Wordless Wednesday ~ A Leader We Can Follow With Trust

Thank You, Lord, For Such Men...Fatherhood

The Crescat has a wonderful post up about Fatherhood and daughters, the traditional family and its worth. Included are some linked studies on the topic, too. I hope you'll check it out.

A flood of thoughts came to me after reading it. I responded to her post.
‎"Children need to see how a man and woman interact and express love if they are too grow up and have healthy relationships with members of the opposite sex."
Yes.  Even a present Father needs to have this forefront in his mind, generous with his time to his daughter and love of his wife. His daughter and his sons will soak in that role model."

In my father's generation, Fatherhood wasn't as hands on as it can be today. I can see how even with a traditional family I could have fallen into the behaviors of the fatherless the Crescat writes about.  I have a good father and, for undeserving reasons, I won the lottery with my husband. My father will be the first to say so. He sees a helpmate to me in my husband and a playful father in his son-in-law.

We adore our children, of course and would accept them anyway God gave them to us. Which led my husband once to ask me, knowing how much I loved being a boy mommy, having 3 sons and pregnant with our 4th child, why I was hoping for a girl? I told him that I wanted a girl to have the opportunity to have him for a father...to be a daughter to a father like him.  I wanted to see that and live that. Thank you, Lord, for giving my baby girl that dream come true.

On top of all that, my husband has and shows a love beyond us, his wife and children. We know He loves his Catholic faith even more, wanting to be in the next life loving his Savior face to face...always present on his mind and in his words and actions. And yet that Love spills, overflowing back into his family in his unselfish service to us.

To me, to his children, we think he glows with inspiration.

I have heard from people who notice it too, but the time it was spoken most poetically (to me) was from a priest I never met. My Aunty Bettina had died and plans were being made for her funeral in my home state a little more than an hour from where we live now.  Aunty had wanted a Catholic funeral, but her children and husband were not practicing Catholics and so they honored my husband by asking him to help with arrangements.  He handled speaking with the priest, arranging readings and served the Priest at the Mass.  The morning of the funeral Mass we were all dressed and ready for our early drive. Showered, in dress clothes, I had even applied make-up which I normally don't wear. Then my 2nd son started feeling nauseous.  With responsibilities ahead for him, my husband took the other 3 children and I stayed home and grieved my loss with my sick son, offering up my disappointment for her eternal rest. But the priest did call me. He called a couple of times. We had delightful conversations before and after the Mass. We talked about Aunty and the faith. He spoke about all his years of priesthood and how families and churches had changed.

When he called a 2nd time after the Mass I wondered what we hadn't talked about? Was there something he was trying to say?  I was charmed and grateful that a busy priest took the time to call and chat, I wasn't annoyed in the least!  But I wondered, was there something else he was trying to say?

He complimented my children, he spoke about needing to see a family committed to their faith and then he said,

"Allison, there's something I want to say about your husband. I feel I need to say it to you and you will understand what I mean and why I say it. When I saw him at prayer, when I saw him serving at the altar...well, there would have been a time where I would have sadly thought that he missed his vocation. He should have been a priest."   (This is not something I hadn't thought of either.)  " But now, at this time, and seeing him with his children, I know that God placed him perfectly. We need fathers like him, husbands like him, bringing forward a new generation to love and serve our Church."

With tears, I agreed. I understood. I have to believe God wants it so, as I am so grateful to be a beneficiary. And though, with our fallen nature, we are all bound to make mistakes, that it all might not turn our perfectly, I see a husband who puts himself last, puts God first and generously attends to his children's good and the needs of his Church. Also, I see a priest who put my needs first, but not ahead of God's and who was generous in words of kindness...a father to me and his Church.  Suddenly, I want to call him.

Thank you, Lord, for such men.

I know they serve You and in doing so... lives are changed.

GOD BLESS THE FATHERS! St. Joseph and Our Lady, intercede for them.

Keep Calm And Behold, Your Mother

With arms wide open....

The Fulfillment of God's Will

This quote came to my email today from Women of Grace.

February 24                                              "One cannot speak of the tragedy of Calvary because there can be no tragedy in relation to Jesus or Mary. The fulfillment of God's will can never be tragic." Frederico Suarez            For Reflection:  What great insight! How does this impact your perspective of your own cross? Remember, God's will is expressed through His perfect will as well as His permissive will. Since nothing happens to us without God's knowledge, our sorrows are permitted for a greater good to be manifested. What greater good have you seen come from past sorrows? What greater good might God be working through your current dolor of the heart?

So I take this as my MOMENT OF GRACE for the week...it connects with something a friend said to me. She said, "God will choose my Lent, He always does." And right before Lent began, some challenges arose. More will come, I am sure, as I pray to God to open my eyes to ways I can improve. I will lift these crosses up to God in trust for the greater good He will bring.

There is nothing uglier, nothing worse than the Crucifixion....Deicide.

Yet from it God brought the greatest beauty, the greatest Good....Redemption.

Wordless Ash Wednesday

The Holy Father..."Slowing Down"

At Mass today, with worry I know I should not have, I felt the need to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI as I hear reports of him "slowing down."  He's in his mid 80's and it's to be expected, but I can not imagine a next Pope....

PRAYER FOR THE POPE

O Lord, we are the millions of believers, humbly kneeling at Thy feet and begging Thee to preserve, defend and save the Sovereign Pontiff for many years. He is the Father of the great fellowship of souls and our Father as well. On this day, as on every other day, he is praying for us also, and is offering unto Thee with holy fervor the sacred Victim of love and peace. 
Wherefore, O Lord, turn Thyself toward us with eyes of pity; for we are now, as it were, forgetful of ourselves, and are praying above all for him. Do Thou unite our prayers with his and receive them into the bosom of Thine infinite mercy, as a sweet savor of active and fruitful charity, whereby the children are united in the Church to their Father. All that he asks of Thee this day, we too ask it of Thee in union with him. 
Whether he weeps or rejoices, whether he hopes or offers himself as a victim of charity for his people, we desire to be united with him; nay more, we desire that the cry of our hearts should be made one with his. Of Thy great mercy grant, O Lord, that not one of us may be far from his mind and his heart in the hour that he prays and offers unto Thee the Sacrifice of Thy blessed Son. At the moment when our venerable High Priest, holding in His hands the very Body of Jesus Christ, shall say to the people over the Chalice of benediction these words: "The peace of the Lord be with you always," grant, O Lord, that Thy sweet peace may come down upon our hearts and upon all the nations with new and manifest power.
Amen 

The Solution for the Catholic Church from Anthony J. Mullen

WHERE ARE THE CATHOLIC LEADERS WHO CARE ABOUT GOD AND HIS CHURCH?  by Tony Mullen of  MyConsecration.org

If you knew the one and only solution to cure all the Catholic Church’s problems (and the problems are so severe as to be on the verge of catastrophic) and you could also cure the world’s problems in addition to the Church’s problems, would you not be guilty of the utmost crime if you chose to ignore the solution or not to share it with everyone?

Now, what if you knew the solution was foolproof……in that it could not fail? Yes, it could not fail, because it had a Divine certitude to it. It was God’s plan in His own words. Further, God had repeated the plan over and over for 95 years. Would you not be guilty of a catastrophic failure in obedience? Do you believe this would be an overstatement of the facts if the eternal life of hundreds of millions of souls was at stake based upon ignoring God’s plan? Is this not precisely where we are today for the Church’s lay and religious leaders?

Let’s look at the brutal facts:

• Less than 2% of Catholics frequent the Sacrament of Confession on a regular basis.
• About 20% of Catholics obey the third commandment and worship every Sabbath at the Eucharistic Sacrifice…“the source and summit” of the entire Catholic Faith.
• Only 14% of Catholics can name all 10 commandments; most can’t name 5 commandments!
• Less that 3% of Catholics pray the Rosary every day.
• Less than 1% of Catholics have made their Consecration to Mary’s Immaculate Heart and wear the Brown Scapular every day, which are considered the objective marks of true devotion to Mary’s Immaculate Heart.

Yet, God has consistently and urgently asked everyone to be devoted to His Mother’s Immaculate Heart. So, how is it that so few Catholics are devoted to Mary’s Immaculate Heart? Would objective people not be forced to agree there has been an egregious failure of lay and religious leadership?

God intervened in human affairs at Fatima, Portugal in an unprecedented way by allowing the sun to spin as if out of control and speed toward the earth in front of 70,000 people, which fact was recorded in the secular newspaper the next day. God’s message through His Mother was very, very specific: “God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart and promises salvation to those who embrace it.”

Consecration to Mary’s Immaculate Heart has been the chief starting point for the devotion. Both Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict have urged all Catholics to make this Consecration.

The Bishops of Vatican II urged us: “Everyone should entrust their life to Mary’s Motherly Care.” St. Maximilian Kolbe has put it well: “Teach others this Consecration…if this is the quickest, surest way to become a saint, it’s also the quickest, surest way to conquer the whole world for Christ, if only we tell others about it.” And if you somehow mistakenly believe this detracts from God, listen to the greatest Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Margaret Mary: “The most effective way to obtain devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

Recently, the Church has approved the “Our Lady Flame of Love” message from God, where our Lord has told us just how critically important this step is to our Faith: “The Flame of Love from My Mother’s Immaculate Heart will be to your generation what Noah’s Ark was to Noah’s generation” (www.theflameoflove.org). Think about the significance of that statement! The attacks on our Faith will grow so severe in the future that our Faith will be swept away without this extra grace!

As Catholic leaders, do we not have a real, solemn duty to help the Church spread this knowledge? Is there something more important you could do with your time and talent? Are not millions, if not billions, of souls at stake? As Leaders, let us act!

Tony's letter has me thinking...what would the Catholic Church, currently under attack, be like if every member was led to consecrating themselves to Jesus through Mary's Immaculate Heart? 

And now...there's an app for that!

 

You could begin your Total Consecration on February 20th, as it is a perfect spiritual exercise for Lent!

Sunday Silence - Portrait

Catholic Pinterest

I joined Pinterest early on and luv it. I am delighted to see all the news reports about it's record breaking growth, now considered a Top 10 Social Site! It passed 10 million users after 9 months, making it the the fastest growing standalone site ever, according to Business Insider.

Today I created a group board called CATHOLIC PINTEREST, A "narthex" for Catholics to gather and share Pinspirations. Pins on all things CATHOLIC, a Catholic Pinterest community. 

One of the reasons I did so was because I had recently been bumped from another group board. I presume it is because I pinned something Pro Life. On this new board, Pro Life pins are welcome! 

Are you on Pinterest? Would you like to connect there, do you need an invite, or would you like to be a contributor to this board? Let me know in comments or at my email address found at the top right of the blog sidebar.

And if you are new to Pinterest and want to know more about it, below are a bunch of links.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/02/know-your-internet-what-is-pinterest-and-why-should-i-care/252835/ 

http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Pinterest

Moments of Grace ~ My Mother

I am joining the wonderful, new blog SUSCIPIO in Moments of Grace, a link-up sharing something from your week....taking "a moment to look back on your week and recall these glimpses of grace as they wove themselves into the flurry of your life."

A while back I wrote about how my Mother had joined the teaching staff here at Totus Tuus Academy. On "Teaching Thursdays" my delighted little girl gets her GrandDandy as her teacher for one-on-one grandparent attention.Yesterday was one of those Thursdays.

Here they are studying the Baltimore Catechism together. This Photo is a moment of grace for me and I am deeply touched seeing my mother share the faith with her grand-daughter, but also because my youngest son took this photo!  He was so happy and excited and I hope that I pass along my love of photography to him, maybe all of my children....like my Father did for me.

It also happened to be my mother's birthday! At a dinner out for the occasion, a few days ago,  each of us took turns around the table telling my mother the reasons why we love her. It's a family birthday tradition. When it came to my turn, part of what I said was in response to her telling me on my birthday how happy I had made her.  I returned to that, to let her know how happy she has made me. My mother gives and gives. Tirelessly. And all through my life she has made special moments and gave of herself to us unselfishly. All of her children share those happy memories and admiration. For me, all that she gave was so deeply satisfying that my happiness and contentment continue. Although I want to grow in many areas and improve, especially in faith, I don't have other preoccupations...things or experiences I need. A happy childhood without wants is what she and my father gave me. And I know I am lucky, blessed.

It is the realization of those graces and the beauty that emanates from this photo and the ones above that I hold close to my heart and cherish this week. God bless you, Mother, on your birthday and always!

My moments of Grace.

Dissent "Not Compatible With Being A Good Catholic"

Dissent is the watered down, politically correct word for heresy today.

On Twitter I am seeing a few tweets from people who want to identify themselves as Catholics but they are saying that they are FOR contraception and the HHS mandate.

It's confused me.

Can they call themselves Catholic when they so dissent from Catholic teaching?

So I googled to see if there were any links on the topic and found these.

 "In 1987, Pope John Paul II told the American bishops in San Francisco that it was a "grave error" ... dissent from established doctrines is not"compatible with being a good Catholic" and does pose an "obstacle to the reception of the sacraments," (Source) 

 Follow this link to Catholic United for The Faith and their instructive article on The Grammar of Dissent: Identifying and Engaging Heresy " The Code of Canon Law, canon 751, defines heresy as "the obstinate denial or doubt, after baptism, of a truth which must be believed by divine and catholic faith." The Catechism of the Catholic Church identifies heresy as a sin against faith, and thus against the First Commandment (no. 2089).

It's an illuminating read, filled with suggestions, and in the end asking us to pray and sacrifice for these souls. "In all of this we must walk the path of charity. This is the virtue that allows us, as the Catechism, quoting Pope John Paul II, says, "to discern the often narrow path between the cowardice which gives in to evil, and the violence which under the illusion of fighting evil only makes it worse" (no. 1889).

Loveable, Capable, Valuable Plate

A special plate I made when our family was just beginning.

A friend shared the idea that although you could buy a "special" plate for birthdays this could be about more.

And so it marks life's celebrations and even life's disappointments with the reminder that in good times and in bad when this plate appears at your place in our family table....

You are loved....You are valued...You are capable.

Sunday Silence ~ Ice Hockey Style

To Identify Oneself As A Catholic

Found this at Fr. Z's, "cards designed to help Catholics identify themselves as Catholics."

I'd like to see a US version that correlated to the Precepts of the Church.

  The 6 Precepts of the Church (The Duties of a Catholic) Fisheaters.com 
1.To go to Mass and refrain from servile work on Sundays and holy days (I had to learn that when you love someone, you want to be with them.  Missing Sundays and Holy days were a grave sin (CIC 916). that separated me from communion until confession. http://whycatholicsdothat.com/is-missing-sunday-mass-a-mortal-sin/ )
2. To go to Confession at least once a year (traditionally done during Lent) (I had to learn that the Sacrament of Confession meant grace.  Did I want more graces? Then go often! Get "clean" often.)
3. To receive the Eucharist at least once a year, during the Easter Season (I had to learn that I needed to receive worthily. Sometimes that means not receiving until I could return to a state of grace through Confession. To receive, I must also be in a state of grace, having confessed grave sin. I must believe what the Church teaches, especially about Transubstantiation and I must fast one hour before receiving.http://www.catholic.com/tracts/who-can-receive-communion
4. To observe the days of fasting and abstinence http://www.fisheaters.com/fasting.html
5. To help to provide for the needs of the Church according to one's abilities and station in life God can not be outdone in generosity and so we give away, generously
6.To obey the marriage laws of the Church Our marriage was a Sacrament, our vows and promises were made before God and witnessed by family and friends. We will be true to our words and keep our promises including accepting children freely and raising them in the faith.


And that's just the bare minimum to scrape by...shouldn't we want to/strive to offer more?