Recently in prayer Category

For the next few Weigh-in Wednesdays I'll be doing a book study of Hallie Lord's Style, Sex, and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter .

Previous posts:

Chapter 1 - How I Fell Out of My Minivan and Found Myself by Jen Fulwiler's.

Chapter 2 - "Style: Balance, Beauty and You" by Hallie Lord

Two Concerns - When I write about prayer and the spiritual life, I find it difficult because I never know where the other person is at spiritually speaking. There are some Catholics who will say grace before meals and perhaps a quick prayer in the morning and the night. Then there are some who go to daily Mass, pray a daily rosary, attend weekly adoration, read the Bible and the Breviary. There is not much I can tell them that they don't already know. On the contrary, I am the one who can learn from them.

So when I first saw that Karen Edmisten's chapter was about prayer, two thoughts immediately came to mind. First, I hope she is not over-my-head spiritual and I get lost when she starts talking about locutions and whatnot. The second concern was what can she say that I haven't already read a hundred times? I sighed and opened up the chapter anyway.

God Speaks - Just as I was about to start reading, Matthew (my one year old) started banging his toy on our flat screen TV. I looked up and could see the color of the TV screen go white at the spot where he was banging. Quickly I turn off the TV and took the toy away knowing that it would do little good because it is a game he enjoys playing. I tell him no, take the object away and get him interested in something else. He waits for me to walk away and then he runs back to the TV and bangs it with any object he can find. As I am looking at him exasperated, I can hear that "God voice" in my heart says, "You know, Bobbi. You are just like little Matthew. I tell you something. You listen for a few minutes then you are off doing your own thing again. You may have heard all that prayer stuff many times before but are you actually listening and following it? Are you so proficient that you have nothing left to learn?" Touché.

I'm Hooked - I return to the book and dig into Chapter 3, knowing that God has his lessons for me. My second concern that Karen would be too lofty was alleviated when I read advice like this:

"Theoretically, the when of prayer is simpler than the what. We pick a time, and we commune with God, right? Eh, not so fast there, missy. In my experience, life rarely goes as planned. We all keep waiting for that golden, magical moment when life will settle down, and everything will shimmer and waft dreamily into place. Listen to me very carefully: Life doesn't settle down. Not on this side of heaven. Still, there are a few things we can do to help our messy, unshimmery lives run a little more smoothly."

Oh, yeah. That's a woman after my own heart! Seriously, I feel like skipping my comments and just tell you to go read her chapter for yourself. It is concise, down to earth and spot on. I can't explain it any better than she already did and the Holy Spirit may highlight something to you that is completely different from what he wanted me to hear. It is a great overview and you can get other material to delve deeper into the areas that most struck you. Regardless, I'll go ahead and share a couple things that touched me the most.

But I Already Know That - One of Karen's opening paragraph's sums up the whole need for this chapter:

"But no matter what the temptations, the solution to conquering them is the same: grace and prayer, the sacraments, accountability, spiritual support from others, and ongoing discernment to keep our relationship with God flourishing."

She goes on to say:

"We know what it is. We know we need to do it. And we agonize over fitting it in. But without prayer, we haven't got a prayer."

That's right. We've all heard it. We all know it. But like the little toddler with his mischievous ways, there is always something to learn or be reminded.

Karen talks about various forms of prayer but I especially enjoyed when she said to "embrace your vocation or current state in life." She continues:

"Whether you're single, married, or discerning a call to religious life, deliriously happy or a confused mess, offer it up to God. Give him every moment. Prayers and pleas muttered throughout the day (God loves intimate muttering, I'm sure of it) are a great way to stay in touch with him."

This reminded me of a time last year when my brother was really sick and almost dying. He was on my mind all the time but we lived far apart and I couldn't be near him. Instead I turned to God. In a previous post about it, I wrote:

"...with my brother on my mind so much I have been constantly turning my heart to God to pray for him or to just talk to God about what happens to be on my mind. It is a reminder of how I should always be - going about my work but aware of God's presence with me. I noticed that when I had to stop what I was doing to tend to another toddler crisis, instead of complaining or having a fit of impatience, I just sighed and thought, "I do this for love of you, my Lord."

I still think of that today and try to remember it. Karen gave some beautiful examples of how we can keep that prayer going throughout the day to day activities in our lives.

Visual Aids - Karen shares:

"My friend Johnna, a mother of eight, stations strategic visual reminders around her house to help her focus on her calling. 'When I'm in the midst of chaos,' she said, 'which is our house most of the time, I need to see that I am not alone.' The corporal works of mercy are labeled in various rooms of the house. A homemade sign exhorting, 'Feed the hungry' is taped to a cupboard. 'Give drink to the thirsty' is above the kitchen sink, and 'Clothe the naked' graces the washing machine. The time-out chair beckons, 'Visit the Imprisoned.'"

I love that idea! We have a very (as my mother-in-law calls it) "Catholic house" meaning that people can tell we are Catholic by all the icons, religious pictures, statues and prayer altar. (Hopefully our actions prove the fact. ;-) I am a very visual person so I like to keep an icon of Mary and baby Jesus on my kitchen window ledge and a cross on the kitchen wall and a crucifix and an icon of my patron saint (St. Anne) on my desk in front of my monitor so I always see it.

In fact, I loved the Works of Mercy idea so much that I made a 5x7 sign, printed it on cardstock and posted it to the cabinet above my washing machine. It is a perfect reminder as I am washing the tenth load of laundry that day.

Scheduling - Remember that first quote from Karen that I posted, that was from the section about making time for prayer. I am happy to say that I finally made it work with my confession time. I like to go to confession at the least once a month (more often when I am in need of extra grace.) It was always sort of hit and miss but now that Bella is old enough to come with me I had to make it a steady habit, for her as well as me. We decided to go every last Saturday of the month. It is on our calendar and Brian knows that he'll babysit the boys while she and I go.

Just last Saturday (which was the last one of the month) I was already thinking, "Gosh, I have so many errands to do this Saturday. I want to get to Target first then head to Costco right at 9:30 AM when it opens... maybe I'll just skip Confession and go next week (since confession also starts at 9:30 AM.) It's not like I won't go... I'm just waiting an extra week...." But I knew I couldn't. Instead I rearranged my day so I could do to confession first then run my errands. Sure things were a little more hectic in the parking lot and crowded in the Costco aisles but my heart was able to take it since it was filled with grace. :-) And it was a small act of love I could offer to God. (Yes, I am so low on the spiritual totem pole that forgoing an early trip to Costco counts as a sacrifice. ;-)

Accountability & Spiritual Friendships - That is an area I definitely need work on. I don't have a formal spiritual director although I go to confession to the same priest who knows me and my family situation so he is able to guide me in my vocation. However, I don't have female friends who I am really close to in order to discuss deeper, spiritual topics. I used to but it seems like since I was pregnant with Matthew we sort of fell out of touch. That is something I'll have to rectify. I can talk more about that in the chapter about friendship.

Discernment - Karen briefly talks about the book Retreat with the Lord by Fr. John Hardon. The book offers simple steps for discernment based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. She gives bullet point categories of discernment that we should consider while praying. I found this really helpful since a mother's life is full of prayer and discernment about herself, her family and those around her.

"My One Thing" - In the last section of Karen's chapter she says:

"Though my life has been full of about-faces, since my conversion I can say one thing with confidence: I know who I am. Life is still messy, but I get that the goal in life is to will one thing: loving Jesus Christ."

We should each have that one goal that is always at the forefront of our mind and at the center of our hearts in all that we do. As I mentioned in another previous post, lately my one goal has been to love Jesus and to be a comfort to him. I wrote:

"... I was at confession and the priest talked to me about being a comfort to Jesus. He told me to let my heart be a dwelling place that brings comfort to Christ... It is easy for me to call on Jesus and seek his help but something struck a nerve when the priest told me that I could console the heart of Christ. Since then I have often prayed, "Lord, may I never bring you grief, instead may I be a comfort to your heart."

Sometimes I forget that but Karen's chapter helped me to not only remember but it gave me practical means to put that into practice. So I guess I did have something to learn after all.

A special thanks to Karen for writing this chapter and sharing her wisdom and wit with us.

PS - If you don't already have it, go buy the book or join my contest to win one!

Each week, Catholic personalities Danielle Bean, Rachel Balducci and Carolee McGrath host The Gist. They discuss topics such as abortion, raising teens in the faith and confession. Along with guests such as Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Lino Rulli and others, they will give Catholic women the gist on everything from faith and the Church to exercising, make-up and how to stay sane. Tune in every Wednesday morning for a new show at 10:30 with rebroadcasts Thursday at 8:30 p.m., Friday at 4 p.m., Saturday at 6:30 a.m., Monday at 8 a.m. and Tuesday at 10 p.m. (all times Eastern).

I missed the first show since it is on at 7:30 AM in Cali and I'm usually in the middle of getting kids off to school. However, it is rebroadcast during the week and available to view online. If you missed it, I've added it here. Below I've also added my own comments about the show.

It was wonderful to watch these great Catholic women and moms. I feel like I already "know" them from reading their blogs and columns. There was a lot to be learned and here are a few things that struck a cord with me.

Topic - Working moms.

My take - Danielle said it best, "All moms are working moms." Being a SAHM, I say, "Amen, sister!"

Topic - Comparing ourselves to others.

I loved Rachel's comment, "The only people you can truly analyze is yourself and your situation..."

My take - It is so easy to look at other moms and see how much they are doing and think, how do they do it? It will sometimes make me feel guilty that I am not doing enough. But I have to remember that we are each in different situations and have our own unique vocation as a wife and mother. As long as we are open to God, He will direct us to exactly where we need to be. He'll often challenge us but He won't overwhelm us. If we are overwhelmed we may need to ask, "Am I doing more than I should be and spreading myself too thin?" If not, then ask, "Am I relying on God for my strength or on myself?" (Sigh. Been there. Done that.)

Topic - How do you do it all?

When Danielle asked guest speaker Lisa Hendey, "How do you do it all?" Lisa replied, "If I think about everything that I do in a day, it's too overwhelming. So I start my day with prayer...and that's a key component throughout the day. Praying just for the grace and the energy and the strength to do it all and really, I just do my best with whatever pot that is burning right in front of me...managing the priorities, looking at how I can be of help to other people and most importantly serving my parish and my family."

My take - Prayer, Priorities, Serving family first but not forgetting others. Enough said!

Topic - Lisa talked about saints being role models, intercessors and heroes of our family.

My take - Often when I hear about the saints I wonder how I can relate to them because, well, they are saints. But really, they weren't born with halos on their head. They had the same kind of human struggles we do. They had to fight their personal demons and rely on God to give them the strength to live holy lives. I can certainly learn from that! (Side note; I am in the middle of reading Lisa's book The Handbook for Catholic Moms: Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul and I am eager to also check out her new book A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms: 52 Companions for Your Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul.)

Topic - Prayer

In the next topic they ladies spoke about the importance of prayer in our daily lives and I love what Rachel said, "Right off the bat, establishing that our prayer life is the most important thing and I think as moms we can so easily justify and rationale away taking time to pray because laundry needs to be done, and lunches need to be made and children need to be cared for, but really, personal holiness and a relationship with God is the most important gift we can give our families."

My take - I am guilty of this all too often! There is always something that needs to be done and although there are times when I can pray as I work, there also needs to be time when I quiet myself and simply focus on God. Some days it may only be for a few minutes but I must be willing to make the effort and establish the priority. Certainly if I have to time to post on my blog, pin an idea on Pinterest or watch a favorite tv show, then I certainly have time to shut it all down and give God a little silence.

Topic - The rosary and adoration.

My take - I love Carolee's comparison of the rosary and exercise. Both are things we tend to want to put off yet both are important to our health (physical and spiritual) and we'll feel better after we are done! And Danielle's thought on Adoration reminded me that just as I ask Brian to watch the kids so I can run to the market alone, I can ask Brian to watch the kids so I can stop at the chapel and speak to God in his presence alone. (And I know he is more than wiling to do it!)

Topic - Family prayer.

My take - This should be a show topic itself! I already commented on this briefly in another post but a number of families I know pray the rosary every night with their kids. I commend them! For us, it has not worked out very well, but rather than forget the whole thing, we've adjusted it to our family needs. Instead, we try to say the rosary but with only one decade. Some nights we're lucky just to gather us all together for a quick night prayer but we do what we can. Each family is different and their needs change as the family grows. The main thing is to be doing something.

Last Thoughts

With that said, I really recommend that you watch the show yourself. At first I was a little reluctant to devote time to it since the topic was on working moms but that was just a small portion of it. There were many topics discussed. On the one hand, it seemed like too many topics. Maybe there could have been less topics and more time spent on one or two subjects. (It seems like the saints, personal prayer or family prayer could have been their own shows.) On the other hand, the flow of conversation carried into many different topics and they commented accordingly. Either way, I really enjoyed the show and actually watched it twice. The second time around is when God impressed certain things on my heart and for that I am thankful.

So thanks, Gist Girls. I look forward to watching you again next week!

A number of families I know pray the rosary every night with their family. I commend them! For us, it has not worked out very well, but rather than forget the whole thing, we've adjusted it to our family needs. Instead, we try to say the rosary but with only one decade. As the kids get older, we can increase the time we expect them to kneel semi-quietly. Each week we take one set of mysteries and we cover the five from M-F. It doesn't always work. Some nights we're lucky to gather us all together for a quick night prayer but we do what we can.

I have been looking for rosary prints to display during our rosary to help us focus on that night's mystery. I finally found a set that included the luminous mysteries. It is The Mysteries of the Rosary Prints from EWTN's online catalog. I bought a tabletop easel at Target and it works great together.

"Am I not here, I who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need something more? Let nothing else worry you or disturb you." ~ Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego

Over the past month or two I've been slowly working my way through a number of books for Catholic moms. Here are a few.

I am really enjoying this daily devotional book! I admire both the authors very much so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm glad I did because it is perfect for my morning prayer time. Often my mind is filled with thoughts about the day ahead of me and I have trouble quieting down and focusing. This book makes the transition to prayer easier because it is short and concise.

Each month is dedicated to one virtue. (This month is diligence.) Each day is divided into three parts - Think (a scripture or saint quote), Pray (a short prayer) and Act (a resolution or goal to work on that day.) Sometimes I follow the material completely and sometimes I'll adapt it to my circumstances that day. You can keep your prayer time short or dwell on your conversation with God as long as your time allows. If you don't already have a prayer routine or if you are just starting out, this is a great place to start.

I've seen this book mentioned on a number of blogs and thought I'd read it for myself. The chapters are as follows:

1. The Toys 'R' Taking Over Us: Finding Play That Is Purposeful and Manageable
2. The Media Monster: Managing Our Technical "Toys" in this Media Driven Culture
3. Dinner: Getting the Food and Everyone to the Table to Feed Body and Soul
4. It's Your Home Too: Getting the Chores and Work Done. Hint: "M" Is for Mom, Not Maid. (LOL!)
5. From T-Ball to Trombone: Keeping Track of Everyone's Comings and Goings
6. Memories...In the Corner of Our Closet: Collecting and Storing Memorabilia
7. The Heart of the Matter: Stirring What Is true, Beautiful, and Good in Our Children
8. Babies: Bringing Out the Mary in Us

I am about ½ way through and I have found it really helpful with my Operation Clean and Organize. The author is a busy of mom of nine kids and if she is able to keep a clean, organized and happy family that loves Our Lord then I certainly want to know some of her secrets! And so far, so good!

I bought this book a couple months ago and started reading it but frankly, I don't think I was in the right state of mind because when Dr. Meeker gave examples of moms who were formerly in the corporate world or who were doing outside ministries along with raising their families, it turned me off. I didn't think the book was for me since I am "just a mom" with little kids trying to make it through the day with the dishes washed, some laundry done and my sanity intact.

However, when I saw that Elizabeth Floss was gong to do an online book study of this book, I thought I'd give it another try. I'm so glad I did because now it is clicking and making sense to me. This book is just as beneficial to a mom "like me." I have been reading along, but at a slower pace than the book discussion, and I've found myself rereading sections and thinking over the material so I can better apply them to my life.

I haven't posted about what I've read, except for the first chapter on Habit 1. Hopefully I'll be able to post more later. (By the way, this book can be for any mom, not just a Catholic one.)

I've only skimmed through this because I wanted to get through the other ones first but it looks really good! It's next on my list. I'll post about it when I start it but you may want to check it out now.

I was getting ready to post the pics for {pretty, happy, funny, real} and I noticed a trackback link from someone with a picture of the Carmel Mission (my parish). I clicked it and discovered the JOYfilled Family Blog. I haven't had a chance to read the posts yet but I love the prayer that is posted on the site. I'll be saying this every morn. :-)

A Prayer Before Logging onto the Internet

Almighty and eternal God,
who created us in Thy image
and bade us to seek after all that is
good, true and beautiful,
especially in the divine person
of Thy Only-begotten Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
grant, we beseech Thee,
that, through the intercession of Saint Isidore,
Bishop and Doctor,
during our journeys through the internet
we will direct our hands and eyes
only to that which is pleasing to Thee
and treat with charity and patience
all those souls whom we encounter.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

~Father Z

Here is the second of two posts from my better half, just in time for Lent.

It is not uncommon to read about saints, especially those that were priests and religious, who promoted amongst the lay faithful the practice of specific devotions. For example, St. Gaspar del Bufalo promoted devotion to the Precious Blood, while Bl. Henry Suso promoted devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. With Lent here, I would like to introduce to you a saint who was known for his fervent promotion of the Stations of the Cross, St. Leonard of Port Maurice (1676-1751).

In 1697, at the age of 21, St. Leonard joined an Italian branch of the Franciscan Order that was known for its austere way of life. With dreams of being a foreign missionary, he was ordained a priest in 1704. Shortly after his ordination, he developed a painful stomach ailment that prevented him from leaving his native country and forced him to retire to his Order's monastery in the region of Port Maurice. After four years, St. Leonard recovered from his ailment and slowly began to give missions to the faithful in nearby towns.

St. Leonard's reputation as a highly effective preacher grew and eventually caught the attention of Pope Cosmos III, who immediately commissioned him to give a series of retreats throughout Tuscany. His success in Tuscany reached the ears of the new Pontiff, Pope Clement the XII, who personally invited him to come to Rome and preach to the people of the city. As in Tuscany, his style of preaching touched the hearts of many Romans, bringing about numerous conversions.

What caught my attention when reading about St. Leonard's life was his love for the Stations of the Cross. Wherever he gave a mission, he would implore the faithful to make the "Stations" regularly. The reason for this was that he recognized through this devotion a simple way for people to grow closer to Christ and to experience His Love. St. Leonard's devotion for and faith in the Stations was so immense and complete that he erected over five hundred Stations throughout Italy. What an awesome witness to the Passion of Jesus Christ!

I am sure if St. Leonard were alive today he would encourage all of us to make the Stations of the Cross frequently, but especially during the season of Lent. The Stations are a beautiful devotion/prayer that can help us enter into the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. Each of the fourteen Stations act as stepping stones to greater virtue and greater insight into the sacrificial love displayed by Christ during the final hours of His life.

If you have never prayed the Stations of the Cross I would encourage you to begin this Lent. If you are praying them, keep it up! What makes the Stations an easy devotion to practice is how they can be tailored to your particular needs and time constraints.

"We adore you O Christ and we praise You, because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed the world." Amen. God bless.

Here is the first of two posts from my better half, just in time for Lent.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2157), "The Christian begins his day, his prayers, and his activities with the Sign of the Cross: in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The baptized person dedicates the day to the glory of God and calls on the Saviors grace which lets him act in the Spirit as a child of the Father..." Why is it important for Catholics to dedicate their day to God? I can offer three reasons:

1) By dedicating our day to God, we are giving back to God, what he gave to us - another day.

2) By dedicating our day to God, we unite ourselves to the priestly office of Jesus Christ whereby our entire day becomes a "spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

3) It prepares us, before we tackle the challenges that the new day will bring, to embrace the closing words of the liturgy - "go in peace, to love and serve the Lord."

Two of the most attractive features about this spiritual practice of dedicating one's day to God, is that it is simple and time effective.

Simple - When I use the word "simple" to describe dedicating my day to God, I use it in the best possible sense. In my opinion, any prayer which is uncomplicated and straight forward is the most excellent. It doesn't get any simpler than making the sign of the cross and in your own words thank God for the new day and pray for the grace to love and serve Him.

Time Effective - Another element that makes the "dedication" special is that it is time effective. What do I mean by time effective? As a husband and father with a growing family to look after, I rarely have an abundance of time to spend in daily prayer. Therefore, to be able to dedicate a new day to God in a way which is time effective is exactly what I need.

One thing I must caution the reader about is that this prayer needs to be prayed from the heart. Because the "dedication" can be both simple and time effective, it is easy to pray it in a manner that is routine and commonplace. To avoid this, I say my "dedication" with as much devotion and reverence as possible.

There are many spiritual tools that Catholics must put into practice in order to remain close to Christ. One tool that is vital to our spiritual life is to, dedicate each day to God. If you are doing this already, I encourage you to keep it up. If you are not, I would highly recommend that you begin.

God bless.

What originally got me to thinking about Stephanie's article (as I mentioned in the last post) was a link from another blog La Chica Loca's Life. (btw, love the name, chica.)

She was talking about her struggle with her deep desire to marry but not finding the right guy. Then I received an email this morning from a friend about her struggle with her deep desire for a child but now being able to conceive.

Thinking back to when I was still single, I could totally relate to the frustration of wanting something that you desire so much, it leaves your heart aching. I felt like that when I was looking for my spouse. I always thought that when I did find him, that hole in my heart would finally be filled.

In a sense, it is true because Brian is such a part of me but I found one heartache replaced with another when we both struggled with infertility and miscarriage. Thankfully these desires were eventually fulfilled and left us joyous but as I get older I realize that there is often always a heartaching longing - whether it is for something or someone yet found or for something or someone lost.

I think that is simply part of being a lover of God. As St. Augustine says, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee, O Lord." Sometimes our prayers are answered right away and sometimes we are left waiting...and waiting. Those desires are in our hearts because they drives us to return our eyes to God. They cause us to constantly die to ourselves and surrender to Him.

There is tremendous joy and love to be found on this earth, giving us a little taste of heaven, but there is also a great deal of heartache and injustice that reminds us that this is only a temporary situation. Ultimately our eyes should be on the goal of our eternal home. It's hard to remember that in the day-to-day tasks of living but in the quiet of our hearts we can still feel the longing. It will always be there until it is completely quenched and united in the fullness of God's love.

Here is a post Brian wrote for RoL.

On Thursday July 16th, the Carmelite Order along with the Universal Church will be celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. I believe this special day, which honors the Queen of Heaven, is deeply significant for lay Catholics because it calls us to reflect upon three very important spiritual facts. First - Our Lady's love for us, second - the brown scapular and third - a life of prayer.

A Brief History

The feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel came into existence in the 14th century in commemoration of the "approbation" given to the Carmelite Order by Pope Honorius III. The specific date July 16th was chosen because it was on that day in the year 1251 that St. Simon Stock, the 6th Prior General of the Carmelite Order, had a vision of Our Lady who presented him with the brown scapular saying, "This shall be to you and all Carmelites a privilege, that whoever dies clothed in this (scapular) shall never suffer eternal fire."

Our Lady Loves Us

When St. Simon Stock was Prior of the Carmelite Order, the Order faced numerous difficulties and challenges. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, St. Simon went to Our Lady because he knew that she loved him, and because she loved him, she would help him. Like St. Simon, we should have great confidence in the love the Blessed Mother has for us. And we should never forget that while Christ was hanging on the cross, He gave us His own mother, to be our mother.

The Spiritual Value of the Brown Scapular

The brown scapular is considered a sacramental, which is a "sacred sign" instituted by the Church that help prepare us to "receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it." In a society where sin is exalted and darkness is steadily growing, we need spiritual armor to remain in a state of grace and the light of Christ. The brown scapular is Our Lady's armor. By wearing the scapular we will be clothed with Our Lady's protection and prayers and be able to withstand the attacks of the enemy.

A Life of Prayer

The Carmelite Order is about many things, but first and foremost it is about "prayer." Whenever I think about the Carmelites, I think about John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Elizabeth of the Trinity and Therese the Little Flower. These saints are beacons of light that reveal the power and importance of living a life of prayer. The feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is a fantastic day for us to renew our commitment to pray daily.

By recognizing the love Our Lady has for us, the protection souls receive by wearing the brown scapular and the importance of prayer we can truly celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in awesome fashion.

God bless!

Happy feast day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Here is a post Brian wrote for RoL.

Twelve Promises from God
by Brian

On June 19th the Universal Church will celebrate the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In fact, the whole month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart.

In December of 1673, Jesus appeared for the first time to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) a Visitation sister living at the Order's convent in Paray-le-Monial. Over the next eighteen months Margaret Mary received directly from Christ revelations about His Most Sacred Heart.

In the course of these revelations, Jesus gave Margaret Mary "twelve promises" that He would keep, for those who honored His Most Sacred. The "twelve promises" are:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will give peace in their families.

3. I will console them in all their troubles.

4. I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.

5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.

6. Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.

9. I will bless those places wherein the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.

10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.

11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.

12. In the excess of the mercy of my Heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.

At one time, a friend of mine discovered by chance the "Five First Saturday Devotion" given by Our Lady of Fatima to Sr. Lucia in 1925. He told me that he was beside himself, because he could not understand why no one told him about this simple devotion that if practiced faithfully would bring at the hour of death, through Our Lady's direct intervention, the graces necessary for salvation.

When I reflect upon the twelve promises above, I can see my friend's dismay over something so simple, yet not practiced, nor even known, by so many of the faithful. Christ is not asking us to climb Mount Everest or to fast forty days and forty nights, nor is He asking us to make all night vigils. All He is asking us to do is honor his Most Sacred Heart and He will do the rest.

Along with receiving communion on nine consecutive first Friday's we should offer our Holy Communion for those who do not receive Our Lord, who do not love Him and who wound Him by their sinful lives. I have also read that we should make a holy hour on the Thursday before first Friday in reparation for sins committed against the Sacred Heart.

The promises listed above show the power of Our Lord's Sacred Heart. They also show how much he really loves us and wants us in Heaven with Him for all eternity. Therefore, these promises should not be passed over lightly or rejected as pious drivel, but recognized for what they truly are - promises from God.

I have to admit that I have not practiced this devotion faithfully. I also have to admit that after reading about the Sacred Heart and pondering the twelve promises I will begin this beautiful devotion on the next First Friday. I pray for the grace to continue to do so for the rest of my life.

If you are practicing this devotion, keep it up. If not, join me and let's make the most of the promises Jesus offers to those who honor and love His Sacred Heart.

God bless.

I hope you are having a blessed Good Friday. Just a reminder that today is the first day of the Divine Mercy Novena. If you need a copy of the novena, you can find one here at EWTN.

I've been thinking a lot about my extended family lately, especially those who are far from God. God has been tugging at my heart to pray for them more fervently. This morning I came across the following prayer and I think Lent would be a perfect time to start praying it. Although I don't have all the hurts mentioned in this prayer, I pray for those in my family who are hurting and struggling, that they will find peace and healing in God's love and mercy.

Prayer for Healing the Family Tree

By Rev. John H. Hampsch, CMF

Heavenly Father, I come before you as your child, in great need of your help; I have physical health needs, emotional needs, spiritual needs, and interpersonal needs. Many of my problems have been caused by my own failures, neglect and sinfulness, for which I humbly beg your forgiveness, Lord. But I also ask you to forgive the sins of my ancestors whose failures have left their effects on me in the form of unwanted tendencies, behavior patterns and defects in body, mind and spirit. Heal me, Lord, of all these disorders.

With your help I sincerely forgive everyone, especially living or dead members of my family tree, who have directly offended me or my loved ones in any way, or those whose sins have resulted in our present sufferings and disorders. In the name of your divine Son, Jesus, and in the power of his Holy Spirit, I ask you, Father, to deliver me and my entire family tree from the influence of the evil one. Free all living and dead members of my family tree, including those in adoptive relationships, and those in extended family relationships, from every contaminating form of bondage. By your loving concern for us, heavenly Father, and by the shed blood of your precious Son, Jesus, I beg you to extend your blessing to me and to all my living and deceased relatives. Heal every negative effect transmitted through all past generations, and prevent such negative effects in future generations of my family tree.

I symbolically place the cross of Jesus over the head of each person in my family tree, and between each generation; I ask you to let the cleansing blood of Jesus purify the bloodlines in my family lineage. Set your protective angels to encamp around us, and permit Archangel Raphael, the patron of healing, to administer your divine healing power to all of us, even in areas of genetic disability. Give special power to our family members' guardian angels to heal, protect, guide and encourage each of us in all our needs. Let your healing power be released at this very moment, and let it continue as long as your sovereignty permits.

In our family tree, Lord, replace all bondage with a holy bonding in family love. And let there be an ever-deeper bonding with you, Lord, by the Holy Spirit, to your Son, Jesus. Let the family of the Holy Trinity pervade our family with its tender, warm, loving presence, so that our family may recognize and manifest that love in all our relationships. All of our unknown needs we include with this petition that we pray in Jesus' precious Name. Amen.

+++++++++++++++
St. Joseph, Patron of family life, pray for us.

Here's an article Brian wrote for RoL.

Recently, I have felt the Holy Spirit gently call me to write about the "Spirit of Antichrist." It is a subject that has been on the forefront of my thoughts as we swore into office a new President. Call it a gut feeling, but since the elections I have felt a strong inkling that this malignant spirit is washing over our country and the world in an unprecedented way.

Now I know that a topic such as this, can cause people to theorize and speculate about the end times. This is not the purpose of the article, for as Jesus said, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."(Mt. 24:36) My purpose in writing is to encourage every Catholic to lead a sacramental life, to pray daily, to avoid sin, to remain in a state of grace and to be vigilant and watchful.

Although there is not much written on the spirit of antichrist, I was able to discover that this spirit is a "spirit of deception" whose sole purpose is to prepare the way for the "man of iniquity." As I reflected upon this I envisioned a cooking mallet hammering away at a piece of steak. I believe the spirit of antichrist works in same way. He hammers away at the minds and hearts of Catholics, softening them to a point where they accept lies over the truth and believe in themselves rather than in God.

According to St. John the Apostle, the spirit of antichrist was already at work in the first century (1 Jn.4:3.) History has proven, especially looking back at the 20th century, how this "malignant spirit" has not slowed down, but continues to wage an all out campaign against the followers of Christ. Of course this war is nothing new, but what is new, is the casualties that are daily increasing amongst the Catholic population. This is most evident with the decreasing number of Catholics who attend Mass, the increasing number of Catholics who pick and choose which teachings of the Church they accept and those they reject and the growing percentage of Catholics who have abandoned the faith.

I believe the signs of the times point directly to the workings of the spirit of antichrist. In his second epistle to Timothy 3:1, St. Paul offers us a glimpse of what the end times will be like, "...people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God..." When I first read this I felt as if St. Paul did not write this centuries ago, but only weeks ago!

It is quite obvious that the current cultural climate, which is becoming darker and darker, proves that the spirit of antichrist is very much alive and active within our society. The question that remains is what are you, and me, going to do about it? A very popular preacher once said, "The times we live in are not for the faint hearted or lily livered." He was right! What is needed today are heroic Catholics who are not looking to just get by with their faith, but who are willing to live it, love it and hold on to it as their greatest possession. If we love our faith, our Church and our neighbor we must fight the spirit of antichrist with all our spiritual might. In other words, we must pray daily, live a sacramental life, learn our faith, make sacrifices and choose good over evil.

God bless.

Here's a post from the National Catholic Register Blog. With Brian getting ready for the Super Bowl next weekend (and having asked him during that last Steeler's game - who's that intimidating looking guy with all the moves?) I was excited to read this article about him and thought it was a great story to include here.

Polamalu: Real-Deal Christian

It's rare to find a sports star who is both at the absolute top of his sport and who is deeply committed to his Christian faith.

Here's one: Troy Polamalu, the all-pro strong safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Yesterday, Polamalu's spectacular 40-yard interception return for a touchdown served as the exclamation point in the Steelers' 23-14 win over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC championship game in Pittsburgh. The win vaulted the Steelers into the Feb. 1 Super Bowl against the NFC champion Arizona Cardinals.

That kind of game-breaking play is something that Steelers fans have come to expect from Polamalu. A profound commitment to his faith is something that Polamalu's family, friends and teammates have also come to expect from him.

Earlier reports about Polamalu indicated he is Catholic, but according to this recent interview with Yahoo Sports he is actually Greek Orthodox. Every Tuesday, on his day off from practice, he and his wife Theodora travel to an Orthodox monastery near Pittsburgh to attend services there.

Here's what Polamalu told Yahoo interviewer Jason Cole about how he orders his priorities in life:

How hard is it to get time at home during the season? I know guys like (Miami Dolphins linebacker) Zach Thomas stay at the facility until very late studying film and (Indianapolis Colts quarterback) Peyton Manning is watching film at home.
Troy Polamalu: First of all, I'm a Christian so my prayer life really comes first. Second of all, I'm a husband so my wife comes before anything else. If I have time to do anything else after that, I do it, but I don't sacrifice any time with her.

A lot of guys do it the other way around. Football comes first. They say family and faith come first, but they really do the football first. How do you reconcile it?
It's really easy for me. I love my faith and I know that's first ... I really think I know what's important in my life and that's my faith and my wife.

-- Tom McFeely