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.

Happy Feast Day!

Today is the feast of St. Joseph. What do we know about this man?

He was a “just man.” (Matthew 1:19)
He lived a simple life.
He was a carpenter.
He was a descendant of King David.
He lived in Nazareth, in Galilee.
He was the husband of Mary.
He was the foster-father of Jesus.
He was protector of the Holy Family.


He often received messages in dreams.
He is the patron saint of fathers.
He is the patron saint of families.
He is patron of the Universal Church.
He is the patron saint of workers.

He has a second feast day:
May 1 is “St. Joseph the Worker”,
when we honor him as patron of all workers.

He is the patron of a happy death,
because he died in the arms of Jesus and Mary.


Prayer to St. Joseph
(from the 1st Century)

O St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the Throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.

O St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your Heavenly power, I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage to the most Loving of Fathers. O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart.

Press him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen.

Reflection:

“Fathers of families find in Joseph the best personification of paternal solicitude and vigilance; spouses a perfect example of love, of peace, and of conjugal fidelity; virgins at the same time find in him the model and protector of virginal integrity.”

– Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII
On Devotion to St. Joseph

Happy Feast Day, everyone!

Impressive

In honor of St. Patrick's Day...

HT: Catholic Fire

Laughs from Children

To funny not to share...

Last night at RE classes, my mom graciously substitute-taught Grade 1 for me because the catechist couldn't be there (thank you, Mom!). The daytime school teacher had left a classroom window open and written on the board, "Please shut the windows, thank you!".

During class, Mom had the children make Easter greeting cards for their families, and so she wrote a few words for them on the board to help them with messages. Near the end of class, she started erasing the window message, when one little boy called out, "Wait, I'm not done with it yet!"

Apparently, that Easter card will have a rather unique greeting. :D

The past week +

I pulled... two all nighters to finish the Modeling Modesty Handbook* (thanks for your assistance!).

I traveled... to northern WI.

I gave... two presentations (with PowerPoint; that was fun) to 130 or so ladies at the Embracing Your Call to Holiness Conference. Great response, and great event!

I visited... several wonderful families we know in Northern WI, and my grandparents on the way home.

I enjoyed... Sarah home on Spring break!

I felt... the pain of too many priests and seminarians under attack. The battle for souls is at an all-time high.

I welcomed... the first days of Spring.

I saw... A Walk to Remember with sisters and friends for "girls' movie night"

I practiced... for the upcoming Seven Last Words of Christ Performance, the premiere Lenten meditation/passion play of Chicagoland. With nearly 100 performers, it includes a large choir performing Dubois' classical contata (that's where I am), several professional soloists, live orchestra, and actors. Purchase tickets online, or call (815) 727-3018.

I smiled... at my music students' recital last night, and the pleasure of seeing their joy.

I went... from one big project right into another, as I write an Easter Play for my RE Program. As soon as I hit "publish", it's back to that now...

I (just) watched... this inspiring movie. I remember seeing this skilled gentleman last year at the Sacred Music Colloquium. Never say "can't".

I stole (shamelessly)... the style of this post from my sister. :) Love you, sis.

~~~

*To request a copy of the Modeling Modesty Handbook, email me at lily maiden @ sbc global . net (remove the spaces).

Blessed

I am one blessed gal. Between my loving family and abundant, kind friends, I was simply showered with joys on my birthday! And it's the little, thoughtful things (that aren't little to me). Dad and David singing Happy Birthday while waking me. The lovely pashmina from my mom. A surprise homemade skirt by Veronica (I'm wearing both here). Birthday kisses and a coupon good for 22 back rubs from David. So many birthday greetings on Facebook, I lost count. Six red roses from one of the catchesists in my RE Program. Tulips from my goddaughter. Sweet posts by friends and sisters. A swivel seat for my troubled back, wrapped so beautifully and dropped on my porch by friends. Heartwarming homemade cards by little ones. Phone calls and "singing telegrams". E-cards. Cards in the mail. The university choir serenading me at practice...

I thank our Lord, and I thank you... (Phil 1:3).

Please keep me in your prayers this weekend as I speak at the "Embracing Your Call to Holiness" Women's Conference for the Diocese of LaCrosse, WI!

P.S. Many thanks to everyone who responded to this post. Not all quotes fit into the print booklet, but it will be great to have a testimonies section of the website when I expand it! Keep responding!

P.P.S. Sorry that I slipped posting on Days 6-9 of the Novena for Priests. Let's not cease interceding for them every day. Consider a perpetual novena for the rest of the Year for Priests.

Happy Birthday!

My beautiful sister Claire celebrated 22 years yesterday!!

Wow...where has the time gone?!

We love you, Claire!

-Your staff

P.S. Sorry this is a little late!! =)

"As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among women."

-Song of Songs 2:2