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                'Come with the dawn,                 shine in on me,                 and wake my soul                 with welcome light;                 Or let the twilight herald Thee,                 and falling dusk, Thy shelter be                 to shroud Thy coming                 from my sight.                 Or come by some forgotten way                 untrodden long, and overgrown...                                 (continue...)                                                           

Once upon a time an elderly man was making his way home through the park after a long day at work. Some youths set upon him. They were carrying knives. They mugged him, injured him badly and left him lying in a pool of blood. Please continue HERE

Transfiguration of Christ Paolo Veronese, 1555-56 [ 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   Matthew 17:1-9  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)   Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.   And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.   Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.   Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I   will make three dwellings   here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”   While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the

Lent.  We tend to think of Advent as a time of joyful anticipation and Lent as a dismal period of sack cloth and ashes. How ridiculous. We are preparing to celebrate THE most joyful event in the history of humanity, the death and resurrection of our Saviour. Lent is the most joyful, light filled season for me because I empty myself so that I might die and rise with Christ in triumphant glory. The darkness of my sin, the sin of others or the sin of the world is not a malignant force as much as it is simply the absence of light. The light of just one candle banishes darkness. I have been pregnant during Advent and given birth right on Christmas Eve and I have been pregnant all of Lent and given birth right on Easter Morning. Both pregnancies and births were a time ” to give to the light”, to give new life to Christ. In a sense we are all pregnant during Advent and Lent every year and we all give birth to Christ within us more fully every Christmas and every Easter morning.

  “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others.  Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.    But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." Matthew 6: 5-8  Read more at:  His Unending Love. See you there!

How important are you? Really? Who are you exactly? Find out HERE .

I know that today everyone is celebrating Pope Francis' first anniversary, but for me, this is my Dad's birthday. I wrote this post quite a while ago.  Memories of my father are never far away even though he passed away over twenty years ago. Today, I hope you celebrate Pope Francis' first year, but I hope you'll also remember your dad, too.  You can read the full blog post at Being Catholic ... Really .

This weekend the "arteeest" in me came to the forefront.  Knowing full well there would be reactions,  I dyed my hair pink.  After all, pink is my favorite color! Yesterday morning, at Mass, my hair was a lovely salt and pepper color.  Nothing was extraordinary or different. When I attended the Stations of the Cross, our soup supper, and the Novena of Grace, that evening, my hair was pink. I looked around.  Some people avoided me.  Others avoided looking at my hair when they talked with me.  (They were surprised.)  I finally told one young priest, "It's okay to look at my hair.  It's pink."  He laughed with me. One member of the parish came to me and said, "You did it!  I love it!"  Another person asked me if I knew how old I was.  Several laughed behind my back.  Truthfully, most people were surprised and did not know how to address this change.  Read More at His Unending Love. See you there!

Hi Everyone!  I know Melanie asked contributors to introduce themselves a while ago. I put it on my To Do List. I really did, and I know I am late to the party (again!), but I figured I'd finally throw my name out here and say hello. I am a single mom of five amazing, wonderful, adorable, active, loud, smelly (sometimes, really smelly!), fun boys. There are just not enough adjectives to describe our kids are there? Anyway… Being a single mom was about the last thing I ever thought I would be. I absolutely loved my husband, and, it may sound crazy, but I thought he was my best friend...right up until the day he told me he was leaving. We renewed our vows on Valentine's Day 2009. Unfortunately, it was also around that time that he discovered Facebook and reconnected with a woman he had dated 20 years before when they attended the same Catholic high school.  He told me he was leaving on Mother's Day 2009. Literally one week later, h

Please join Awestruck in this Novena to St. Joseph (March 11 to March 19).  I have reworded this prayer to suit my OWN prayer language. See the original on Awestruck. We will be praying for your intentions and for all men – that they will imitate Saint Joseph. NOVENA PRAYER Saint Joseph, you are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love you. You know that I have special confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I place all my hope of salvation in you, for you are especially powerful with God and will never abandon your friend. I ask for your prayers and  your intercession for myself and my loved ones. Saint Joseph, spouse of Mary, pray  for me for the gift of a pure, humble  mind, and perfect surrender to Divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life. CONTINUE PRAYER  ON MY SITE OR AT AWESTRUCK

From a friend who is facing death... http://ramblingfollower.blogspot.com/2014/03/from-stage-four-cancer-patient-never.html

Sometimes I think we complicate Lent.  At least I do. I over think it, over plan for it and take on way too many things that I never seem to accomplish. This year, I'm keeping it much simpler.  I dug deep into my resolve and eliminated all sweets.  I've been using yogurt, fresh fruit and granola to make sundaes to kind of take the edge off.  So far it's worked.  The added bonus?  I lost three pounds that first week!  Who knew that Lent would be the successful way to diet? To read the rest and see a short video by Fr. Robert Barron, go to Being Catholic ... Really .

  One of the readings we chose for our wedding Mass was Isaiah 62. It reads in part: You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My delight is in her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married.  For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you (verses 4-5). “The Lord delights in you.” Have you ever thought about that? I can easily understand our delighting in the Lord, but His delighting in us? What could that possibly mean? God is our divine Bridegroom. He calls us to be His bride. When a young man falls in love, he doesn’t dwell on his beloved’s faults. They appear as nothing to him. He sees goodness and beauty that others have overlooked. He desires to give himself fully to her.  He desires to know everything about her. Above all, a bridegroom yearns for f

Writing at the beginning of the first century, St Justin delighted in boasting, “We have no temples, we have no altars,”  for Jesus had introduced a new form of worship that needed none of them. For now, as he had promised to the Samaritan woman, the only form of worship that would be acceptable to God would be the new worship ‘in spirit and in truth’ that Jesus himself had practised at every moment of his life on earth..... read more

I’ve been meaning to write this post since February 20th. How do I know? Because that’s the day I heard about 85 year old Oriella Cazzanello; a woman from Northern Italy, who travelled to a clinic in Basel, Switzerland, and paid €10,000 to kill herself.  I first heard this story on my way to work. I listen to Teresa Tomeo’s Catholic Connection Radio Show on Ave Maria Radio in the morning and she gives me the news. I find that it’s never just news, it’s always information that makes you think and shapes your day. Mrs. Cazzanello said she felt “weighed down by ageing and the inevitable loss of the looks of which she was proud”. This took place at an assisted suicide clinic. A clinic. Even the naming convention of this place is horrid. A clinic. Makes it sound clean and spa-like, doesn’t it? I imagine Mrs. Cazzanello tried to gain love and attention from others to overcome her feelings of loneliness by working on her outward appearance. Society says we are supposed to be perfect

Sunday afternoon I took a brisk half hour walk in the late winter air to watch our son coach basketball. Along the way to Lucky's final game coaching a team of 9 and 10 year old girls, I heard water dripping. Snow is melting and findings its way to water drains. Keep Reading...

The many faces of Mary can be seen at  St. Thérèse Chinese Catholic Church .  Italian and Chinese culture merge in the faces of Mary in this hundred plus year old church here in Chicago. I have a fascination with the way Mary is depicted in different cultures.  Our need to identify with our Blessed Mother is a strong one. You can see the photo gallery of the images of Our Blessed Mother at Being Catholic ... Really .

'I remember reading that obedience to one's superior is more meritorious than all the self-imposed mortifications, fastings, and prayers. 'Then I realized my superior is really my vocation as a wife and mother.  Therefore, my duties and responsibilities of motherhood must come first.  'And, done with the right intention - for the greater glory of God - all my actions are lifted up in prayer.'  (from our friend Rose)   Painting:  Charles Courtney Curran, Breakfast for Three, in US public domain because of age   (from The Cloistered Heart)

So, where you heading? Well, now that we’ve entered into the season of Lent, my attention once again has come back to the matter of ”habit”, especially as I was contemplating our call to enter back  into the “desert” -- to be transformed -- as we now venture into our 40-day journey, full of hope, confident of what lies ahead -- and of where we shall arrive Easter morning. But as a dietitian, my goal for this post is not to focus on actual Lenten practices at this time,   but more-so  to focus here on this matter of transformation as it directly relates to health & wellness [in body, mind, & soul, of course]… which then brings me back to the topic of “habits” – habits that include our way of eating & of moving. After all, our habits also send us on a journey... >> Click HERE to read more about the new & improved route 66 >> [above image of Route 66 sign source: Wikipedia] 

  In this story Father Ignatius teaches about the temptations of Christ. It was Friday once again and Father Ignatius was at school with the youngsters at Catechism class. They had just read the passage in the Bible about Jesus in the desert and the temptations of Satan. Please continue reading HERE

Who is your  John the Baptist ?  Who called you out of the desert and into faith?  Even if you are a cradle Catholic, was there someone in your life that influenced you so much, you were called to a deeper understanding of what being Catholic is? Image from Catholic.org For me, the answer is my  husband  and lately my  daughter  has inspired me with her faith.  I am also blessed to have some great  friends . You can read more at Being Catholic ... Really .

Landscape with the Temptation of Christ (detail) Joos de Momper [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)  à                              Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  Matthew 4:1-11  ( New Revised Standard Version,Catholic Edition , Canada) Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.   He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.   The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”   But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone,   but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,   saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command

  Man, having been wounded in his nature by original sin, is subject to error and inclined to evil in exercising his freedom. (Catechism of the Catholic Church section 1714) One of the many things that has gone out of fashion over the years (it was only whispered in some circles that we were taught  that our perfect selves are stained by the deliberate disobedience of a couple running around in a garden ) that we return to is the teaching on Original Sin, particularly during Lent.   Why? Years ago, while I was teaching Baptism Prep to a group of parents, many who admitted that they hadn't been inside a church since their wedding-- a grandmother called me out. I was soft peddling Baptism to this group on the fringe of the church-- emphasizing community and family history and the long generations of their family, all our families, united under this big bosomy umbrella of love and kumbaya. This grandmother raised her hand and asked  "what about Original Sin?"  I

In these first days of Lent, the Church shows us exactly how God wants us to pray. fast and serve both His people and worship Him. The words of the first reading from Isaiah 58:1-9 are like brilliant beams of light, cutting through any false notions we might have about this season of repentance that we call Lent.  Often we tend to think of Lent as a time to share in the suffering of Christ yet when we do so, we become morose and end up centering more on our own sacrificial devotions than on God. Lent  is  a time to get rid of the flub in our lives but only so we are able to connect more to the Heart of our Beloved, more on the people around us who are in need. Lent is not an excuse for dramatic acts of fasting  by wearing sack cloth and ashes, figuratively or literally. As Isaiah says: Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance: That a man bow his head like a reed and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable

Lent has begun! I am feeling quite energized by it, though I'm trying not to be the crazy Baby Catholic who has to  Give Up All The Things  for Lent and totally go overboard. I'm please with what I have decided to do. As I mentioned before, we're giving up ice cream as a family. So we had an ice cream party for mardi gras. And I have committed to two other specific things as well: 1. I'm giving up time (spent online) in order to exercise daily. 2. I'm praying at least a decade of the rosary daily (in addition to regular prayers). There are other things I am trying to work on also. I'm doing more spiritual reading (actually, I'm just continuing the reading I always do, but I'm making an extra point to read things that are spiritually stimulating). I'm reading my Bible more. I'm writing in a Lent journal. I'm making a greater effort to focus on gratitude, patience, and humility. And another thing I plan to do more frequently (hope

Calling itself "the definitive biography of Elizabeth Seton,"  American Saint , by  New York Times  best-selling author Joan Barthel, was just released on March 4, 2014.  American Saint  is the first full-length biography of St. Elizabeth Seton to be written in nearly fifty years. Published by St. Martin's Press, the book includes a foreword by Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet Maya Angelou and has garnered advance praise from well-known novelist Mary Higgins Clark. Drawing heavily from the saint's own collected writings,  American Saint  traces Elizabeth's life from her childhood as a wealthy Episcopalian to her death as an impoverished Catholic who founded the first order of American nuns and became the first American-born canonized saint. The book does not shy away from the darkness of Elizabeth's earlier years. Her mother died when Elizabeth was just three years old, and her father remarried one scant year later. Elizabeth's father and stepmother the

  Scripture of the Day:  Psalm 65:1 O God in Zion, we wait before you in silent praise, and thus fulfill our vow.  And because you answer prayer, all mankind will come to you with their requests. Some people know God answers prayer...others are skeptical, perhaps because their prayers seem to go unanswered.  Some have never read the Bible to know how God has answered and will answer prayers, and still others have never heard about your answered prayers. If you are one to keep answered prayers to yourself… perhaps reading this verse again will encourage you to share your answered prayers with others. And because you answer prayer,  all mankind will come to you with their requests . Ask God to give you an opportunity to share an answered prayer.  If they hear how he has answered your prayer… perhaps this will encourage them to pray as well. Take time and say,  O God in Zion, we (I) wait before you in silent praise.

It turns out that Elizabeth Ficocelli and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation have a lot in common. Ficocelli authored a series of children’s vocation-awareness books with a beautiful entry titled “ Where Do Sisters Come From?” Elizabeth has shared her story behind the vocation-awareness series on Catholic radio and on a number of Catholic websites and in print. A convert, Ficocelli explains how her own interest in understanding consecrated life was the impetus behind writing the first entry “Where Do Priests Come From” which was then followed by “ Where Do Sisters Come From? .” The final entry in the series is “Where Do Deacons Come From?.” So when it was recently announced that March 8 through March 15 th is Catholic Sisters Week, Ficocelli was not surprised. Her own passion for helping young children learn about vocations was acknowledged in that announcement. Ficocelli’s life work and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation had oddly crossed paths around the consecrated life

  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.

Call me crazy, but I'm excited and pumped up about  LENT! It didn't start out very well.  Ash Wednesday morning, I got to work early.  One of my coworkers had purchased some candy.  He's diabetic so he only wanted to taste it.  He hands me the rest, so  OF COURSE   I immediately pop one in my mouth!  ... the hell is that? Sorry, but swearing was not one of the things I promised to give up, though I probably should have. This year I feel differently.  I usually make my plan, screw it up, get back to my plan and by the time Lent is over ... well, it didn't go very well. You can read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .