What Comes Next....

As I recited the Sorrowful Mysteries today, it got me thinking about a whole HOST of things. 

1)      Why are so many of us frightened of the event of death when our Savior died so unspeakably? If our GOD died such a tragic, human, death…for US…how could we ever think we deserve a better, human end than He?

2)      PLUS, our Savior gave us the opportunity to reach Heaven so what are we so afraid or sad about?

3)      How dare we ever say “Why me?” when our Savior suffered unspeakably? He was mocked, beaten, humiliated and murdered in front of a crowd (including His own Mother)? What in our lives could ever TOP that suffering?  How can we EVER say “Why me?”

4)      Why are many of us no longer fearful of Satan?

Having been faced squarely by the fragility of life this past year by watching my 5 year old son heroically fight cancer, it forced me to contemplate death more than I ever had to this point. I consume acts of violence, death, sickness, tragedy, suffering, even difficult relationships far differently than before & I thank God for the insight this experience has imparted on me. 

By saying the Sorrowful Mysteries, obviously you are walked through the final steps of Jesus’ life on Earth.  If you really think about each mystery & try to envision what that must have been like for Jesus, Mary and all who witnessed it.  Picturing that Passion walk, the carrying of the cross…how violent, scary, and dehumanizing. We may see some horrible, violent act take place somewhere today on the news and the masses are horrified, angered and scream for justice and this is what happened to OUR LORD and SAVIOR!  The ultimate worst side of our human nature in action. The ULTIMATE sin against man BY man.  He did NOT have to do this, He is GOD. He did NOT have to become human and suffer the way we do. God could have achieved His goal in MANY ways yet He chose the worst, possible suffering a human could endure for the sake of all of us so we could understand.

I have dear friends who spend a lot of time dwelling on sickness and death of either themselves or their loved ones.  The more I think about it, through witnessing the experience of my son, I firmly believe that God doesn’t give one iota how we pass from this Earthly life or at what age and what kind of pain we endure when it happens.  As much as He doesn’t individually pick for each of us how it will take place. We were given pain in our lives due to our fallen status as humans from our sin. We were never promised easy lives on Earth.  It is WONDERFUL when that happens for some but think of the Saints…I can’t think of ONE who didn’t have a difficult, hard life that ended in tragedy.  How can we shlubs expect or desire something BETTER or easier than what our Lord or the Saints endured in their human lives.  YET….most of us fare far better than these blessed people did and it is my prayer that we at least recognize that fact.  The materialism, in particular, of the Westernized world has removed us so far from this understanding (I myself a terrible victim of it) that it leaves many of us with the phrase “Why me?” too close to our lips.

“Why God did I lose my job? I’m a good person.” “Why did my child, mother, neighbor, get sick God…they are such good people?”, “Why did 9/11 happen God? Those were all innocent people?”, “Why did I lose my house?” etc., etc., etc.     

I contend…God really doesn’t care.  Well, I’m sure He CARES & doesn’t WANTany of us hurt BUT He also doesn’t personally pick who will be wealthy or what kind of good fortune or bad fortune will befall us.  There is no “Karma” in this Earthly life.  Good deeds are REQUIRED of us whether our lives are blessed with good fortune or not.  Good fortune doesn’t come to us if we are very good people to others. It’s really nice to see that happen for some but one is not a criteria for the other.

9/11, earthquakes, tsunami’s or other natural disasters, war are perfect examples of this.  God doesn’t care how we make it to Him…we will ALL pass, the means, methods and timeframe are of no matter to Him.  It is all about “If we are READY to meet Him” in the flash that it can sometimes take to go from here…to there….are our souls in the best possible shape they can be in to leave this human life?  Human life is but a mere moment to God.  80 years is a flash compared to eternity.   

 The ONLY time I see death as a true tragedy is when a parent passes leaving young children.  I was never fearful of death prior to becoming a parent and I only fear death now until my children are old enough to live on, as stable individuals & come to understand this concept I am imparting on you today. Human life is but a stepping stone which is why I feel it is such a disservice that the Church no longer STRONGLY & LOUDLY teaches fear of Satan to us all.  Since this human life is a mere second of our entire existence & it is only our Earthly life that needs fear Satan (because once we pass in God’s favor and move onto our next destination, Satan no longer needs be a concern to us) and every act & every breath on this Earth moves us closer to our passing, Satan should be a HUGE motivating force in our lives. And by our faith moving away from teaching us this message in fear of losing congregants is wrong.  Just because it is a tough message doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be addressed. 9/11 alone should have been an act so dramatic that every God fearing person on the face of the Earth should have been forever changed and re-directed.  I guess a few generations ago it was said the same of Hitler yet the lesson never seems to stick. 

Nothing, I mean NOTHING should motivate us more than working towards our salvation.  If there is a beloved someone in your life who has passed that you absolutely KNOW has gone to Heaven (or even Purgatory…because they have the gift of being saved) than it should be our every waking moments work to try & make it to them again in God’s presence.  Nothing else in this world should mean more to us than that.  Illness, suffering, death, poverty, loneliness, tragedy….think of the BIG PICTURE….this will ALL pass, it is how we deal with it all on this Earth that matters because THAT is where evil dwells.  Think about it. When we suffer we are fragile. Satan awaits the troubled, those in pain, those who are confused...we become easy prey. Think of Satan tempting Christ, Himself when he was alone, troubled and hungry. It is examples like these from God, Himself that are suppose to be our blueprint for our own lives.  How many fall away Catholics do you know who left because something horrible happened in their lives and it shook their faith because how could a benevolent God allow this horrible thing to take place? Also, how many fall away Catholics do you know who are abundantly blessed with wealth & a seemingly easy life because there really is no need for God in their lives...they have everything & they probably worked hard to get it. Since everything this person needs or wants is corporeal in nature, they have lost the big picture view that this physical life is only the smallest part of our exsitence.  Satan waits for this person too.  He waits for them to "forget" about God.  That is why I beat my drum so loudly about secularism.  It is so VERY dangerous to everyone we love and want to see make it to Heaven.      

Most of all, we must all pray for those who have left the faith.  Think of these poor souls and there are SO many. So many confused, misled and are caught in the belief of “Being a good person is good enough.” Self religion is so very harmful.  Help the ones you love and respect & try your best to bring them home again.  In mere moments we will all meet our Maker & secularism and defense of it just isn’t gonna cut it.       

Pray, pray and pray some more (especially the Rosary.)

God bless & may 2012 bring you HEALTH and HAPPINESS in God’s light!!!!!                         

Solace and Relief to you all

Great little piece from American Catholic. MERRY CHRISTMAS friends.  Hug your families extra tight and thank GOD for all your blessings great & small.

http://blog.americancatholic.org/2011/12/solace-and-relief/

MERRY CHRISTMAS DEAR FRIENDS!!!!

So I found this wonderful book:

Excerpted from: "The Catholic Parent Book of Feasts, Celebrating the Church Year with Your Family" by Michaelann Martin, Carol Puccio, Zoe Romanowsky

"ADVENT
The Christmas tree itself traces its origin to the paradise plays that were popular in medieval Germany during Advent. In the plays, the garden of Eden was represented by a fir tree hung with apples,

representing both the "tree of life” and the “tree of discernment of good and evil.” After the plays were suppressed in the German churches, the paradise tree found its way into the homes of the faithful as a symbol of the coming Savior. In the fifteenth century the faithful began adding small white

wafers, representing the Holy Eucharist, to the apples. Thus the tree that had borne the fruit of Adam's sin now bore the saving fruit of the sacrament of Christ’s sacrifice. Only in later usage were the white wafers gradually replaced by angels, bells, and other religious ornaments."

So the next time your friends try to explain why Christmas & it's traditions are all secular (especially the Christmas tree) you can show this nice little fact.

Merry Christmas friends!!!

Order by calling 1-800-348-2440 or visit us

online at www.osvbooks.com

A GREAT Prayer for the conversion of souls

Hi all.

So I am not the best at keeping with a good routine, I think it has to do with my faulty memory HA! But when my son got sick, many people sent me MANY FANTASTIC prayers & I also went in search of prayers that I found comforting as well...but I could NEVER keep track of them all and remember to say them everyday, they were on various cards, or in emails or books. SOOO, I collected all the prayers I loved & ones I thought I really needed and transcribed them all to a Word document so now I can carry with me my list of prayers anywhere I go!  They are on my laptop and a hard copy is usually in my bag with me so whenever the moment strikes...I'm ready to pray wth all my favorites at hand. 
Plus it's funny, as I say my list of prayers I sometimes think "Now wait....I should be praying for the souls in Purgatory..." & it inspires me to go find a good prayer for that & then I'll say to myself "I really should be praying for conversions as well..." & off I'd go looking for a prayer of conversion...

So...I post here the best prayer I found for the conversion of souls because as you know I regularly beat my drum on that topic.  Please feel free to post YOUR favorite prayers here...I am always looking to add to my ever growing list!!!  Ha ha! Have a blessed day.

·        Prayer for the Salvation of the World

Father, hear our prayers for the salvation of the world. Grant Mercy to all souls that turned away from You. Open their hearts and minds with Your light.  Gather Your children from the east and the west, from the north and the south.  Have mercy O God on those who do not know You. Bring them out of darkness into Your light.  You are our saving God Who leads us in our salvation. Protect us from evil.  Bless and praise You O Lord, hear our prayers and answer us. You, our Savior, are the hope of all the ends of the Earth and the distant seas.  May Your way be known upon Earth; among all nations Your salvation.  We put the world in Your hands; fill us with Your love. Grant us peace through Christ, our Lord.  Amen

2 Great Morning Prayers I Like to Say

·        Morning Offering

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you all my prayers, works, joys & sufferings of this day, for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world; in reparation for all my sins; for the intentions of all our associates and in particular, for the intentions of our Holy Father for this month. Amen.

·                  Morning Prayer

Benefactor of all who turn to Thee, Light of all who are in darkness, Creative principle of every seed, Gardener of all spiritual growth, have pity on me, Lord, and make me a temple without reproach.

Look not upon my sins. If Thou takest account of my faults, I cannot stand before Thee; but in Thine immense mercy and infinite compassion wash away my stains through our Lord Jesus Christ, most holy and Thine only Son, the physician of our souls.  Through Him may there be rendered to Thee all glory, power, honor, and splendor, through ages of ages which wane not and have no end. Amen.

And a follow up....

http://cl.publicaster.com/SocialMedia.aspx?pubids=8654%7c158%7c6&digest=7l7xhJo3xra4YpCcAz591Q&sysid=1&1=Vcd&2=GsP

This is Comprehensive

Hi folks, when you have a little time, the Cardinal Newman Society has done a wonderful job exposing & breaking down all the information about "Catholic" colleges and how so many have gone rogue.  CNS is a wonderful & outspoken source defending our true Catholic faith. 

http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/DissentandSacrilegeatMoreThanaMonologue/tabid/749/Default.aspx#bottom

This is a Great Piece on the "Mystery" of our faith...

Intergrated Catholic doesit again...GREAT piece I hope you enjoy!  Merry Christmas friends...

http://www.integratedcatholiclife.org/2011/12/dambrosio-sunday-reflection-mystery-of-the-incarnation/

MERRY CHIRSTMAS!!

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWq60oyrHVQ

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Today!

Our Lady of Guadalupe: Protress of the Unborn

http://blog.americancatholic.org/2011/12/our-lady-of-guadalupe-fiesta/

http://www.hli.org/index.php/about/our-lady-of-guadalupe

Merry Christmas!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_JD13QeXEk&feature=youtube_gdata

Our good Pope explains the Psalm predicting the coming of Christ!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Pray for Our Medical Professionals...

Our poor medical professionals...please pray for them.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/new-jersey-nurses-charge-religious-discrimination-over-hospital-abortion-policy/2011/11/15/gIQAydgm2N_story.html?wpisrc=emailtoafriend

Take a look...

I'd like to introduce you to Walter B. Hoye...an amazing advocate for life.  Mr. Hoye & Alevda King know that in spreading the Pro-Life message to the African American community, there could be whole generations of this community saved from the horrors of abortion.
I ask you to follow Mr. Hoye on Facebook or Twitter or sign up for his weekly e-mail newsletter.  He on the direct pulse of the life issue & always on point.  God bless him & his work.

 http://www.issues4life.org/blast/2011297.html

Happy Advent to you all.....

THANK YOU DEAR BISHOP!!!

The whole raising of hands & hand holding thing is a big pet peeve of mine!  Finally hearing it from a Bishop, asking to stop the Protestant-like practice that sprung up from the grassroots....

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2011/11/bishops-decree-stop-holding-hands/

Voris on the country losing the faith...

A country losing their faith...Voris always giving us something to think about!

http://www.youtube.com/user/RealCatholicTV#p/u/0/9MmaHbGOrWk

Pope Leo

Allow me to explain why all of a sudden I will post multiple "Real Catholic TV" video blogs....due to my spending so much time at the hospital with my son, I get backed up on watching them day to day.  When I have some down time, I will sit & watch them in BACKWARDS order...I know, foolish...ha ha ha.  Each one is so moving to me, it usually makes me want to get up & yell about it from my front yard or something...he is speaking such clarity & truth & it is something THIS "asleep at the wheel Catholic" needs to keep my laser focus on my job as a Catholic.
Instead of posting yet another one of his video's I will post what he URGED us to read.  This is an encyclical from Pope Leo XIII called "Sapientiae Christianae" or "Christian Knowledge."  His brilliance ring as true today as they did for his contemporary audience.  I found it at The Vatican website.  Leo speaks to Catholic's who find themselves in a place where their governments have created immoral laws & he asks for all Catholic's to be brave & be willing to give EVERYTHING for what they know is intrinsically evil and immoral.  We must speak and act as Catholic's always first.  It is time for the people to be more than Catholic's in name.  Our current government  by forcing healthcare workers to perform the evil acts of abortion, to use our tax dollars to supply contraceptives and abortions, with lawful homosexual marriage, it has advanced the lifestyle into the mainstream making it all the harder to support & defend the traditional family (an institution already in ruin), embryonic stem cell research... having all of this protected and advanced by law somehow makes it morally acceptable to many. Leo calls for Catholics of his time to fight for morality, not to be afraid of speaking the truth.  It is why I write this blog.  I am inspired by the Voris', Fr. Barron's, and the amazing Catholic Bishop's who are daring to step out of the shadows to be an authoritarian voice for the Church.  We cannot be fearful, ashamed or remain stagnant about our faith because the government is working to take it away from us.  There has been talk of the a great "cleansing" of the Church that is coming...I think the time is closing in.  Help the Church!  Learn your faith then share it with others!  Read Leo!

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_10011890_sapientiae-christianae_en.html

Here is One For the Books!

Another GREAT Real Catholic....this one on traditions of the Church...hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR7V0CKGzzE&feature=player_embedded#!

Me & Michael Share Talking Points...HA!

WOW!  Just watched these (2) older Real Catholic's & it seems I have heard some of these points before...hummm....

Enjoy! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FnHNS-_lqyQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOWvgTMLbyo&feature=player_embedded#!

Ahhh, Secularism....

Think about the history of the world…from the dawn of time man has always searched for the answers of the hereafter.  Every society, on every continent, in every time period the majority of all people has believed in Intelligent Design.  The Aztecs, the Egyptians, the Native American’s, the Roman’s & Greek’s, the Celt’s and so on.  Every super power in the history of time that used politics & the current “intelligencia” of their time to remove religion from their culture, placing human power over God Himself, has wound up in evil, ruin.  Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, to name a few. China presently has dramatic declining birth rates due to the “One Child Policy” prohibiting more than one child per family with steep fines if a family does not abort any subsequent children. The country is on the threshold of disaster due to excessively poor replacement levels. They have a HUGE elderly population and shrinking younger one. It doesn’t take a statistician to realize what that means for a nation. Population control by a government…evil stuff.

Intelligent minds know that it only takes a few generations to gain complete control over a nation. To start, the benevolent government must get their people to abandon their beliefs in a Higher Being so they realize the government is their only solution to every woe. Good  & regular propaganda that becomes mainstream is how that is achieved. Eventually, a population hears something enough, it becomes fact (take "Global Warming" for instance, a THEORY that was supported by the government and through CONSTANT propaganda eventaully became accepted by us as fact and since being disproven the movement has now morphed into "Climate Change.") Once the people have  become completely dependent, there is no NEED for anything BUT support for government. All the government asks in return is that you never speak the name of your Maker in public. This idea is sold by having us believe this practice is wrong anyway…Why? Because it’s mean to offend others by your viewpoint. Keep it to yourself! It seems like an easy trade off…who is it hurting anyway? It actually seems benevolent at first glance because, you’re right, it IS wrong for anyone to hear, see, or be witness to my personal faith if it offends.

This is the first play in the Marxist handbook, EVERYTIME. The DAY after Hilter was elected, the children went to their public schools and all the crosses that hung in their in the classrooms were removed and replaced with a picture of Hilter and the morning prayer omitted (I heard this on an interview of a woman who literally was one of those children.)  

Each time the socialist experiement is tried, the current society believes THEY know what went wrong in prior attempts. Because this current society is far more intelligent and a more advanced than the last. THIS time, this time in history we will get it right & nothing bad will happen! It is successful for a time, as the people allow for the government to hand them EVERYTHING and the people who remain faithful become demonized while the propaganda drums the idea that they are radicals, crazy, and are mocked as the uneducated! How dare they PUSH their faith on anyone else…for us in America it is even echoed as un-Constitutional!!!  It borders on lawlessness because we have been made to believe that peoples ears, eyes and sensibilities maybe offended if they are exposed, in ANY way, to something that is in disagreement to their belief system.  But the religious on the otherhand CAN be exposed to near pornographic content on street corners, horrendous, vile content from everyone and everything under the protection of free speech and our children will learn of contraceptives, abortion and same sex marriages in their SCHOOLS because this is all being provided by OUR GOVERNMENT. So a secular agenda in the public arena is sold as tolerance and kind and MUST be accepted by society because it is protected by law but the Judeo-Christian religious beliefs are intolerant and prejudice.  What I cannot undertsand is how the MAJORITY of Americans are Christian yet we allow this.    

Governments in the past have attempted to re-write history in many cases by removing or re-writing books made for our children under the guise for what is best for the people.  We see this today, we are sold ideas that certain older books maybe “insensitive” to particular groups (even our history BOOKS) so let us add or delete FACTS from our very history and whitewash content so not to offend.  Take the ongoing argument that the majority of our Founding Fathers were agnostic and that they did NOT form our nation under Mosaic law (i.e. the 10 Commandments) or what it is more commonly referred to as Natural Law and SOLIDLY rooted and framed in Judeo-Christian beliefs….. The Founding Fathers were brilliant men who had such knowledge of world politics, world history and human nature and who understood that it IS human nature to long for the Divine Providence and to force people to either abandon their faiths or force everyone to follow a particular faith (as England did) was immoral. These men knew all too well having just left a nation where state religion was imposed on all its citizens and were witness to its evils on the people. Do yourself a favor and read the book “The 5,000 Year Leap” by Cleon Skousen. What a GREAT & easy to read book about the foundation of our country. It covers all the facts of our past that the common history books our children read today in school are intentionally omitted.  It is SHOCKING for sure.  One cannot learn the true history of our nation without acknowledging how the people who formed it were so rooted in THEIR faith and used their faith as the basis of everything we know today as authentically American.  The “separation of Church & State” is NO WHERE even mentioned in our Constitution. Jefferson wrote about it in a letter to his contemporaries and, like the game of telephone, his meaning through the years has been altered (quite purposely I might add.) His point in even uttering this sentiment was in discussion of how America would be different than England in that people would be free to OPENLY and VIBRANTLY express their different faiths anywhere they CHOSE without fear of the government encroaching on their practices (as long as it did not affect personal property.)  At the foundling stages of our development, people were so respectful and accepting of each other’s faiths that it was common for different faiths to SHARE worship space since there weren’t enough Church’s built, in common areas!!  Jefferson himself in his memoirs writes about how proud he was tof his home state of Virginia and how multiple faiths shared THE COURTHOUSE on alternating weekends to worship…and today the 10 Commandments are being removed from the courts and elsewhere in attempt to deny these facts of our history. It’s astonishing.  Jefferson himself, when VP, was known to attend services in none other than the Capitol building!!  Could you imagine? 

As the years pass in THIS country, we witness the eradication of any visible sign of faith in any public place (especially anything Judeo-Christian in nature) under the guise of political correctness with secular filth taking its place under the protection of “free speech.”  We hear the call from our public officials DAILY selling us on the ideas that: government subsidized abortion, lawful pornography, government subsidized contraceptives, over taxing the rich, over taxing our foods, over taxing privately owned businesses, the teaching our children false facts (environmentalism and the new & improved history) and immoral lifestyles, the dependency on thousands of government agencies, and universal healthcare (sold as a right), the banning of guns and the sheer scare tactics used in having us all believe that humans are destroying the planet etc. etc,. etc. ….that ALL of these governmental imposed things are actually offering us MORE FREEDOMS when in fact all it is doing is making us beholden to an ever growing government who quietly is controlling every aspect of our lives.  

Our government encroaches farther & farther on religion as well, with secular laws allowing more and more un-Orthodox practices it makes it harder and harder for Orthodox religions to advance. Catholic Charities is the largest adoption service I believe in the world (most certainly the US) and a few years ago, the Catholic Charities of Boston denied a gay couple adoption rites to one of their orphans. God bless the Archbishop who did not back down BUT in doing so that branch of adoption services was shut down all together because of his stance. What an evil disservice. If a religious person (ESPECIALLY a Catholic priest) decides to preach from the pulpit the evils of abortion or any Orthodox standpoint they stand the chance to lose every dollar granted them by the government. So topics accepted and supported by the government are fine to advance but any idea considered NOT supported by the government will be neutered monetarily which in many cases can be the source keeping the doors of that particular place of worship open. Orthodox religions beware.  It is a multi-pronged attack by not allowing anything religious to even be LOOKED upon in the public square and by making it as difficult as possible for many religions to even preach their beliefs past “God is love” it has hobbled many faiths.  The religious message has been all but lost and there is a short distance between watered down theology and secularism.

Each generation thinks they are so far advanced than the last, that through OUR age’s technological advances we have become smarter & more refined which means it is only the weak & unintelligent who need to rely on the “SKY GOD”.  Oddly, every advanced society has had the same delusions of grandeur before their fall.  The farther we remove ourselves from God, the faster our culture will plummet.
So many think that secularism is harmless because, who cares what our neighbor believes or DOESN’T as long as it doesn’t infringe on ME.  That is true for today.  I don’t mind that my neighbor doesn’t believe in God…his way of life doesn’t not hinder my children & what’s more, he’s a great guy! But history PROVES that as secularism spreads it will eventually be a nation’s demise.

Be a beacon my friends to those who are confused about their faith (because it is the second before they lose it altogether) …even if it is NOT Catholicism. Encourage people to head back to their places of worship and to realize the importance of a religious morality on a society. Monetarily support our churches instead of allowing the current society to wash over us all and rob us of what it ours.

Look around…try and see the BIG picture, not what is going on in your house, on your block in your kids school because all maybe rosy and fine…look past it to future generations & what is being created for your grandchildren and the nation as a whole. The greatest nation on earth, given to us as a gift from God, started by men of tremendous faith who fashioned us to be a nation of free men. Free FROM an over reaching government and a nation where we governed ourselves leaving us free to flourish and be ruled by God. We are currently a world away from that original plan. We look FAR more like Socialist Europe than anything our Founders created & as Europe teeters on the brink of collapse, we follow not far behind it.

I leave you today with a few of very apropos quotes:

"Religion, as well as reason, confirms the soundness of those principles on which our government has been founded and its rights asserted." --Thomas Jefferson

“Social Justice=the FORCED redistribution of wealth with a hostility towards individual property rights under the guise of charity and/or justice.” ~author unknown

“To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical.” -Thomas Jefferson

“Tremble, all nations who no longer hear even the angry voice of God, for this silence is the greater punishment which heaven has dealt out to you. “-Padre Pio

"The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened." -Norman Thomas (a Socialist)    

God bless you & God bless America!!!    Oh!  And MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!                  

 

This one on the new translations of the Mass...

OK this one is very good on some of the banter going on about some of the new language of the Mass...

http://www.catholic.org/hf/faith/story.php?id=43802

In Keeping With Better Translations...

Read this article today on interpreting this particular passage from the Bible CORRECTLY not literally as so many do when reading the Bible...this one is on Mary...and Jesus' "brother's"...

From Catholic Online today...

http://www.catholic.org/clife/advent/story.php?id=43801

Happy Thanksgiving-Saying the Rosary

I had just finished saying the rosary this morning & I was thinking afterwards how integrating the regular recitation of it in these past two years has changed my life. It's this amazing gift that is hard for me to explain but I want to share with everyone!

So I thought about this entry & how I would attempt to explain how saying the rosary has changed me. But like I usually do, before I start rambling, I like to base it in fact first then add some of my own ideas tossed in...So I did a little homework on "contemplative prayer." I found a website that consists of a collection of articles written on the various aspects of the rosary http://www.rosary-center.org/trll.htm and one article in particular by Fr. Paul K. Raftery written back in 2003. This whole piece is amazing to me & some of the excerpts from it almost knocked me down due to how accurate the description it gave that I'd like to share with you some of them here. At the end I will share the full link for your enjoyment:

Here it explains the "why" we should say the rosary:

"The Rosary, as a gift of prayer from the Mother of God, leads us to Christ in a way unique among the devotions in the Church. Pope John Paul II, in his Apostolic Letter on the Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, focuses with particular attention on the special way she is active on the soul as we ponder or contemplate Jesus through the eyes of His Mother. We put ourselves under her maternal guidance and allow her to direct our hearts. "The Rosary," he says, "mystically transports us to Mary’s side as she is busy watching over the human growth of Christ in the home of Nazareth. This enables her to train us and to mold us with the same care, until Christ is ‘fully formed’ in us" (RVM 16). What is happening through this "contemplation of the face of Christ" in union with Mary is far more than just a dry and abstract exercise of thought. The Rosary brings us, through a devoted pondering of its mysteries, into intimate union with the very Person of Jesus. Below we will discuss this form of prayer called "contemplation," and the place the Holy Father wants it to have in the lives of the faithful through praying the Holy Rosary."

So when other Christians ask you why you think the need to "pray on those beads" here is the clear & perfect reason as to the "why." We are not WORSHIPPING Mary because we pray the rosary. We only worship God & use Mary & the Saints as a vehicle to draw us ever closer to the Trinity.

The rosary is a contemplative pray; we are to focus on the certain aspects of Jesus' life when saying it & in doing so, drawing us closer to God. The article says this:

"Fr. Thomas Dubay. His book Fire Within (available from Ignatius Press) has been recommended in a previous article, and it will be used extensively here. From his experience he writes:

Over the years I have gradually come to the conclusion that one reason so many people assume that contemplation is reserved for a select few is that they imagine it to be what it is not. They presume that this type of prayer could not be for them because in a vague sort of way they consider it to be something other than it is. They equate it with oriental states of consciousness or with extraordinary phenomena such as divine messages and visions. Being active and busy and little inclined to any lingering reflection, natural or supernatural, they do not take seriously, as meant for them personally, the mystical expressions sprinkled freely throughout the Scripture and liturgical worship(Fire Within, 57).

And this next quote from St. Teresa from Avila really knocked me over because how she describes her contemplative prayer is EXACTLY how I wished to described my feelings in the hospital with my son (mentioned in my entries of Suffering at the Window Seat & Signs over the past month) when I felt Mary's presence so strongly, take a look:

"St. Teresa of Avila, one of the greatest mystics of the Church, gives us a thoroughly down to earth explanation of contemplative prayer. As Fr. Dubay describes it:

For her, contemplation is an experienced, mutual presence, "an intimate sharing between friends," a being alone with the God Who loves us. Hence, this prayer is a mutual presence of two in love, and in this case the Beloved dwells within. Actually, it is an interdwelling, a mutually experienced indwelling. She relates about herself how "a feeling of the presence of God would come upon me unexpectedly so that I could in no way doubt He was within me or I totally immersed in Him" (FW, 58)."

Fr. Dubay goes on to say:

"Even though contemplation is utterly divinely given and humanly received, and as a consequence we can do nothing to force God to grant it, yet we can and must prepare ourselves for the gift. God gives only to the extent that we efficaciously desire, that is, not merely wish something to happen but take concrete means to fit ourselves to receive it.

The gift of contemplative prayer, and the wonderful closeness to God present in the soul that takes place, with the indescribable joy this produces, is indeed for everyone as far as God is concerned. But a person must show God that he is ready for and wants this kind of direct intimate contact with Him. And this is demonstrated by living in conformity with His commandments:

Advancing communion with God does not happen in isolation from the rest of life. One’s whole behavior pattern is being transformed as the prayer deepens. So true is this that if humility, patience, temperance, chastity and love for neighbor are not growing, neither is prayer growing. Hence, contemplation is not simply a pious occupation in the chapel or in some other solitude."

Here is the link to entire article that I hope you enjoy & it encourages you to say the rosary as often as you can. http://www.rosary-center.org/ll56n5.htm

I recently re-read the promises given by Mary or those who habitually say the rosary. I can honestly tell you, that when life gets rushed & "I don't have time" to say the rosary as regularly I should...I physically long for it & miss it. If I could GIVE you a Thanksgiving gift it is this... encouragement to say the rosary as often as you can...find 25 mins in your day please...you will NOT be disappointed & if you have forgotten how, or never knew I urge you to try saying along with this website http://www.comepraytherosary.org/. It has the prayers right there for you to read along with and a bunch of other people to pray with!

THE 15 PROMISES of MOTHER MARY

1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces.
2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
4. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.
6. Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.
8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise.
9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.
11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.
12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
14. All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

Words of Wisdom

I have such great friends...got this today. I love getting my daily dose of Catholicism...Fr. Barron is one of the best...enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=carFbpDsRPI

New Age Crap

Folks, I thought this was so important to share, I could not wait another moment (thanks to a friend who sent it to me.)  THANKFULLY, I had no idea who the "Abraham" they continue to talk about in this video but I have done a little research for your own information.  Here is the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqJaRr9O2ag

This frightened me so badly when I heard it...I had to share with you.  The wicked are very smart & know what we long for...the feel good message of this type belief is very easy to embrace (obviously even Catholics) because of how innocuous it SEEMS and how it claims to empower you.

Here is more on this Abraham cult:
http://www.abraham-hicks.com/lawofattractionsource/index.php

Pray for those who buy into this...there is only one answer, it is the Trinity.

A Few More Moments of Your Time...

To all the Catholic, sometimes Catholic, fall away Catholic, was once Catholic & sometimes wonders about their return to the Catholic faith, friends; I ask you to please listen to Michael Voris here for a few moments.  I know he may not be everyone’s “cup of tea” & I can understand why BUT…please try to get past the delivery of the message & listen TO the message (on both video's).  With the exciting upcoming changes to Mass that will be upon us in 5 days, wouldn’t it be a GREAT opportunity in the same spirit as this change (to bring us more in line with what we lost in the Mass at the time of translation from Latin) to take this opportunity to try & make even SOME of the changes that would bring us back in line with what for centuries made us authentically Catholic?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz-mS8EPWP8&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R4jjYshP4qo

I get that Voris turns people off at times with his aggressive, "in your face" approach to his talks but I for one love this kind of person.  Someone who exudes confidence & speaks well with authority.  He so nails it here (as he does on so many occassions).  Our prayers in the Mass was not the only thing we have lost in translation since Vatican II.  In an attempt to please more people with a "feel good" approach to our faith, (which meant to the people making the changes, that learning the Catechism was less important than teaching it is good enough to live life as good person & God is love.) By the changes made, we have lost nearly everything that has made us authentically Catholic. It has dumbed us down to the point where attending Mass is a shallow act (because we don't understand it...we don't understand fully why we are there.)  To look around at everyone in their sports gear & sweats, that is pretty obvious. It is the reason why we find it so easy to turn our backs on the faith & walk away when a PERSON within the Church angers us.  The richness of a deep understanding is all but lost so we have no problem allowing anger at a person to turn us away from our only chance at salvation and turn our back on our faith. I think as a society as a whole, we shy away from hard work these days....being authentically Catholic is hard work. So many are leaving in droves to either forgo any type of organized religion (because the Church has failed to teach us how exciting and beautiful and rich with tradition and culture our faith truly is) or head to some type of Catholic "light" faith, that makes one feel better about the choices they make, that there are no consequences for actions, and that "works & deeds" or the following of "all the rules" are not needed to get to Heaven. It's an easy path that still makes us feel good about remaining religious.
Is it truly any wonder that while all these "changes" were happening in the Church that at the same time all the seminaries were being infiltrated by men who had no intention at all to be stewards of the faith or holy men but were using the all male society and position of authority as a hiding place to carry out the wicked acts that has virtually neutered the Church today?  I contend that when so much effort went into removing all aspects of what we knew as authentic Catholicism & replaced it with this Kumbaya approach that mirrors more Protestant faiths today than anything Catholic...I think we let our guard down in a major way. We wanted so badly to accept EVERYONE and see everything in such a new light, we were far less stringent in who we accepted as our leaders. All the changes that have taken place has only proven that the ones making the changes were somehow embarrassed or felt there were flaws in being Catholic. But by looking around today we can see that this excersise has left generations of us confused & ingnorat to our true faith & there is no wonder that so few recognize a calling to religious life...when we don't understand why we should be in love with our faith to begin with...how could we?

God bless!

Ahhh Sing It Michael...in only the way that you can!!!

Real Catholic...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=meg3KkX13IA

Things to remember...

I began reading a book a dear friend gave me called “Redicovering Catholicism” by Matthew Kelly.  Still in the forward I am already liking this book very much.  I want to share with you a passage that makes one proud to be a Catholic.

"Catholicism is more than a handful of priests who don’t know what it means to be a priest. There are 1.2 billion Catholics in the world. There are 67 million Catholics in America-that’s at least 15 million more people than it takes to elect an American president. And every single day the Catholic Church feeds, houses, and clothes more people, takes care of more sick people, visits more prisoners, and educates more people than any other institution on the face of the earth could ever hope to.

Consider this question: When Jesus was alive, where were the sick? Were they in hospitals? Of course not; there were no hospitals at the time of Christ. The sick were huddled at the side of the road and on the outskirts of town, and that is where Jesus cured them. They had been abandoned by family and friends who were afraid they would also become sick.

The very essence of health care and caring for the sick emerged through the Church, through religious orders, in the direct response to the value and dignity that the Gospel assigns to each and every human life.

Allow me another question: How many people do you know who were born to nobility? Men & women whose parents are kings, queens, dukes, earls, duchessess, knights, and so on? Not many I suspect and probably none. Well, that is how many educated people you would know if the Catholic Church had not championed the cause to make education available to everyone.  Prior to the Church’s introduction of education for the common man, education was reserved for nobility. Almost the entire Western world is educated today because of the Church’s pioneering role of universal education.”

Obviously the book continues & breaks down the impact of the Church on a national, then on an idividual, community level. The author was suggesting that although the Church has gone & is going through a difficult part in its history with dwindling numbers and so few religious & priests many have forgotten our beautiful past…

I’ll keep you posted on more wonderful things uncovered…        

Welcome Home!!

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1104497.htm

Today's Gospel....

When other Christians say that "good works or deeds" are not needed to reach Heaven...how do they explain today's Gospel?  It is not enough to claim Christianity & think that it is enough to be "saved."  Our faith is like everything else in life....one must work hard at it to reach success.  Learning our faith, good works, attending mass & receiving the Eucharist, confession of our sins...it is NOT easy but it is what is required of us...God bless you!

Mt 25:31-46
'When the Son of man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory.
³² All nations will be assembled before him and he will separate people one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats.
³³ He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.
³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right hand, "Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world.
³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome,
³⁶ lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me."
³⁷ Then the upright will say to him in reply, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you?
³⁹ When did we find you sick or in prison and go to see you?"
⁴⁰ And the King will answer, "In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me."
⁴¹ Then he will say to those on his left hand, "Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
⁴² For I was hungry and you never gave me food, I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink,
⁴³ I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, lacking clothes and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me."
⁴⁴ Then it will be their turn to ask, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or lacking clothes, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?"
⁴⁵ Then he will answer, "In truth I tell you, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me."
⁴⁶ And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the upright to eternal life.'

Had to Share This Story

Hello friends. I just had to share this story I heard this week. My husband was listening to talk radio on Friday afternoon & the host was talking to an entertainer who I guess is a big deal in Vegas & does a lot of charity work not only for our military but for kids as well.  The host asked him to tell the story of why he started doing charity work for children in particular & his story went like this: 
A woman approached me and shared with me her story.  Her son’s best friend in the world was his 6 year old buddy.  This friend got cancer.
Well, the 2 boy’s most favorite thing in the world to do was pretending they were horses.  As the boy got sicker, the boys conversations turned from everyday, 6 year old talk, to some heavy, philosophical topics like: Life, death, sickness and heaven.  The one boy would ask his friend “Do you think there are horses in Heaven?” the other would reply “I don’t know, maybe.” Well, the young boy died one night & the woman got the call to inform her.  She had no idea how to tell her son that his best friend had just died.  She went into his room, sat him down & said “Jimmy, I am so sorry but Danny died last night.” The boy responded “Oh I know Mommy.  He visited me last night and told me that there ARE horses in heaven…” JUST BLOWN AWAY by this story.  I have heard similar stories like this that could possibly be explained away by non-believers (like the person may have been sleeping & dreamed they saw something etc.) but the fact the boy KNEW his friend had passed before he was officially told really rocked me. The story really got to my husband as well.  
So the entertainer wrote a song about that story & every cent goes to pediatric cancer research.  Since I wasn’t the one who heard the story first hand, I don’t know the name of the person & my husband can’t recall it but just thought you may like that story as much as I did.

 

What do YOU think?

So I've been listening to the crecendo of Occupy Wall Street, then this past weekends anti-Semitic arsens in Brooklyn, watching the flash mob violence breaking out in places like Chicago & Philadelphia which are now popping up all over the nation....

It is clear that economic strains are creating more & more civil unrest which is becoming increasingly more disturbing.  Our “advanced culture” (HA!) has been watching violence break out all over the world & the mindset is washing over us all. Domestic abuse, suicide rates & addictions have increased tenfold over the past 2 years.  

It is time for Catholics and ALL faithful to get serious about who they are, what they believe and truly try and live it. There is a short distance between the faithless and chaos. We are being called everyday to stand up & be part of the solution to the increasing disorder around us. There is true evil in bedlam. I think we’re in for tough times ahead of us & it is time to truly evaluate or lives.  It maybe time to get tough because of the difficult times that lay ahead & possibly go without a lot of what we have become accustom to.  I believe our children face a far different America than what our generation has known. We need to prepare them.  Pray deeply & God bless America.         

Hope You Enjoy!

I received the following in a e-mail. I usually don't think ALOT about these types of things BUT...this one really spoke to me.  I hope you enjoy these pearls as much as I do.

I asked God to take away my habit.
God said, No.
It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said, No..
His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, No. Patience is a by product of tribulations;
it isn't granted, it is learned.

I asked God to give me happiness.
God said, No.
I give you blessings;
Happiness is up to you.

I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, No.
Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares
and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, No.
You must grow on your own,
but I will prune you to make you fruitful.

I asked God for all things
that I might enjoy life.
God said, No.
I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things.

I asked God to help me LOVE others, as much as He loves me.
God said... finally you get the idea.

Ohhh, Cathching Up on Michael & HAD to Share

Please do yourself a favor & take a little time & listen to him here giving this talk...you won't be disappointed.

http://www.youtube.com/user/RealCatholicTV?feature=mhee#p/u/0/9EImCEoIA7Y

Michael Voris with a Tough Message

WOW!  Michael Voris from "Real Catholic TV" discusses the tough road ahead for us, folks.  I don't take this kind of message lightly.

http://www.youtube.com/user/RealCatholicTV?feature=mhee#p/u/0/ZJiT0WYtWgc

For All You Natural Family Planners....

I consider myself lucky to have just had the opportunity on Monday evening to get a "free" introductory lesson on the newest & most exciting form of NFP available today.  If you are an advocate, I HIGHLY suggest you check out this NFP plan & search out a practitioner in your area. In a world so worried about sterlizing your hands & feeding organic food to our children...it SHOCKS me how we are so easily bought & sold on the idea of taking HARMFUL drugs & surgeries to supress & change the females natural cycle.  In this class I learned that they are linking early onset dementia to vasectomy surgeries as well...so guys are NOT without risks!!  I find this system AMAZING! It is life giving, marriage saving, relationship building, fertility restoring, health providing and completely in line with the Catholic church....what a blessing!!!!

http://www.creightonmodel.com/

Ahhh, the haters....

As much as I can be hurt by the haters of the Catholic faith by their acidic words, thankfully that hurt quickly turns to sadness knowing the fact that the person launching the bigoted remarks "knows not what they do."  They are lost...I feel it is a Catholic's calling to be like St.  Paul if we can and look for opportunities to to constantly be a light for those who are lost. "The Integrated Catholic" had this piece today on the topic, enjoy!

http://www.integratedcatholiclife.org/2011/11/jef-murray-the-perspicuity-of-puddleglum/

Hello Sweet World

Hello friends...so not only did my computer crash a few weeks ago BUT then we here in NJ got CRUSHED by a Nor'easter that had my family camped out in the dark in front of our fireplace until Friday so I was technology-less for a WEEK...it was brutal for me..HA!

I just came across this for today at www.UCatholic.com, yet another great resource & thought I'd share.  Enjoy your celebrtaions at Mass today & say a prayer for me & I will for you!

 http://www.ucatholic.com/catechism/1362/

God bless.

Happy Halloween!!

Enjoy this American Catholic article on this beloved holiday....

http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/default.aspx?id=23

Some Catholic Info I Thought Was Worth Sharing

Catholic News Agency keeps us updated on global Catholic news....great resource!

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-benedict-canonizes-three-new-saints/

Integrated Catholic again with some GREAT advice (some I need to heed myself)

http://www.integratedcatholiclife.org/2011/10/ask-a-carmelite-six-practical-means-to-overcome-sins-and-faults-of-the-tongue/

More on Mary & the Saints...

Integrated Catholic AGAIN....really love them.

http://www.integratedcatholiclife.org/2011/10/deacon-bickerstaff-of-course-we-pray-to-mary-and-the-saints/

SIGNS

I am a HUGE M. Night Shyamalan fan.  Actually, I’m a huge scary movie/story buff. My whole life the supernatural has intrigued and scared the pants off of me yet I always felt that I approached this attraction in a healthy way.  Always discounting it to mere entertainment & genre of fantasy that my mind liked to wander to when I wasn’t caught up in real life responsibilities. I always adored M. Night & how (on MOST occasions) somehow worked Christian faith into his stories (although Hindu himself, he attended a Catholic grammar school & when seeing his work one can see the influence.)  Although LOVING “Sixth Sense,” my favorite of his films has always been “Signs” with Mel Gibson. A story of a former Christian Pastor who when he lost his wife in a tragic accident, lost his faith.  After a “close encounter of the third kind” his faith is restored & he returns to his true calling as a pastor.  I always felt that the action and thrills of his films always take a backseat to the relationships and messages he sent through his characters & was possibly why his films didn't do as well at the box office.  His viewers want to be scared more than they want deep messages. I think I share some of M. Night’s life views, religious, yet the love of the unexplained which can be scary! He is deeper than your average "thriller" movie maker.
In recent years, I have met some fabulous people through my parish & my kid’s school (attached to the Church) through various organizations & events I have taken part of.  And through getting to know these folks, I have realized that MANY, everyday people, live their lives in receipt of & abiding by, signs they believe are regularly sent to them by God.  Huh.  REALLY?  These were people I respected & by becoming friends with them, I have come to witness how blessed many of these people are and it really made me take pause.  I attended a woman’s conference one day which, near the end became an open discussion. It was at this time that I became aware of just how many women in attendance felt they had, had some type of “Divine Intervention” take place in their lives and for some it was quite a regular experience.  One woman, an extremely intelligent lady, actually studied how signs can come to us through sequences of numbers that are regularly found in the Bible….like a Catholic numerology!  And another woman said that she had a serious devotion to St. Therese, “The Little Flower”, and when she called on her in prayer, inevitably, she would receive a gift of a rose to let her know that St. Therese was hearing her! All of this really blew my mind! Some asked me about my experiences which I had none to share! They all seemed shocked and adamantly insisted that I become more aware & open to these types of things.  I had always believed that miracles took place like when a priest administered a Sacrament and to very holy & pious people who later became SAINTS but to a shlub like me?  Skeptically, I left thinking about all of this.
These past two years have changed my skepticism into being a believer that my mind is still having a hard time wrapping around just how much. Since sharing with you my position on suffering due to my son's illness, I will now try & share with you all the “signs” I believe I’ve received along this crazy roller coaster ride my life has been along this journey.

My husband has been out of work for two years now. Halloween weekend of 2009 he came home to share the news with us that he was being laid off from the company he had worked for, for fifteen years. Since then, the “signs” have been hard to ignore. 2010 was a year spent in worry & anxiety. Living off of our savings and watching the news as the financial situation of our country grew increasing worse with loss of jobs & markets tanking, the outlook was NOT good.  My husband is/was a finance guy in a niche market. His industry in particular was taking a terrible beating. Resumes went out regularly with few responses & the random interview always seemed too promising.  I’ve mentioned it before and I have no idea why, but during this time I had this overwhelming & increasing feeling within me that my family was going through this trail because we were going to be called on, soon, to be strong for others. I thought that possibly we were learning the true lesson of humbleness and humility so when friends and family experienced it (which inevitably they would, due to one in every 10 people being without a job today) we would be able to be some kind of source of strength for them.  My husband thought I was nuts, but I could not get away from this nagging feeling that was at me all the time. I prayed & prayed that my husband would find work but as of yet, it has not happened and I truly believe that there has been reasons for it. I have also mentioned that in  February of 2011 my husband went on a series of interviews for a very exciting position. If he GOT the job, it would have moved us to North Carolina. He was told he was one of three final candidates and his chances were VERY high. So much so, that I began looking at real estate and schools online.  Well, he did NOT get that job and my husband was crushed. As crappy though it was, I STILL felt that there was a reason for it.  Well, when in the first week of May my son was diagnosed with stage-four cancer, I began STARTING to believe that maybe there was something to the concept of “signs” for everyday shlubs.  My mind immediately thought about “why” I had had this nagging feeling of “being made strong”…we were being made strong & I was learning how to REALLY pray in preparation for my son’s illness!!  My husband isn’t working so he can be here for our family during this difficult time. He has 100% picked up the slack at home with my daughter & has offered her a near normal life while my poor son & I have virtually lived at a hospital. She is still able to attend birthday parties and soccer games, her grades are not suffering and I contend it is because she isn’t being shipped off to friends, neighbors & grandparents while we continue with my sons treatments.  I HONESTLY don’t know how other family’s do it without there being more chaos & more emotional strain on the rest of the family with parents at work.  My husband CLEARLY did not get that job in NC so we would BE HERE for the amazing doctors who pushed to get our son into the trial drug study he is in. It is so obvious to me.  If we had continued our easy life right up until my son became ill…I THINK my mind would have quickly & easily gone to the “why me” place & I would have done far more damage to my family than this illness has!  My husband being out of work forced me to have already evaluated my life and my mind would not have already accepted and learned the lessons of humility & life’s true meanings. The sustaining GIFT of pray that had already become enriched & huge part of my life by all the time on my knees over my husband was ramped up even more when my son’s illness came along.  Signs?  There is no doubt that they were.  I have claimed that although we have had to deal with the earth shattering situation of our son’s illness, we have been spoon fed by God, Himself through all of this.  The very first day in the emergency room with my son, before we even KNEW what we were going to be faced with, my husband & I looked at each other and our stomachs churned.  In January we took the leap of dropping medical insurance for our family. 1) Because we were NEVER sick & 2) We were  confident he would soon be working.  The cost of private insurance would crush our dwindling savings too quickly. So we gambled and CLEARLY lost. When discussing our dilemma among ourselves when filling out the paperwork for admission for our son, a woman approached us who had her jacket on. This quiet, sunny smiled woman introduced herself and apologized for eavesdropping. She said she was just about to leave for the day BUT had overheard us talking and asked if we were aware of the new NJ program covering all children with medical insurance? Although she was about ready to leave, she could help us apply for this program. I thought that this woman was an angel in disguise because at that moment, we had no idea where to turn & she could have EASILY just continued on her way out the door that Friday afternoon. Now, I’m sure we would have eventually found out about all of this but in cut down on a lot red tape we would have later had to go through by immediately putting us in the system. I recall when the social worker assigned to us, handed us the exact same paperwork for the service and how pleasantly surprised she was to easily find us already in the computer system. No, that wasn’t an incredible, faith proving miracle but it was a small helpful hand out of the blue that I will not forget.  After having the OVERWHELMING feelings of Mary being with me & my son in the hospital early on in this experience then having the AMAZING occurrence of the grammar school friend who contacted me & who shared the story of my son’s oncologist (see my posting on Suffering) and her link to the creation of trial drug my son is taking! These were “in my face” LOUD & CLEAR signs for many to witness, including yourselves since I am sharing them.  And since all of this has rocked my family, many have suggested I start praying to St. Therese, “The Little Flower” & how I will receive a gift of a rose to let me know she hears me.  Now fully onboard with my belief in signs, me & a friend began a St. Therese novena. I must admit…I’m TERRIBLE at novena’s….I’ll get to maybe day 6 then forget to say the prayer & have to begin it all over again.  Well, true to form, I did it again.  My friend contacted me, excited to share her news that she had actually received her sign of a rose & asked had I?  I chalked it up to not finishing my novena but I shared that I hadn’t.  I gave up on the 9 day novena & took to saying the St. Therese prayer daily (meanwhile, I probably said that 9 days in a row unknowingly…HA!) & in the back of mind kept thinking “Wow…I have yet to receive my rose, oh well, no matter, I know she is listening regardless…” well not too long ago, a friend asked me to follow her to her car that she had a little something for me. This friend had NO IDEA of my recent, new devotion to St. Therese & when I got to her car she handed me a little, laminated card of rose petals that were blessed at a apparition site of Mary & Jesus.  She said this card was her grandmothers & she had recently come across it & thought of me.  On the bottom it said it was for “cures & conversions.” It didn’t hit me at the moment but I was driving home & thought “WOW! I got my gift of a rose that I can keep forever!!!”
Then finally, at possibly most remarkable, the news I've been receiving over the past two weeks of my son’s incredible remission. My son’s treatment protocol was handed to us us in week one....it was a calendar of 52 weeks.  The day he was diagnosed he was immediately told he would miss his entire kindergarten year of school.  They KNOW that kids with this cancer have AT LEAST a year of a fight ahead of them if they are gonna beat this thing at all.  I recently found out that given how badly my son had this disease throughout his system, he had an approximate 20% chance of living. My son threw up ONCE when he first started his treatments and we still have a full bottle of nausea medicine on our shelf from when we first filled the prescription.  He has never lost a pound. He has MINOR issues that have been more annoyances than anything else so far and now, at 19 weeks of treatment they are telling me they can find NO MORE CANCER CELLS IN HIS BODY. They did EXTENSIVE study on his bone marrow, thinking that the standard tests they use probably did not find the few cells still left floating around.  This past week I was told “No, the special test performed can find NO evidence of any random cells left.” AND the surgery performed on my boy last week was to remove a small lump left at the site of his largest tumor.  The PET scan reported no cancer growth there BUT the doctors feared that once dissected, they would find SOME cells left.  I’m here to report…they could find NONE.  In speaking with the oncologist directly on Friday he said & I quote “Frankly, we have NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE. We all expected a few random cells left in that mass.  I had to go back & read the entire report a second time.” My son was called “The Perfect Storm.” FLABBERGASTING!! The science world will explain this away but having lived beside this child morning, noon & night & having been the one tossed the breadcrumbs to follow on behalf of my boy all along…I have seen what the doctors have not.  I asked if the doctors were attributing this awesome occurrence to the trial drug he was taking.  They said “yes” because they can figure no other reason for it. I would like to see the results of this study to see if other children are responding as my boy has but as far as I know right now…they are NOT.  I know some are doing well but NONE have been deemed in “complete remission” at 19 weeks of treatment. A dear friend said “I just wish God could tell you somehow that your son has beat this for good!” I responded “My son could walk out my front door & be hit by a car tomorrow! No one can tell me how long my family will remain intact & healthy. God the father does not ride in with his white beard on a cloud throwing lightning bolts around or setting bushes on fire for shulbs like me.  He tosses little breadcrumbs in my path that I can either choose to pick up, or miss all together.  I am glad I chose to pick them up so far.  I just wonder how many I have missed throughout my life PRIOR to this because of not being aware.”
I watch my favorite movie “Sings” in a whole other light now.  I pick up on M. Nights subtle hints at signs that were given Mel Gibson that he chose not to see throughout the film until the very end when he had a tremendous moment of clarity & realizes them ALL which assist him in saving his whole family. Hence his return to his faith. To me Shyamalan is a genius & I wish him better success because for this one viewer…he speaks to me regularly & I get a good scare out of it as well. 

Look for your breadcrumbs friends...they are there in your path, all you have to do is bend over & pick them up!

Until the next time good people!