDs in the car. At home we nev

At the request of Jesus, the Holy Spirit has been given to us. Do we really know what that means? What does a life lived in the spirit look like? “But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.” ~John 16:7 The Holy Spirit is supposed to be so significant in our lives that it is better than if Jesus were to be here, right now! A life lived in the spirit is radically different. It is imbued with wisdom, grace, and virtue. It longs to do God’s will and live in accordance with His edicts—and is able to do so because it is under control of the Holy Spirit and does not follow selfish desires. “And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation.” ~John 16:8 The Holy Spirit is a bit like electricity or gravity—you may not be able to understand or explain either of them but that doesn’t change their reality. The truth is not subjective—it is objective. At the heart of the Holy Spiri

Wednesday, 3 July 201 Jackie, the creator and founder of this site suggested to me that a male guest writer would add a nice balance. I immeditely thought about the author and blogger Victor  Moubarak. He has graciously given me permission to post one of his Fr. Ignatuis articles every Tuesday on Association for Catholic Women Bloggers. This interview is reposted from Victor's blog. Jackie, the creator and founder of this site suggested that another male guest writer would add a nice balance.  I immeditely thought of the author and blogger Victor  Moubarak. He has graciously given me permission to post  one of his Fr. Ignatius articles every Tuesday on Association for Catholic Women Bloggers. This interview is reposted from  Victor's blog to give you the background for the upcoming series of posts featuring the delightful and ever wise Fr. Ignatius. TIME FOR REFLECTIONS UBI CARITAS ET AMOR. DEUS IBI EST. Interview with Vic Moubarak Inte

 Really, I write under that  long name for Google's benefit because there is a birthing centre in Juneau, Alaska called Melanie!!! Google is simply not clever enough to differentiate between the two of us. I am honoured and thrilled that Jackie even considered me to manage this site; it has such a wonderful legacy and reputation. Jackie has established such an efficient site that I can simply ride on her coat tales till I become acclimatized since I have only been in this cyber world for a year and a half. Before last year I had barely one toe in the 21st century's technology! A few reminders about this site from Jackie As the originator of ACWB I have kept an eye on the blog but I don’t blog now so have been on the look out for someone to hand over to!   My main thoughts are that it is a blog for all Catholic women faithful to the teachings of the church.   I try and avoid too much controversy eg ACWB has no liturgical preference ie it is not a traditionalist blog

Hi everyone. I have been lurking in the background! Life suddenly got busier with the arrival of my first grandchild - Gabriel in April. Also we seem to have 4 labradors now - lol. Melanie has very kindly agreed to "takeover" as it were since I think the ACWB would benefit from someone taking more charge and taking the blog a bit further. If you have any suggestions or comments please post here or email Melanie at  mjmjuneau@gmail.com  . Have really enjoyed your amazing posts!

Yesterday I again wrestled myself into prayer.  I'm ashamed to admit how long it took me to get there, but finally I struggled through the day's distractions to find myself in front of an open Bible.  I looked at the page only to see what seemed like a spattering of random words.   What, whenever, surpassing, things, count, that, for. This was worse than usual. Meanwhile, a charming collection of junk mail had stacked up on my table.  Brightly colored pizza coupons.  A sale flier for... what is that, candles?  A catalog of, oh my goodness:  books.   I tried to concentrate.  I tried to pray.  I batted away stray thoughts that buzzed around like flies.  I repented.  I expressed sorrow.  I thought of how many meaningless things persistently shout for my attention.  I felt sad.  I felt hopeless.  I felt defeated.  I felt interrupted. Right in the middle of my self-beating, even as I realized that I'm not a person of discipline and routine and likely never

A simple examination of conscience helps build the moral life of a Catholic. It guides a Catholic towards holiness and sainthood. Like taking vitamins or brushing your teeth, it should be done daily! Find a set time where you will have anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes of quiet and solitude. If possible, also find a specific location. This may be 10 minutes of quiet on your couch or it might be 20 minutes in a prayer corner on a prie dieu. No matter what, when you see this as a sacred responsibility, finding those few minutes each day will be easy. An Examination of Conscience is about reviewing your day and seeing it through the eyes of Christ. It is about offering it up for objective examination where the fruit will be your spiritual growth and maturity. Have a number of questions to get yourself started but be willing to allow the Lord to speak to you and guide where the time goes. To create a list of questions, consider your daily life in a general sense and

Sometimes there is no other explantion Some people scoff, others think that miracles are relegated to biblical times but others have experienced inexplicable events that can only be called miraculous. Sometimes God snags a sceptic with a powerful surprise physical healing. This blows up the poor guys world view and suddenly he realizes that there actually is a God who loves him. These kinds of miracles are pure gift. Another kind of miracle happens when we are desperate, without recourse to any other solution to solve our problem. Then the Father supplies our needs. As parents of a large family we depend on Him to supply a lot of the basic necessities. Not our wants but our needs. Even our sceptical children concede that this is true. We were completely oblivious at first to the fact that we were part of an unexpected miracle last winter. In mid January when our furnace was serviced for its annual cleaning, the repairman red tagged our oil tank. This was just before the

  I’ve been re-reading St. Therese’s autobiography, The Story of a Soul. Almost at the beginning she writes about her view of the “world of souls” as a flower garden. She is one little flower in it, surrounded by others. Each has its own size, color, strength, and beauty. “[God] has created the great saints who are like the lilies and the roses, but He has also created much lesser saints and they must be content to be the daisies or the violets which rejoice His eyes whenever He glances down. Perfection consists in doing His will, in being that which He wants us to be .” It’s easy to have spiritual envy. We read about the graces God gave St. Therese and think, “That’s not fair. Why didn’t He give such graces to me? I’d like to be a saint too.” But notice that Therese does not mention any soul in God’s garden who was not made to be a saint–just greater and lesser saints. We all have different graces, but we are all called to be saints. Continue reading at Contemplat

Embracing Motherhood: Our Lady's Protection: A Sacramental from our Church

There is a world of difference between a man who is aware of himself, sitting on a hill and looking at a  beautiful sunrise and a man so enthralled with that very same sunrise that he forgets himself and becomes  absorbed  in  the scene. In the first instance the man is egocentric; he is at the centre 0f his world, not God. When I see beauty everywhere, I experience joy and a sense of connection because my eyes are not on myself. The truth is that I am simply part of the whole. Everything does not depend on me. I am free to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature and the Spirit of God which permeates all when I am in the right place in the scheme of things. I am living in a fantasy when I see myself as the center of the universe, viewing everything as it circles around me. As believers we sing and recite prayers that proclaim that God is the centre of all but our psychological make-up screams the exact opposite. I view people, events, history and yes even God through my eyes, ju

Are you teaching your kids to do mental prayer? I’ve written about this in the past with a few examples   of kids’ meditation s . Today I’m sharing with you a meditation for kids about… mental prayer. You may want to print this out. 1. Read aloud to your children Luke 10:38-42 , using your favorite children’s Bible. This is the Gospel from last Sunday, so they should recognize it. 2. Study the painting above. (It’s Christ in the House of Martha and Mary , attributed to Georg Friedrich Stettner). Ask them to identify the people in the painting. Discuss the painting in this manner: “Martha and Mary are both holding something. What do you think those objects are? What does each represent? (Mary is reading the Bible. This represents meditating on Sacred Scripture. Martha is holding a duck, symbolizing being busy with household tasks.) Who are the other people in the picture? What are they doing? How many people appear to have been listening to Jesus? (Only Mary d