Recently in living the faith Category

I have been thinking about Brian's article about Bl. Maria Celine and pondering that the only way she could have endured so many major crosses in her life was by first enduring the little crosses of her life. That got me thinking about how I am doing in comparison. There are so many times throughout the day when little things just bug me - plans have to be changed, Andrew makes yet another mess, something breaks down, ants are all over the kitchen, etc.

Sometime I am able to take a deep breath and offer up the inconvenience to Our Lord but too often, I get aggravated and upset. I remember one time I was sharing this with a priest in confession and I'll never forget his response, "What makes you so special that you think you shouldn't have inconveniences in your life?" He was very kind and sincere in how he said it, but the question delivered the swift kick in the rear I needed. Oh yeah, I guess that little pride thing has been getting in the way again.

So I've been trying to see all the little crosses in daily life as my opportunity to practice humility and self-surrender. Sometimes it's a hit and sometimes it's a miss but I'm working on it. (Ah, Andrew just tipped over the trash can onto the floor. I didn't know I was going to have to practice quite so soon! Later.)

After reading the article We must 'cultivate knowledge and devotion to the saints,' Holy Father exhorts, I knew Brian would appreciate the Holy Father's message. He loves studying the lives of saints and other holy men and women. He find many lessons about living your Catholic faith in the small and big ways. Here's one lesson Brian wrote about this month.

Blessed Marie Celine: Enduring the Cross (1878 - 1897)

Recently I read a book entitled, "Blessed Marie Celine of the Presentation," published by TAN books. After reading the phenomenal story of this Poor Clare nun who died at the age of nineteen, I could think of only one word to describe her life - "faithfulness." Blessed Marie Celine, whose real name was Germaine Castang, was not a mystic nor someone who performed miracles, rather, she was a simple, humble girl, whose life was a litany of suffering.

From an early age, Christ asked Blessed Marie Celine to pick up her cross and follow Him. She carried five major crosses during her brief life. Her first cross came in the form of a disease she contracted at the age of four. It deformed her foot and made it both difficult and painful to walk. Her second cross came in the form of poverty when her family lost their home and possessions due to her father's poor business dealings. The third cross was being separated from her family and placed in an orphanage. The fourth cross she had to bear was the passing of her mother and beloved brother, Louis. The fifth and final cross came when she was a novice in the Poor Clare monastery of "Ave Maria of Talence." She contracted tuberculosis, which took her life.

From what I read, Bl. Marie Celine never uttered the words, "Why me?" or "This isn't fair." Nor did I come across anything that would suggest that she turned her back on Jesus or became self absorbed. Rather, when faced with these crosses, Bl. Marie Celine turned her heart and soul toward Christ and His Mother, clinging to them with all her strength.

Throughout her life, Bl. Marie Celine's faithfulness radiated the light of Christ, while giving her the strength to carry her crosses and dispel the darkness and suffering that surrounded her. Her faithfulness never wavered even during the worst of times. Instead, it remained constant and steady.

Bl. Marie Celine's faithfulness was not kept only within the interior of her soul, but it spilled over into her daily life. For instance, while at the orphanage she was often seen going on day pilgrimages to Marian shrines. In the Poor Clare monastery during the last months of her life fellow religious saw her carrying a small crucifix in the palm of her hand. These are just two examples, among many, which show how Bl. Marie Celine's faithfulness manifested itself under the shadow of the cross.

The life of Bl. Marie Celine should be a constant reminder to us that we are not only called to bear our crosses, but that in bearing them, we should turn our hearts and souls outward, toward Jesus and Mary. If we do this, we will be led to greater faithfulness, which in turn will become a pipeline into the grace and mercy of God.

God bless,
Brian

Here is an interesting article from CatholicNews.com - No 'Yahweh' in songs, prayers at Catholic Masses, Vatican rules. I guess that means no more singing "You Are Near."

Here is an interesting article from lifesitenews.

Immodest Dress in the Church: Like Frogs in Boiling Water

A friend was asking me about how I do a morning meditation and how it differs from sitting quietly and repeating an "ooom" mantra. Well, the purpose of my meditation is to quiet myself down (my head can be going a mile a minute) and to turn my heart and mind towards God in order that I may converse with Him, draw closer to Him and allow Him to guide me in the rest of my day. It's basically spending quiet time with the one you love. I admit, unlike Brian, it doesn't come easy to me to sit and pray. I have to work at it so that even on days when I feel rushed, I can give God some quality quiet time. Starting my day off this way helps me to keep Him in focus when the rest of the day is crazy with typical mommy duties. (Some prefer to take this prayer time in the evening or at 2am when they are feeding a newborn. Go for whatever works for you. Start small and work your way up.) If you want a better explanation on how to accomplish this prayer, check out this Meditation Guide that really helped me.

I was talking to a friend yesterday about the value of suffering. As a Catholic, suffering is a part of our faith life and can even be seen as a "blessing." This is a hard concept to understand, but in light of the cross, we can see how something horrible (Christ's death on the cross) can be transformed into something incredible (our redemption.) In the same way, our own sufferings, when united to Christ, take on new meaning. It can draw us to a deeper love of God and a greater dependence on his Providence. It can also be offered as a prayer for the salvation of souls. It boggles my mind.

If you really want to dig deeper into this, check out the John Paul's apostolic letter SALVIFICI DOLORIS (ON THE CHRISTIAN MEANING OF HUMAN SUFFERING.)

And for a simple explanation to share with Christians who don't understand the concept, check out Why Are Catholics So into Suffering?

We've been watching the coverage of World Youth Day over the weekend and it has been so inspiring. There are highlights from the closing Mass homily over at Aggie Catholics Blog. Also check out the photos and video from the live Stations of the Cross.

It's Monday again and I'm still amazed that the weekends can pass so quickly. Brian is off at work and the kids are still snug in their beds so I thought I'd make a post. This morning I can't stop thinking about a conversation I had with a dear friend of mine who has a serious illness. It has made me really think about the brevity of our lives in comparison to eternity. It reminded me of a promise I made to God that I wouldn't just settle for being comfortable in life, but instead, I'd try to make a difference. I promised to love God with all my heart and to do whatever He asked of me to help others come to a greater love for Christ. It made me reevaluate how I have been living this promise.

I know we all need a little relaxing "downtime," but I think we can get caught up in a lot of frivolous things that, although not bad in themselves, can keep us from doing what we are called to do as Christians - to love God with all our heart, mind and strength and to evangelize the world so others may do the same. So I challenge you to join me in asking God this question: "Lord, is there something in my life that is taking up too much of my time and energy? And if so, please give me the wisdom and strength to correct it."

The feast day of Sts Ann and Joachim is on July 26. If you'd like to make a novena to them, today is the day to start! St. Ann is my patron saint and I've had a devotion to her for a long time. I found it especially comforting to pray to her and St Joachim when I was single and looking for a holy spouse and when I was married and dealing with infertility, praying for a child. There many novena prayers you can use, but here are a few links to get you started.

Nine Day Novena at EWTN.com

Short Version Novena

Novena for Infertility

Last week I received an email from a friend who was acquainted with the Girard Family. I thought I had posted the prayer request then but I just found it still in my drafts. Better late than never, so here it is.

Please pray for the Girard Family. They are a strong Catholic family in CT that has endured unimaginable crosses. To put it briefly, last year their house burned down and they suffered great financial problems. Then a couple weeks ago, tragedy struck again when husband Thom and three of his children were swimming at a local pond. Something happened to Thom and he began to drown. His 17-year-old son Marc (who was accepted as a postulant of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate) swam out to try to rescue him. In the end, they both died. They are survived by wife/mom Carol and the remaining four children/siblings.

My friend forwarded the following links if you'd like to read more.

In Memoriam: Thom and Marc Girard

House of Art Journal: Passing of a Young Knight (Scroll down to the bottom of the post for info on how to donate money to the Girard Family Fund.)

Homily by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate

A recent interview with Thom before he died.

I’ve been thinking a lot about confession lately, particularly after just receiving the sacrament on Saturday. I try to go every two weeks at best and once a month at worst. I remember a time years ago when I was living with serious sin and not frequenting confession. Thankfully, the grace of God got me back on track and I am no longer a stranger to the Sacrament.

However, I now find myself in another kind of confessional quandary. I sometimes fall into the trap of thinking, “Well, I’m not doing so bad…at least I am no longer (fill in the blank with a serious sin.)� This attitude always creeps up on me when my night prayers/examination have been on the weak side. Knowing I had to correct this, I made an extra effort with my exam and went to Confession to a new priest from a local parish. Normally after I state my sins, I receive a few words of direction and then my absolution of a Hail Mary or two. However, this priest wasn’t going to give me a quickie-confession. He spoke to me in a gentle but straightforward way that actually brought me to tears.

It was if the grace of God was poured down upon me and I got a glimpse of how much Christ loves me and how my lack of love hurts his Sacred Heart. In that moment, I felt like a selfish wife who takes her husband for granted but figures that as long as she is not cheating on him, it’s okay. However, “not cheating� on your husband is much different from truly “loving� your husband.

After I left the confessional, I walked over to the sanctuary, with Bella and Andrew in tow, to pray before Our Lord and say my penance but I didn’t even have enough time and had to do my penance later in the evening. Instead of the usual two Hail Mary’s I had to say a whole rosary. It was as if God was bringing the point home and saying to me loud and clear, “I love you but don’t mistakenly think that those ‘little’ sins don’t matter, especially since you know better. Where much has been given, much is expected.� Ouch, point taken.

Our Lord wants all of me and I haven’t been doing that lately. I know it is a constant work in progress but I am grateful for these times when I’m given a reality check and reminded that Christ must stay at the center of my heart in order for me to selflessly love Him and sacrificially love those around me. Thank you, Lord, for your patient and merciful heart! (And to that unknown priest, thank you for giving me just what I needed! May God bless you and strengthen you!)

“Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.�(Eph 5:1-2)

A friend was telling me about a Catholic CD of the Month Club and it sounds great! Each month you receive a CD from one of a number of Catholic speakers. Some of the CD’s sent out these past months include: The Face of God by Mother Teresa with bonus talk by Dr. Scott Hahn - Understanding the Eucharist (Jun 2008), The Seven Levels of Intimacy by Matthew Kelly (May 2008), and A Guide to Raising (almost) Perfect Kids by Dr. Gregory Popcak & Lisa Popcak with bonus talk - Discipline That Lasts a Lifetime by Dr. Ray Guarendi (Apr 2008). That’s some good stuff! In fact, in the time it took to type this, I decided to join. The cost is $5 a month for one copy and or you can get discounted bulk prices to pass along to friends. Check it out at Lighthouse Catholic Media.

The way Brian loves books, I love magazines because at this point of my life, I don’t have the time to sit and read like I used to. At least with a magazine, I can take ten minutes to read a whole article before I have to stop and clean up the box of cheerios Andrew dumped on the floor. One of my favorite Catholic mags was Envoy. I loved its mix of solid Catholic teaching/apologetics and zany humor and I was bummed when they stopped publishing. Then out of the blue, I received a new issue with the notice that they are back up and running. I was happy to hear it! You can get your own free issue of Envoy Magazine here.

The other resurrected magazine is True Girl, now called TG Magazine. The mag is geared for Catholic teen girls and older. Although Bella was too young for it, I ordered a sub when it first came out to support them and pass on to friends. I thought it was well done and am happy to hear that it is around again! If you have a teen girl you should check it out at TGMagazine.net. (The new website is not as visually appealing as the old one, but it is still early in the game.)

Lastly, since we are on the topic of magazines, if you are a Catholic wife and mother (or husband/father) you absolutely MUST order Faith and Family Magazine! The quality, both in production and content, is excellent! It has practical and informative articles on living your Catholic faith in all aspects of family life and I have never been disappointed in an issue. I love it! Plus, now you can read a sample issue online at FaithandFamilyMag.com. (We are so excited to get others to read F&F that we started selling subs as a fundraiser for the RoL website. Just use promo code “Q91286� when ordering online. Thanks!)

I was thinking about yesterday’s post this morning and it got me to thinking about suffering in general. There are various degrees but whether you are suffering from infertility, the loss of a child, the death of your husband or any number of things, there seems to be a point where you are able to lift your eyes and see that you are not the only one suffering.

A friend struggling with infertility told me about a book she was reading about a Japanese woman who was persecuted for her faith – they tortured her and her 3 yr old child. Despite the horrors she faced, she kept her faith saying, "Remember that life on earth is very short and eternity is very long." It brought to mind friends who have suffered tremendous loss – a newly married friend whose husband was accidentally killed while she was pregnant with their first child, another friend whose mom was brutally raped and murdered, and an acquaintance who suffered eight miscarriages in a row. They could not comprehend why God allowed these things and the internal anguish was acute but they relied on God’s grace and only He was able to bring them through it.

This was a tremendous example to me. I don’t think the pain of loss ever fully goes away but it helped when God’s grace allowed me to take the focus off of myself and realize that there are many who suffer, and suffer greater than I do. After some time, I finally reached a point of saying, “Ok God, you obviously have a different plan for me right now, so what are you asking of me?� And He let me know. There was work for me to do while I was single (looking for a husband,) childless (praying for a baby,) parent of one (missing my miscarried babies) etc. It was difficult but God used these opportunities to bring me out of myself so I could stop focusing on only what I wanted from God and start focusing on the larger picture (eternity) and asking God what did He want of me?

Here is a cool pro-Catholic Church commerical put out by CatholicsComeHome.org

Brian is a huge Packer fan so I knew he'd enjoy reading this article.
Green Bay Packers Brett Favre and Wife Deanna Credit Catholic Faith

We get countless emails from people who are suffering from the ill effects of pre-marital sex (teens and older) so I thought this article was timely.

The Neglected Heart: The Emotional Dangers of Premature Sexual Involvement

We hope you are having a blessed Holy Week.

Just a reminder that today, Good Friday, is the first day of the Divine Mercy novena. If you don't have a copy of the prayer you can find it at at ewtn.com: The Divine Mercy Novena.

(Thanks to Tim Drake's Young & Catholic Blog for the heads up.)

From GODSPY:

Father Peter Mitchell�a young priest from Nebraska studying in Rome�found himself immersed in the events surrounding the death and burial of Pope John Paul II. In a series of intimate email letters he sent to friends and family, he gave testimony to the Pope�s influence on his life, and captured the details and emotions of that extraordinary week, when the world stopped to mourn the passing of a saint...
Read Lettes from Rome.

I may not agree with all their methods but I do believe porn use among Chrisitans/Catholics needs to be better addressed. Exposing Faith Through the XXX Church

CBN.com � HOLLYWOOD - Two young California pastors say the church isn't facing up to one of the nastiest temptations facing most believers these days, which is pornography. So these men have started up a controversial ministry to take on porn.

Pornography's gone big time. Thirty million people are now logging on to some 300,000 porn Web sites daily.

Craig Gross of xxxchurch.com (Triple X Church) said, "We've talked to people who've lost jobs because they've been looking at it at work. We've talked to people who've gone bankrupt. We've talked to people whose marriages have been destroyed."

With pornography becoming more of a radical problem in society, at least a couple of southern California pastors have decided it needs to be dealt with...radically."

So Mike Foster and Gross started up a web ministry that calls itself "The number one Christian porn site." And they set up booths at America's biggest porn conventions. The purpose? To help people break free from porn...
Read whole article here.

Let us take an extra effort to unite our prayers with the Cardinals. May the Holy Sprit guide them in electing our new pope.

Lord God,
You are our eternal shepherd and guide.
In your mercy grant your Church a shepherd who will walk in your waysand whose watchful care will bring us your blessing.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

(From the Roman missal, "To elect a Pope or bishop")

As a memeber of the JPII Generation, I was happy to read this article -
A Small, Sturdy Band of 'John Paul Priests'.

When the Rev. Jeffrey Njus thinks about why he spends his days encouraging other young adults to pray often and make lifelong commitments, he recalls the man who changed his life in 1993.

Father Njus was a tourist with a group of fellow Protestant college students at the Vatican when Pope John Paul II strolled down the aisle and grasped his hand just long enough to create what he remembers as "an encounter with holiness," one that revealed to him "what God wanted to do with my life."

Twelve years later, Njus ranks among approximately 17,000 men ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood in America during John Paul II's 26-year pontificate. And when Njus speaks about what drives him, he echoes their dreams and the pope's as well for a world returned to upright morality.

"Our society is facing different issues than ... in the 1960s and '70s," says Njus, now associate pastor at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Brighton, Mich. "The social revolution from that time left the family wounded. So we priests who grew up in that generation are now addressing that wound..." Read Full Story

Thanks to Sr Imelda of the Poor Clares for sending us her vocation story for RoL. It is a great story - and rather humorous! Check it out.

Mother Angelica's Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration in Portsmouth, Ohio: Sr. Imelda Marie's Vocation Story.

There is an interesting article at Spirit Daily about Sister Lucia. Here is a snippet:

Lucia prophetically indicated that the intense part of the struggle would focus on consecrated souls. She made that prediction in 1957 -- as it turns out, the period during which the current sex-abuse crisis had its germination. Such was also forecast in a recent book the seer wrote.

"The devil does everything to overcome souls consecrated to God because in this way, the devil will succeed in leaving the souls of the faithful abandoned by their leaders, thereby the more easily will he seize them," she said on December 26, 1957, with chilling prescience.

"That which afflicts the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Heart of Jesus is the fall of religious and priestly souls," she told Fuentes. "The devil wishes to take possession of consecrated souls. He tries to corrupt them in order to lull to sleep the souls of laypeople and thereby lead them to final impenitence."

Her main mission, Sister Lucia said, was to indicate to everyone not so much earthly chastisement as the danger of losing one's soul for eternity. The devil does his best, she warned, to distract people from prayer and take away the love for it. "We shall be saved together," she said, "or we shall be damned together."

Next Wave Faithful.com has a great article by Stephanie Woods entitled Modesty & Style: an Oxymoron?.

I received this email the other day and since the question has been asked more than once we decided to post the answer at RoL.

Question: I have a question for you...have you both ever encountered a situation where people start talking about the Priests, Mass, Church etc in a negative way? I have and don't know what to say or do in the situation. Truthfully, I(WE) are not that knowledgeable about the rubrics of the Mass/Church. A friend had told me that you are still receiving Jesus and to focus on that. Also, in the Pieta prayer book it does say that Jesus alone will judge the Priests and we need to sacrifice and pray for them and the persons that are complaining; we should say 3 Hail Mary's. Any help on this would be appreciated. -Jane Doe

Answer: Hi Jane, Thanks for writing. In regards to your question, it's a really tough situation. We have faced situations like that and have met people who were known for constantly priest bashing and church complaining. It may be easy to fall into that, particularly when some of the complaints are legitimate. However, we want to make sure we do not fall into that trap. Our lack of charity for the priests is a serious offense in itself. First, we have to remember that a priest, and especially a bishop, has an incredibly difficult job both in the logistics sense and the spiritual sense. (Not to mention Satan attacks priests and religious doubly hard for he knows the good they can do!) There are some priests who just don't care but I think the vast majority of questionable practices are done either due to lack of formation or a desire to "bend the rules" in the hopes of reaching out to someone.

I was reading the article Addiction to porn destroying lives, Senate told. It was interesting that it said "studies show prolonged use of pornography leads to 'sexual callousness, the erosion of family values and diminished sexual satisfaction.'

It�s ironic that there would be diminished sexual satisfaction. That�s exactly how sin works. It pulls you in and may give temporary pleasure but it slowly eats you alive making you feel emptier than when you started. This is particularly true with pornography (and similar to drugs abuse and other addictive sins) the �level of entry� is never constant. As time goes by you need a greater quantity and a heavier dose. What starts off �innocent� can quickly become life-consuming. And I think nothing is quite as tenacious as sexual sin. Once it sucks you in it�s hard to get out � hard, but not impossible with the grace of God.

If you can relate, there�s some helpful articles at Dads.org under Help for Those Struggling with Pornography.

And if you want to read more about the struggle to live chastely refer to what I wrote in What If the Spirit Is Willing But The Flesh Is Weak? God be with you and strengthen you.

In his latest e-letter, Karl Keating of Catholic Answers featured the site CatechismClass.com. It is based on the Catechism and is listed as "authentic, orthodox Catholic." There are lessons for K-12 including sample lessons for you to review before signing on. Take a look.

Steven at Flos Carmeli always has some great posts, I just never have time to get over there. Although today I visited and I love this piece! It reminds me of when my spiritual director told me that God is able to use our faults and weaknesses as means to reaching greater virtue and sanctity. For example, St. Francis de Sales had a fiery temper yet he became known as the "gentle saint".

Steven also makes an excellent point in reminding us that we need to stop trying to be someone else and be the saint that God has called us to be. It is one thing to admire and receive encouragement through the example of historical saints but it is important to draw from it a lesson that we can use in our own life. Not to duplicate their life but to draw inspiration on how to strive for holiness in our own unique life and circumstances. But Steven says it better than I could so read on.

...Too often, it seems, we may do the same with Saint's lives. We look upon their extraordinary accomplishments and then embellish them so that they become not so much role models as distant figures of impossible faith and piety. We neglect their ordinariness. We admire them, but we can come up with an extraordinary plexus of reasons why we couldn't possible emulate them in any way. How often have I heard, "Oh, I couldn't be like St. Th�r�se, she was so holy from such a young age." So who is asking you to be like St. Th�r�se? We already have one of those, and there are those in the world who would maintain that one is more than enough. (I used to be among them--no longer). Continued...

The other day a friend asked me where we purchased the "How to Pray the Rosary" pamphlets we give away with our rosary packets. We especially like this pamphet b/c it includes all of the mysteries (including the luminous) and each mystery has a photo, a scripture reading, and a fruit to pray for. On the other side of the pamphlet there are papal reflections of the mysteries, all the prayers of the rosary, and a "how to" diagram. It is an excellent version!

You can order copies online at Marians of the Immaculate Conception: Online Catalogue. Just scroll down to the bottom to "Pray the Rosary Daily - Revised.

BR>My sister Elena in Washington DC sent me this email. I had a good laugh! Hope you do to!

Subject: Catholic Dictionary

AMEN: The only part of a prayer that everyone knows.
BULLETIN: Your receipt for attending Mass.
CHOIR: A group of people whose singing allows the rest of the congregation to lip-sync.
HOLY WATER: A liquid whose chemical formula is H2OLY.
HYMN: A song of praise, usually sung in a key three octaves higher than that of the congregation's range.
RECESSIONAL HYMN: The last song at Mass, often sung a little more quietly, since most of the people have already left.
INCENSE: Holy Smoke!
JESUITS: An order of priests known for their ability to found colleges with good basketball teams.
JONAH: The original "Jaws" story.
JUSTICE: When kids have kids of their own.
KYRIE ELIEISON: The only Greek words that most Catholics can recognize besides gyros and baklava.
MAGI: The most famous trio to attend a baby shower.
MANGER: (1). Where Mary gave birth to Jesus because Joseph wasn't covered by an HMO. (2). The Bible's way of showing us that holiday travel has always been rough.
PEW: A medieval torture device still found in Catholic Churches.
PROCESSION: The ceremonial formation at the beginning of Mass consisting
of altar servers, the celebrant, and late parishioners looking for seats.
RECESSIONAL: The ceremonial procession at the conclusion of Mass - led by parishioners trying to beat the crowd to the parking lot.
RELICS: People who have been oing to Mass for so long, they actually know when to sit, kneel, and stand.
TEN COMMANDMENTS: The most important Top Ten list not given by David Letterman.
USHERS: The only people in the parish who don't know the seating capacity of a pew.

Hahaha! Take care & keep praying, b.

I was browsing the phatmass phorum and I found a beautiful Prayer For Seeking A Marriage Mate. I'm posting it here for my single friends:

"Lord, You said that it is not good for us to be alone. You made us for each other. But Lord, I find it so hard to find that mate who would be a good spouse. Help me, Lord, to put this yearning for marriage in its proper place. Lead me, Lord, to the one whom You choose for my spouse. While I wait for You to reveal Your Will in this matter, help me to know myself better. Help me to address those areas of my life which are disordered and which would interfere with my having a successful marriage. When my desire to find a spouse becomes all consuming, help me to relax and practice patience. Help me to invest in wholesome friendships which bring me closer to You and which will assist me in making such an important decision. It is so natural, Lord, to seek love. Teach me to seek You first and to learn to give love before I try to receive it. Help me to remember that whatever journey this life leads me on, You are always present, always offering companionship, and always filling my deepest need. I offer You, Lord, my loneliness and my longing for marriage. I wait for You to lead me to Your perfect Will for me in this and all things. Amen."

For those of you who prefer shorter prayers, this one was suggested on the phorum:

"Dear Saint Anne, Send Me A Man..."

I was browsing Two Sleepy Mommies blog and Pansy had an interesting commentary on Zoe Romanov's blog about Modesty in dress. The topic of swimwear was discussed and how some kids aren't allowed to swim at all b/c of swimwear. I was thinking about this last week when I had to buy a bathing suit for Bella. I was disgusted. I went to the kids r us store and was offended by some of them that seemed more suitable for a vegas showgirl. However I did find one that was decent looking that even came with a little bathing skirt to attach to it.

However, I think Pansy's little girl was older and didn't fit into her old modest suit. She was looking for non"Laura Ingalls" suits and posted a link for Wholesome Wear Suits and she said she like the convenience of them (kids jumping in and out of the pool/lake/ocean) as well as the modesty of them.

Personally, I don't think I would buy them but I found some decent suits (in my opinion) for girls at Land's End. They have a basic suit for girls (size 4-16) with a tiny built in skirt/riffle that is not too low cut or there's a two piece that looks more like a tank top and shorts or you can forgo the bathing suit all together and get a hip looking surfboard suit (although maybe that's more normal here in California)

All this talk reminded me of growing up at both ends of the spectrum. When I was younger my parents were not practicing catholics so modesty was not much of an issue. After their conversion there was a period of "only skirts" type of thinking. (Something I hated b/c I despised dresses and loved shorts, band t's & converse 24/7). Finally we found a happy medium of modesty without being too "extreme".

I think a lot also has to do with attitude. I know a number of home schooling families and one in particular dressed their girls in praire dresses but the girls were really flirtatious and boy crazy. They tried to act �hot� regardless of what they were wearing. On the other hand I see my younger sister who was homeschooled and who�s a sweet wholesome girl in college (public JC). She and her friends dress in today�s fashions but they always look modest and wholesome without standing out like a sore thumb. Even beyond their clothes you can see their wholesomeness in their demeanor and attitude. They demand respect because they respect themselves.

It reminds me a lot of the interview I did with chastity speaker Crystalina Padilla a couple months ago. She talked about woman respecting themselves before expecting a man to. Hey, on a side note, did you know that she married Jason Evert of Catholic Answers on Saturday!! What an awesome couple! But I digress. Anyway, those are just some thoughts I had about the topic.