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This verse never fails to quiet my heart!

“To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven… He has made everything beautiful in His time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

– Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11

Davidisms :)

My 13-year-old brother had us all in stitches this morning. You kind of had to be there to "get it" fully, but I'll see if I can repaint the scene. :)

The four siblings were sitting in Church, and Sarah had David reading aloud The Universal Prayer of Pope Clement (okay, every version I can find online has a slightly different translation, so that messes up the dialogue a little bit). Anyway, the prayer book we have says, "Lord, make me...diligent in my duties". Now if you know my brother, you know that he can be a little, shall we say, hard to keep focused sometimes. So when we hit that part of the prayer, here's what transpired:

Sarah: Um, sir, repeat that line!

David: "Diligent in my duties"

Sarah: Try it again.

David: "Diligent in my duties"

(Repeat this exchange at least once more)

*Insert sibling chuckles here*

David: Well, I do a pretty good job when I'm motivated.

Me: What about the other 99% of the time?

Sarah: Well, there's this thing call SELF-motivation that you need.

Me: It's interesting, isn't it, all the words that start with "D"? David can either be a distracted, destructive dawdler or a diligent, dutiful...

(Sarah and Claire look at each other, searching for the right "D" word to finish)

David: ...DUDE!

June: Month of the Sacred Heart

“For evangelization today, the Heart of Christ must be recognized as the heart of the Church: It is He who calls us to conversion, to reconciliation. It is He who leads pure hearts and those hungering for justice along the way of the Beatitudes. It is He who achieves the warm communion of the members of the one Body. It is He who enables us to adhere to the Good News and to accept the promise of eternal life. It is He who sends us out on mission. The heart-to-heart with Jesus broadens the human heart on a global scale.”

– Pope John Paul II

Immodesty and Beauty Pageants

A poignant and needed opinion piece at Catholic.org:

Immodest Miss USA Photos: It's Time for Decency and Dignity

"The Miss USA pageant must pull back the reigns and take a more modest approach, or women of virtue and ethics will not participate. Without women of principle, the pageant will scrape the bottom of the barrel for eager, unprincipled participants. That industry exists and it's called pornography-and God knows we don't need more of that."

HT: Colleen Hammond

The Honor of Motherhood

I've posted them before, but in honor of Mother's Day, these beautiful words are worth sharing again...

"The Most Important Person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral -- a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body...The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God's creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature; God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation...What on God's good earth is more glorious than this: to be a mother?"

- Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty

Happy Mother's Day!

Thoughts on Beauty

I just found this, somehow still saved as a draft, though I wrote it back in January of last year. I know we are now in Spring, but I wanted to publish it because I think it's a meaningful reflection for any time!

My little brother and I ran an errand tonight...in a perfect wonderland. Snow, falling thickly yet gently, is blanketing the world. Such a sight never ceases to move me to joyous wonder.

Pausing to watch the millions of glittering flakes waft under street lights, I couldn't help but exclaim to David, "Oh, it's marvelously beautiful!".

He's 11, but has already heard enough drivers talking to know what comes along with this beauty. "Yes, but it's dangerous," he piped from the back seat.

And a response came to me, immediately and reflectively. "But all beauty comes with some danger, David."

...Particularly the beauty of femininity. One of the many quotes which struck me deeply from Dr. Alice von Hildebrand's The Privilege of Being a Woman was this:

“The power that women can wield over men is great indeed. If they pursue their own selfish aims, women are Satan’s slaves. If they put their charm at God’s service, they are God’s great allies.” (emphasis hers)

It is precisely because of the value, the power of beauty that it comes with danger. In my interactions with girls and ladies young and old, the bestowing of beauty as a gift on our sex is more and more apparent to me. But the world works it hardest to train us to misuse and abuse this gift. We are told to be beautiful for our own happiness, our own success, our own fullfillment, our own benefit. And yet, Dr. von Hildebrand warns us quite clearly about such selfishness and misuse of power.

The beauty itself is not the problem. Just as the snow itself is not the problem! The danger comes with our response. If I throw caution to the wind and drive without care on slippery roads, sure danger awaits — for me and for others. If I throw prudence to the wind and aspire for beauty without care for its essence, its Source and Giver, sure danger awaits — for me and for others.

Indeed, beauty it is both a gift and a calling from the Creater to His daughters. We are called to manifest to the world a glimpse of His perfect, radiant beauty. The physical should be only a mirror of the interior, timelessly captivating beauty of a pure, servant heart.

Let us be ever-mindful of this marvelous gift and high calling, and careful of the danger that comes with it!

Today's Quote

"The present moment holds infinite riches beyond your wildest dreams but you will only enjoy them to the extent of your faith and love. The more a soul loves, the more it longs, the more it hopes, the more it finds. The will of God is manifest in each moment, an immense ocean which only the heart fathoms insofar as it overflows with faith, trust and love."

—Jean-Pierre De Caussade in The Sacrament of the Present Moment

~~~

I think that book needs to be on my reading list!

Holy Card Heaven

I have to share this lovely treasure of a blog so that you, too, can enjoy its beauty! Not only are countless holy cards (including antiques!) shared, but they even have one of my favorite scriptures verses in the header. :)

Holy Card Heaven

Pope asks Bloggers to Give Internet a Soul

(24 Apr 10 – RV) The need to give the Internet a soul and humanize the dynamics of the digital world was at the heart of Pope Benedict XVI’s message Saturday to participants in a conference on modern means of mass communication.

Promoted by the Italian Bishops Conference, “Digital Witness” draws together experts in information technology, social networking, web journalism and blogging to focus on the language we use and the way we communicate as Christians in the online society.

Pope Benedict told participants that the task of every believer who works in media, is to ensure the “quality of human contact, guaranteeing attention to people and their spiritual needs”.

“This is increasingly urgent in today’s world”, he said, at a time when Internet appears to have a “basically egalitarian” vocation, but at the same time, “marks a new divide", the "digital divide" that "separates the included from the excluded."

"The dangers of homologation and control, of intellectual and moral relativism are also increasing, as already recognizable in the decline of critical spirit, in truth reduced to a game of opinions, in the many forms of degradation and humiliation of the intimacy of the person."

Thus said the Pope we see, a "spiritual pollution" that brings us to no longer "look one another in the face”. So we must “overcome those collective dynamics that risk reducing people to "soulless bodies, objects of exchange and consumption”. The media must become a “humanizing factor”, focused "on promoting the dignity of persons and peoples". Only then will "the epochal times we are experiencing be rich and fertile in new opportunities."

"Without fear we must set sail on the digital sea facing into the deep with the same passion that has governed the ship of the Church for two thousand years. Rather than for, albeit necessary, technical resources, we want to qualify ourselves by living in the digital world with a believer’s heart, helping to give a soul to the Internet’s incessant flow of communication".

Power of the Eucharist

I love quotes... you know that by now. :) But when I find one this moving, how can I not share it?

"My children, we know when a soul has worthily received the Sacrament of the Eucharist, it is so drowned in love, so penetrated and changed, that it is no longer to be recognised in its words or its actions... It is humble, it is gentle, it is mortified, charitable, and modest; it is at peace with everyone. It is a soul capable of the greatest sacrifices; in short, you would not know it again."

—St John Vianney, special patron of this "Year for Priests"

(Quote found at this blog, where there is also an insightful article about the recent persecution of the Holy Father and the clergy scandal.)

On a completely non-related note, I noticed that I've just exceeded 500 posts: this is my 501st entry here. :)

Answers & Winners :)

Okay, here are the answers for the Easter greeting languages. And congrats to Nati, who correctly identified 10 of them! Runners up are Larissa and Catherine, who each knew 7. Hope you had fun. :)

1. Cristo ressuscitou! Ressuscitou verdadeiramente!
Portuguese

2. Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden!
German

3. Christus is opgestaan! Hij is waarlijk opgestaan!
Dutch

4. Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere!
Latin

5. Christ est ressuscité! Il est vraiment ressuscité!
French

6. Cristo è risorto! È veramente risorto!
Italian

7. Cristo ha resucitado! ¡En verdad ha resucitado!
Spanish

8. Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!
Greek

9. Христос воскрес! Воистину воскрес!
Russian

10. Krist uskrsnu! Uistinu uskrsnu!
Croatian

11. Chrystus zmartwychwstał! Prawdziwie zmartwychwstał!
Polish

12. Christos voskresen! Naistino voskresen!
Church Slavonic used by Slovaks

13. Kristus prisikėlė! Tikrai prisikėlė!
Lithuanian

14. Tá Críost éirithe! Go deimhin, tá sé éirithe!
Irish

15. Tha Crìosd air èiridh! Gu dearbh, tha e air èiridh!
Scottish

16. Si Cristo ay nabuhay! Siya nga ay nabuhay!

Filipino

17. Ua ala hou ´o kristo! Ua ala ´i ´o no ´oia!
Hawaiian

18. Krisztus feltámadt! Valóban feltámadt!
Hungarian

19. Kristus er opstanden! Ja, sandelig opstanden!
Danish

20. Ha Masheeha houh quam! Be emet quam!
Hebrew

Sources:
http://www.oca.org/OCpaschalgreetings.asp?SID=2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paschal_greeting

Greetings on Divine Mercy Sunday!

In the words of Jesus:

"I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls... On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment."

-St. Faustina's Diary p. 699

Here's a beautiful website explaining the devotion, Feast, graces, and more:

www.thedivinemercy.org

Doesn't anyone visit here anymore?

...or is everyone too shy to participate in my Paschal languages contest? Come on, come out of hiding! :)

Modern "Feminism"

My dear friend Malori has authored a splendid article on The Negative Effects of Modern Feminism, and I was honored to be the editor. Do head over to her blog and check it out. Let us know what you think!

Easter Greetings from around the world...

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! In a true Catholic (universal) spirit, here are the joyful greetings as spoken 'round the globe. How many languages can you identify (or add)? Time for a comment contest!

1. Cristo ressuscitou! Ressuscitou verdadeiramente!

2. Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden!

3. Christus is opgestaan! Hij is waarlijk opgestaan!

4. Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere!

5. Christ est ressuscité! Il est vraiment ressuscité!

6. Cristo è risorto! È veramente risorto!

7. ¡Cristo ha resucitado! ¡En verdad ha resucitado!

8. Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!

9. Христос воскрес! Воистину воскрес!

10. Krist uskrsnu! Uistinu uskrsnu!

11. Chrystus zmartwychwstał! Prawdziwie zmartwychwstał!

12. Christos voskresen! Naistino voskresen!

13. Kristus prisikėlė! Tikrai prisikėlė!

14. Tá Críost éirithe! Go deimhin, tá sé éirithe!

15. Tha Crìosd air èiridh! Gu dearbh, tha e air èiridh!

16. Si Cristo ay nabuhay! Siya nga ay nabuhay!

17. Ua ala hou ´o kristo! Ua ala ´i ´o no ´oia!

18. Krisztus feltámadt! Valóban feltámadt!

19. Kristus er opstanden! Ja, sandelig opstanden!

20. Ha Masheeha houh quam! Be emet quam!

Now, if only I could pronouce all of these, we'd be good to go. :)

In the Tomb

Tomb, thou shalt not hold Him longer

Death is strong, but Life is stronger

Stronger than the dark, the light

Stronger than the wrong, the right

Faith and Hope triumphant say:

Christ will rise on Easter Day.

(Bishop Phillips Brooks, An Easter Carol)

I long

...for the day when our culture will be so completely Christian, so completely Catholic, that Google will acknowledge Good Friday. Not that I have anything against Hans Christian Anderson, but the salvation of the world is more noteworthy than his 205th birthday...

1 Thess 5:17

"You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing, and grace before I dip the pen in the ink."

--G.K. Chesterton

"Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,

for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus."

(1 Thess 5:16-18)

Through Him, With Him, In Him

I'm marveling at the greatness of Christ working through His Mystical Body, when its members unite! This is the project I was blessed to be a part of the past two weekends. Nearly 2500 souls were touched with the reality of the Passion. Blessed be God!

Feast of the Annunciation

On this Solemnity of the Annunciation, we rejoice in the mystery of the Incarnation: that by a maiden's "yes", the Word of God became flesh and dwells among us!

My full reflection for today can be found here.