Wireless Cometh...and other things accomplished

Since I last left off with you, my First Communion class had their big day earlier in May; they are a beautiful class and because this has been a rough year for my family (my son's illness), I was so moved by this class making their sacrament, moreso than in years past. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed its arrival very much.

Mother's Day was a good day in my home, thanks to my wonderful family.

I am happy to report our candidates for Confirmation have now been confirmed by our wonderful Bishop, R. Daniel Conlon, of the Diocese of Steubenville, as of this last Sunday the 17th. This group included my daughter and it was a HUGE event. 67 candidates, 49 of which were from our parish, and two other smaller groups from two other parishes in our deanery. It was great to see and work with our fine Bishop again, as always, and to serve the families in our parishes. It is always a blessing and joy to help the youth of our parish and see them along, growing in their Faith. God is good.

My son is improving even more; good days mostly, with less bad days cropping up now. We are still asking prayers and still praying deepy and consistently our intercessory novenas for the benefit of his health in mind and body. Meatless Fridays, re-introduced through our wise Bishop, help us remember sacrifice and discipline and offer ourselves to others' needs.

Yes, Wireless cometh to our home this week....my kids are loving it, able to use their laptops to go on line and not be stuck at the home base table top computer. Ahhh.....such luxury....

Since I last blogged in, we are making progress in many areas. I didn't think it was possible - oh ye' of little Faith...however, I'm truly finding that all things are possible with God. I have been praying a special prayer through the intercession of Gwen Coniker (Catholic Familyland), for which I feel we are being blessed. Our son's health crisis is improving, slowly, but definite improvement. He/we are pushing our way through the remainder of fourth grade. It's been interesting and certainly a learning experience to have an OCD child. We have found both support and avoidance. We remain steadfast and do what we must do to help him along. In the meantime, our oldest is finishing up his senior year - and we are preparing for his graduation with friends and family. Our daughter is plugging away with the end of tenth grade work. She did a great job at her recent piano recital. She bought a new camera and is thrilled that summer weather is nearly here to stay. Our five year old is reading and developing more "conversation"; he was a late talker. I'm going to continue his reading practice with McGuffey. I love the Eclectic Readers - he's making his way through #1.

Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes. I will attempt to blog here and there as time permits. We finished up with First Communion this last weekend at our parish, and are making preparations for Confirmation soon. It's been a busy time.

Faith in the Risen Lord

It's been several months since I've last left off.....this is due to an illness that overtook our 9 yr old son after the first of the year. February and March were very difficult. Michael had a terrible flu - virus lasting at least 6 weeks; he ended up at the Children's hospital. He is doing better now, but it's been very slow going. As a result he has acid reflux. He was also diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Both of these health issues leave him feeling pretty horrible in the mornings. We long suspected some kind of anxiety disorder, and OCD did not come as a surprise. It has been a tough battle here, but with hope and faith we feel we are resurrecting this Easter with our Risen Lord, to new life. I ask your prayers for our family; it has been a hard year, getting our oldest ready for college (this upcoming Fall), and dealing with a very ill child and our regular responsibilites both at home and church. I feel I have neglected many areas of my life, but priorities first! Michael is undergoing therapy at this point for the OCD,(no medication); he is learning coping techniques; but he is very anxious and very nervous, and it makes it difficult here to do the normal things he/we have done, even such things as going to morning Mass. He is on medicine for the acid reflux and it has settled down some at this point.

In the meanwhile, as we adjust, I will attempt to keep my readers updated. I seem to at least be able to stay in touch through Facebook right now. But I sure miss my own blog and the favorite ones I've read for several years now.

God bless you all this Easter season! Enjoy a beautiful spring and keep in touch with me.

Good Friday, Fourteenth Station

Fourteenth Station:

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.

R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.


Very near Calvary, in an orchard, Joseph of Arimathea had had a new tomb made, cut out of the rock. Since it is the eve of the solemn Pasch of the Jews, Jesus is laid there. Then Joseph, rolling a great stone, closes the grave door and goes away (Matt 27:60).

Jesus came into the world with nothing; so too, with nothing —not even the place where he rests — he has left us.

The Mother of Our Lord —my Mother — and the women who have followed the Master from Galilee, after taking careful note of every thing, also take their leave. Night falls.

Now it is all over. The work of our Redemption has been accomplished. We are now children of God, because Jesus has died for us and his death has ransomed us.

Empti enim estis pretio magno! (1 Cor 6:20), you and I have been bought at a great price.

We must bring into our life, to make them our own, the life and death of Christ. We must die through mortification and penance, so that Christ may live in us through Love. And then follow in the footsteps of Christ, with a zeal to co-redeem all mankind.

We must give our life for others. That is the only way to live the life of Jesus Christ and to become one and the same thing with Him.

Points for meditation

1. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who are hidden disciples of Christ, intercede for Him making use of the high positions they hold. In the hour of loneliness, of total abandonment and of scorn..., it is then that they stand up for him audacter, boldly (Mark 15:43)...: heroic courage!

With them I too will go up to the foot of the Cross; I will press my arms tightly round the cold Body, the corpse of Christ, with the fire of my love...; I will unnail it, with my reparation and mortifications. . . I will wrap it in the new winding-sheet of my clean life, and I will bury it in the living rock of my breast, where no one can tear it away from me, and there, Lord, take your rest!

Were the whole world to abandon you and to scorn you... serviam!, I will serve you, Lord.

2. You know that you were ransomed from your vain observances..., not with silver or gold, which are perishable things, but with the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet 1:18-19).

We do not belong to ourselves. Jesus Christ has bought us with his Passion and with his Death. We are his life. From now on there is only one way of living on earth: to die with Christ so as to rise again with Him, to the point that we can say with the Apostle: It is not I that live, it is Christ that lives in me (Gal 2:20).

3. An inexhaustible source of life is the Passion of Jesus.

Sometimes we renew the joyous impulse that took Our Lord to Jerusalem. Other times, the pain of the agony which ended on Calvary... Or the glory of his triumph over death and sin. But always!, the love —joyful, sorrowful, glorious — of the Heart of Jesus Christ.

4. Think first about others. That way you will pass your life on this earth, making mistakes certainly, for they are inevitable, but leaving behind you a trail of good.

And when the hour of death comes, as it must inexorably, you will welcome it gladly, like Christ, because like Him we too will rise again to receive the reward of his Love.

5. When I feel capable of all the horrors and all the errors committed by the most wretched people, I understand well that I myself can be unfaithful... But this uncertainty is one of the bounties of God 's Love, which leads me to hold tightly, like a child, to the arms of my Father, fighting every day a little so as not to separate myself from Him.

Then I am sure that God will not let me out of his hand. Can a woman forget her baby at the breast, not have compassion on the child of her womb? Yet even if she were to forget, I will not forget thee (Isai 49:15).

Taken from The Way of the Cross, St. Josemaria Escriva

Mystic Monk Coffee

FW: Fr. Tom Euteneuer: Pro-Life Dos and Don'ts for 2009

	Spirit & Life®
	"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63) Human Life International e-Newsletter Volume 04, Number 04 Friday, January 23, 2009
	..................................................................................
	Pro-Life Dos and Don'ts for 2009 Dear Friends of Life, The pro-life movement is going through a great deal of self-examination at this time. I am not a pessimist, but my sense of realism tells me that the election of extreme abortion advocate, Barack Obama, and the nearly 7,000 political appointments of his administration will usher in a new decade of war on decency and the sanctity of life. Despite the ferocious optimism of his inauguration, the dark clouds of the culture of death are gathering over Washington as we speak, ready to cast their darkness everywhere. In this time of preparation for the upcoming total war on life, I offer this modest list of Dos and Don'ts for the generous and valiant pro-lifers who gather for the March for Life in Washington, DC on January 22nd. May all men and women of good will take these recommendations to heart for a fruitful pro-life 2009! DON'TS 1. Above all, do not grow despondent: there is much to fear for the situation of life around the world, but we are not permitted by our Christian faith to give up our efforts or zeal for life. In fact, we need to redouble it! 2. Do not become absorbed in the quest for a political solution to abortion: after 36 years of working for a political solution to abortion, we may soon see the wiping out of most, if not all, of the pro-life movement's gains with the stroke of a pen. Politics has failed. Or rather, we have failed at politics. Either way, politics now offers us little chance of anything other than just trying to slow the massive momentum of the culture of death. 3. Do not waste any more energy on overturning Roe: two Supreme Court seats are assured during an Obama administration, and they will undoubtedly be filled with extreme pro-abortion activist judges. A third appointment will leave us with no hope of overturning Roe in anyone's lifetime reading this. For that matter, the chance that a good pro-life President will succeed Obama in four years and nullify the leftward lurch of the high court is, shall we say, unlikely. Let's get hopes of undoing Roe out of our system and focus on more productive things. DOS 1. Pray every day for God to end abortion with our help (in that order): abortion is such a great spiritual and social evil that only the divine power of God Himself can end it. "The Lord hears the cry of the poor," but God will not do it alone. He needs us to humbly recognize the basic fact that it is humanly impossible to end this evil. We need to get on our knees and beg His Mercy on the unborn and the conversion of all those who commit these evils. 2. Commit to fasting every week to end the evils of abortion and contraception: "Some demons can only be driven out by prayer and fasting," said the Lord, and we have to take that admonition seriously if we are to effect any change in the hearts of our people or of our society. Fasting makes us more spiritual and gives greater efficacy to all our works and prayers. 3. Take back the culture: Even if the anti-lifers hold the reins of political power, we must not sit back and allow moral anarchists to define all the terms of the cultural or social agenda. Whether it is through social activism for life (crisis pregnancy centers, pickets and prayer marches) or through touching hearts and minds one soul at a time (persuasion, formation, teaching, media), we cannot be neutral about the direction our American culture is heading. It is leading us to certain spiritual death, and no one can afford that. We need to fight for it and never give up the battle. I promise you that Human Life International will be in the struggle for lives and souls continuously. It is our calling and mission. We will never give one inch to uphold the truth that the whole world needs to hear more than ever: namely, that human life is sacred from the first moment of natural fertilization to the moment of natural death - and we will defend it whether Obama likes it or not. Sincerely Yours in Christ, Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President, Human Life International

GOD
is
PRO-LIFE
Deut. 30:19



Best wishes and prayers to all those, including my own family, who will be marching in Washington DC for LIFE over the 22nd. May God protect all in their travels and graciously bless these efforts.

Feast of Epiphany

May God bless you abundantly as this beautiful Christmas season comes to a close. It doesn't last long enough in measurement of the calendar, but let's pray it lasts deeply and strongly in our hearts and lives. God bless!

"When you love other people and you spread that affection - Christ's kindly, gentle charity - all around you, you will be able to support one another, and if someone is about to stumble he will feel that he is being supported, and also encouraged, to be faithful to God through this fraternal strength." (The Forge, 148)

 

St. Josemaria Escriva

He is Born!

It's indeed been a while since I've had the opportunity to blog; so much has happened! But the short of it will have to remain, the short of it :) We had a beautiful Christmas Eve Vigil mass at our parish; the early one is primarily all about children! Children everywhere, including the main choir. We had fifteen school age children singing with the adult choir, ten of which were the ages of 8-9. The children's voices were so beautiful -- together there were about 28 singers. Special songs included: He is Born (a French hymn - awesome, if you haven't heard it), Dona, Nobis, Pacem, and a special number on guitar with the children singing: Children, Run Joyfully. All was inspiring, and memorable - lingering on for a long time to come. If you go to this link, you can hear a snipet of the song, Children Run Joyfully.

I hope all my visitors have had and are continuing to have a wonderful Christmastide. May God bless you all abundantly in this beautiful liturgical season as it leads us on into the new year ahead!

Election Part II - Catholic Culture and the Election of Barack Obama It is impossible to speak of a "Catholic culture" in America any longer. A whole segment of the populace who call themselves "Catholics" do not feel bound by any standard of Catholic orthodoxy or sanity. In fact, it is impossible to even speak of a Catholic culture in most parishes! At a recent "ministry faire" of a large Catholic parish in south Florida, the Respect Life ministry of the parish displayed its pro-life materials next to the table of the "social justice" committee of the same parish. Any commonality between the two ministries was simply in the space they shared. Their worldviews could not have been further apart, but they both call themselves Catholic. In fact, the "social justice" people were positively aglow about the election of their new messiah, Barack Obama. Several of them were speaking of their plans to attend the Inauguration and were utterly unaware that there would be 100,000 people marching on the nation's Capitol two days later for the right to life of unborn Americans which they had just voted into irrelevancy by electing Obama to the highest office of the land. One of them even expressed shock at the provisions of the upcoming Freedom of Choice Act until he was confronted with the nasty little fact that his messiah had been a sponsor of that pernicious bill in the last Congress. True to form, he steadfastly refused to allow that truth to have any effect on his euphoria. His mind was made up, and he would not let himself be confused by facts. Needless to say, the orthodox, practicing, believing Catholic pro-lifers will not be attending the Inauguration. How can these two groups sit side-by-side in the same pews and display their ministries in the same space at the same Catholic parish? Simply because this contradiction has been tolerated for years by those in charge of our Church. In this election season neither of these two groups received any guidance about voting according to Catholic principles because, as per usual, there was silence from the pulpit on the issue. The absolute failure of our church leaders to define for us what membership in the Church means - and then to enforce it - has led to the degradation of Catholic culture and the loss of meaning for things that are sacred. When Christ and Belial are considered equal partners in the sanctuary, then nothing in the sanctuary means anything any more and no meaningful standard exists to distinguish a true Catholic from a false Catholic. The degradation of Catholic culture is largely, but not exclusively, the fault of the clergy. For four decades in the Catholic Church in America we have seen: Liturgical abuses run rampant, aided and abetted by those in charge Two or three generations of Catholics left un-catechized or taught with flimsy, Protestantized fluff passed off as Catholic education Sexual abuse by clergy excused and unaddressed by the hierarchy A blind eye turned to high profile dissent and political class heretics Wholesale attacks on sacred teachings that receive virtually no response from our pastors (and if it weren't for Catholic Answers, EWTN and the Catholic League we would have no defense whatsoever) The succumbing of our Catholic institutions of higher education to the ravages of political correctness, and the list goes on. In the face of all this, should we be surprised that 54% of "Catholics" voted for Barack? Hardly. The battle for Catholic culture begins with us, and there is no time like the present to don the armor of spiritual warfare. We either believe and practice what the Church teaches or we live as part of the shadow church, falsely trading on the Name Catholic for its benefits without at the same time shouldering the crosses that this entails. There is, however, great hope for the future because the battle has already been engaged: new Catholic colleges are springing up to replace the old decrepit houses of heresy, new religious orders with abundant vocations and orthodoxy have arisen, home schooling families and strong lay movements are abundant now. Only when we take back our beloved Church from the false Catholics and clerics will our Church be able to stand up and rebuke the storm winds of paganism that are building faster than we care to admit. This project is not without its price, however. The cost of being a true believer will undoubtedly be much higher than ever before in our lifetime. Starting now and into the next generation we as Catholics will have to show the world not only what we believe but that we are willing to lay down our lives for it as a witness to the truth.
Sincerely Yours in Christ, Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President, Human Life International www.hli.org

 

Honoring the Saints, and our Dearly Departed

Wishing you all, on this beautiful first day of November a happy All Souls. I have little time to spend blogging these days, and I miss you all so much, so I am ever grateful when I "happen" upon something edifying without trying ;) And so it has happened!....Follow this link to a wonderful blog and read Charlotte's ideas on honoring our dearly departed. Her blog is simply beautiful and presents some lovely ideas for families:

Waltzing Matilda

God bless you, I'll be back!