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Saint Dominic, a 13th-century theologian, tends to get overshadowed by his fellow, more renowned Dominican, Saint Thomas Aquinas. Yet, not today! Today, we celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order of Preachers. During his life, Dominic, a native Spaniard, traveled abroad to France. There, he witnessed a great need to combat heresies. He believed that people needed to fully understand the true teachings of Jesus Christ. If they did, they would embrace the Catholic faith. Dominic also realized that to achieve success in his preaching, he must meet the heretics were they were at: living a life of austerity. He met austerity with austerity, by preaching and walking barefoot! From his efforts, Dominic gave birth to true “evangelical preaching.” He established... Read more...

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 mouth a

"..As I was crossing the street...a big red truck rounded the corner and hit me. The impact sounded like a terrible explosion, and I was thrown to the ground. The police and ambulance came, they strapped me onto the stretcher, and we were off to the hospital... "The fact that I was alive just overwhelmed me. As I lay flat on my back in the emergency room, just staring at the ceiling, I had time to think...." (click to continue)

Day 6 Prayer:  O Holy Virgin of Candelaria, we beg you to help us reach your Son, Jesus, that he may give us the grace to imitate his virtues, fulfill the commandments, and have a horror for mortal sins. Thus, one day, we will also enjoy eternal life with you in heaven. Amen "Give us the grace to imitate his virtues."  Wow what a statement! As Christians we all strive to be Christ like (hence the name lol). Everyday we struggle to be more God like. It is a struggle that every Christian has whether they admit it or not. The Christ like thing to do by the way is to admit that you are not as Christ like as you would like to be. Luckily God accepts us and forgives us for our shortcomings.  Click here to continue. 

(From Wiley Miller's Non Sequitur, used w/o permission.) You've heard this one before. At the Vatican, a Cardinal's secretary bursts into a meeting. “Your Eminence! He's here! Jesus! He landed in St Peter's Square! What do we do?!” The Cardinal runs to the Pope's office, repeats the news and question. The Pope says, "look busy." It's pretty good advice, actually, which brings me to this morning's Gospel reading: Luke 12:32 – 48 — or Luke 12:35 – 40 , which covers the main idea.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

  During the Olympic competition this summer, champions and the emblematic figures of the sport emerge. They are the new gods of human physical perfection and outstanding ability. This sport feast bring us memories of past idols, specially the stunning case of the Jamaican sprinter Bolt, protruding on the Olympic horizon.   But success has its price, and already for some time, incredible physical ability was the only área of his personal life that he was interested in, for in his personal life, training and preparation were not his main objective.

Day 5 Prayer: Immaculate  Virgin of Candelaria, on presenting Jesus at the temple, you did not talk about your honor of being the Mother of God in order to demonstrate your importance and emphasize the value of humility. Pray that we, too, may follow your footsteps, that we may avoid making importance of ourselves and to grow daily in humility. This prayer struck a cord I did not even see coming. I am the type of person who throws myself completely into everything I am doing. If I am successful I want to be acknowledge. I forget sometimes that your success can be acknowledged with out bragging or being prideful. It is one of those things however that is easier said than done. John 5:41 "I do not accept the glory of human beings". Click  here  to continue. 

I’ve made some changes in my life recently or should I say the Lord made some changes in my life. I  quit my job  which allowed me to  attend daily Mass  (something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time). It has also allowed me to get in the habit of writing every day. Sometimes I just make notes in a small notebook about the readings at Mass or what the priest had to say and other times it turns into whole blog posts. Every once in a while it’s a random idea that I jot down. Of course, if I don’t write it down immediately, well … some of you know how that goes. You can read the full article here .

As the Morning Rising: Rose Garden Poem : Rose Garden Every rose is an emblem of love, A composition of colour and scent. The stemmed flower triumphs Over the thorns twisted a...

St Francis and Brother Leo Meditating on Death   El Greco, 1600-02 National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa  [ Web Gallery of Art ] Gospel   Luke 12:32-48  NRS V   Jesus said to his disciples:  “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit;   be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.   If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he   would not have let his house be broken into.     You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”   A stamp with Liam Whelan's photo, issued by An Post, the Irish Postal Servi

DOES GOD LOVE EVERYONE EQUALLY? DOES HE HAVE FAVOURITES? DOES HE LOVE SOME PEOPLE MORE THAN OTHERS? HOW ABOUT YOU?   HOW LOVED DO YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE

English Bulldogs aren’t what they used to be: which is a problem for folks who want the breed to survive. A team of scientists says that the British mascot’s bloodline is more than a bit too pure. Other scientists developed MouSensor, mutant mice with open slots for plug and play genetic code. Finally, a tiny robot with rat muscles that swims like a fish. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Day Four Prayer: Immaculate Virgin of Candelaria, on presenting Jesus at the temple, you heard the announcement of sorrows and you accepted them as God’s will. May we not be the sword and the evil that would cause you to weep. Pray for us that we, too, may accept pain and sorrow in our life. Amen. I have to say that day four's prayer was more intense. After saying the prayer all I could was silently contemplate its meaning. "Hearing the announcement of sorrows and accepting them as God's will." To continue click  here.

And here we are on day three. It has been an interesting 3 days so far. Even though I enjoy Bible studies. I am surprised by difficult it has been to write about my prayer life. And sharing it with all of you has been a very interesting to say the least. Anyways.... Click here to continue. 

Hello everyone! Day 2 of my novena went slightly different from the first day. If you are interested in Day 1 check it out  here . The day 2 prayer went as follows: Immaculate Virgin of Candelaria, while living full of sanctity you presented yourself in the temple in order to fulfill God’s law. Enable us that we, too, following your footsteps may be able to love our church and temples, considering it as a place where we come near God. Amen. To continue reading click here.

In July, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Constitution on women’s contemplative life, called  Vultum Dei quarere.  Although aimed at orders of cloistered women religious, this document can also teach lay people how to enter into a more authentic relationship with Christ. Vultum Dei quarere  is Latin for “Seeking the Face of God.” The phrase comes from Psalm 27, my favorite Bible passage on prayer. I encourage you to prayerfully read and meditate upon the entire Psalm. Vultum Dei quarere  was addressed to women because they comprise the majority of contemplative orders. It is the first apostolic constitution for contemplative orders issued since Vatican II. Pope Francis wished to address problems in contemplative life that have gone unaddressed for decades, as well as encourage contemplatives in their increasingly counter-cultural vocation. Read the rest at Contemplative Homeschool.

When introducing the Corporal and Spiritual works of mercy, in her book  Blessed Are You , Melanie Rigney  writes “both types can come free and easy, … or hard and challenging”. Sort of like the healthy benefits of exercise – I can stroll around the park with the kids or I can strap on the boxing gloves and go a round with the punching bag. As I read about Blessed Mother Teresa, St Maria Karlowska, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini and others,  in this chapter about mercy , it brought one important question to mind.  How do I approach that responsibility in my own life to show mercy to others – and not just the “even though you hurt me (again) and this is all your fault, and you are being a toad -- I will still forgive you” kind.  The words into action kind of mercy.  The works of mercy encourages us beyond ourselves, like Blessed Mother Teresa beyond ourselves. Though we may not all be called to the streets of India, we are responsible to care for the poorest of the poor – spiritually

As the Morning Rising: On Every Incoming Tide : Photo courtesy of Gerry Murray Photo courtesy of John McKeever This would be us were it not for Christ as the head of the Chur...

First off I would like to say that I am honored that I was chosen to review this amazing book. City of Saints, is a biographical story about Saint Pope John Paul II. JP II is one of my favorite Saints. I also feel that he is one of the most amazing people to be apart of the Catholic Church in a long time. As a Catholic I truly feel BLESSED to call him our Pope. This book was amazing and let me tell you a spiritual pilgrimage to Poland is now definitely in my future. To read the rest of this review click  here.

When we got a brand new garage door opener, it required installation. Fortunately, a friend of ours was a whiz at this sort of thing. He came over to help so we of course offered him food and drink. Since he wanted root beer, my husband got a six-pack to stick into the fridge. Except one of the cans fell out of the plastic ring and exploded on the floor. If this has ever happened to you, you know what an icky, sticky mess soda pop makes. Since the can’s contents were under pressure, it sprayed everywhere: the floor, the walls, the ceiling and all over me. In our case, since the fridge was open, it splattered the shelves and the food inside.  continue