Our Lady of Guadalupe

When the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill in Mexico, in December of 1531, she declared,

"I am your most merciful Mother...I want to show my loving clemency and compassion to those who call upon me in their sorrows."

Our Lady of Guadalupe is venerated as Patroness of all the Americas, and the Proctectress of the Unborn.

As I prepare for Christmas

I wanted to share with you something from a book that is helping me to prepare for Christmas.

I’m doing this because I had to stop myself for a brief moment after a ‘crazy and funny’ shopping experience on what many have come to know as “black Friday” - though I was told that the “black” means that the businesses rejoice at the end of the day because their sales end up in “the black” – as opposed to “the red” - to me, the black pointed to the darkness I witnessed… (even in the opening of the stores at 12 midnight? Yikes!) Could it be that many people are in the dark about the true meaning of the Advent season, too? People who will do anything to obtain the merchandise they set out to buy on that night/day because this is what we’re supposed to do during this time, is shop-till-you-drop? Has anyone shared with them the good news? Really?

In this book there is a light that shines in the dark. In this book there is hope that sees the future in light of the past and the present. In this book I’m reminded of God’s constant presence and care for me, his child. In this book there is a peace to be found, a peace that cannot be found in any other place. All I had to do was to pick up this book, open it and begin to read.

But how do you open a book you’ve never opened before? How do you begin to read a book about the old and the new – when the world around us is constantly pointing to the new-and-improved, putting aside the old?

This book is for all ages. This book is the number-one-selling book in the world. Apparently, people are buying it all the time if it is the #1 book. Are we reading it, too? I finally opened this book (some may open it out of curiosity?) and though uncomfortable (at first), I asked God for help in reading (Yes. It is okay to ask for help here…and who better to ask than God Himself?) Nothing BIG happened at first…no extraordinary revelation came to my bewildered mind…All I did was read, ponder, and listen in my heart. As the days went by and I spent more time in a few minutes of quiet reading of this book, something changed in my heart…it began to soften and feel again! I was ready to receive the good news on Christmas Day…and the Good News has been ever-pouring-in-and-out of my heart since that first day! Wow! God is so good to me!!!

Before I forget…the book? The Bible.



Michigan colors

When we pause for a moment to look to the good...we hardly raise our eyes and there is beauty everywhere!

God gifted me with this fantastic view of a lake and the diverse color of the surrounding plants and trees...How can I keep from singing?

Please enjoy the view from your window-to-the-world today (wherever you may be), and give God the glory...

I love you...for life!

When God created swans...
He designed them with heart...
This is the way we are meant to be in communion with each other, too!!! Do you see the heart made up by two? 

A mother's prayer...

Dearest Mother,
I will always remember you in my daily prayers.
A most special prayer of thanksgiving is offered for you on these three days
until May 10th - when we celebrate all mothers in Mexico.

Please pray for me, mother...
Should you be already in the presence of the Most High;
please (o please) remember me before Him,
and help me to get there one day, too...

I miss you all the time, my sweet mother...
Words cannot describe my pain
and the emptiness left in my heart when you died.
God is so good to me, I know.
He blessed me with the gift of your presence in my life...
May our hearts burn together in union with the One.
Amen. Aleluya.

Shining Light

The light of the Transfiguration isn't exclusively for Peter, James, and John but for all men and women, that we might no longer be afraid of our fragile, fallen humanity but might get up and go where the Lord is leading us.

— from The Little Way of Lent

A father's legacy

When I hear the name "father"
I feel safe, protected, loved...

In other words,
my heart, mind and spirit are unafraid...
This sense of security and fortitude elevates me to a place where hope is always an option.
Whatever my concerns for the moment may be,
God, the Father, is always taking care of me.

In my journey on this earth, I've also been blessed to have a human father who lived out these virtues and inculcated the good, in me. A father who cherished his wife and children, and sacrificed himself in every way in order to guide his family to do good and follow our vocation.

My father was strong and kind and very disciplined.
He left my family and I a tremendous legacy in our walk toward our destiny in the one family in Christ. Together with my mother, my parents never stopped laboring for the good of the family.

Today, I want to remember my father in a special way - all-day-long - because on this day 4 years ago, he died. I miss him terribly, still...Yet I am also consoled and strengthened in my faith walk when I pray, pray, pray everyday...especially during the celebration of Mass...because this is when we are blessed to be able to unite in spirit with the rest of the Body of Christ...as we pray with each other.

I love you,dad!!! Please remember me...when you come into God's kingdom... 

Deeper Appreciation

Fasting symbolizes our ever deepening hunger for God and ensures that our sights stay fixed on eternal life and makes us appreciate more fully all the goods of the earth and the goodness in one another.



— from The Little Way of Lent

Emptiness

Emptiness given to Christ becomes life-giving; emptiness without Christ leads to despair and hopelessness. Emptiness given to Christ allows us to finally be filled!
— from Spirituality You Can Live With

Thriving Spirituality

The key to unfolding a deeper way of living is a thriving spirituality. This is the path that gives us some answers and brings us to fulfillment.



— from Spirituality You Can Live With

The Living Stations of the Cross

Faith is a gift from God

Faith is a gift from (and of) God;
nurturing it is our gift back to Him...

Perhaps we have heard this said before or in other ways:
"what you are is God's gift to you,
what you make of yourself is your gift to God..." "our desire to pray and turn to God, is in itself,
a gift from God to us..."

Since we are all made in the Image and Likeness of God...
it follows that, we would all have this vital connection to our Creator.
A connection that can grow until it reaches a complete union with the One...
or a connection that becomes fractured and broken when we ignore prayer and communication with God in an incessant way,
throughout our lives...

The only way to the Father (we know) is through the Son...
So, what are we waiting for?
Why does it take us so long?
Even when we are ignorant on how to pray...
Jesus shows us how.
Let us go to our brother and lifetime companion.
He will always be the Way, the Truth and the Life...
(John 14:6)

Let us pray to God using one of Augustine’s prayers.

“O God, You are the light of the minds that know You, the life of the souls that love You, and the strength of the wills that serve You. Help us so to know You that we may truly love You, so to love You that we may fully serve You, whom to serve is perfect freedom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Celebrating Life

The Youth Rally for Life in Washington DC was an intense experience which culminated in the celebration of Mass...
The many faces from all over the country, were made visible in a sea of life and energy at the Armory (where I was privileged to attend).
It was at the climactic moment of consecration, when the multitude of people (young and young-at-heart) united with Cardinal DiNardo and the many celebrating bishops and priests, became one family in Christ, Jesus...  Amen!!!

Virtue of Hope

The virtue of hope can sustain us through life's greatest trials. By hoping in God's victory over sin and death, we can more peacefully endure personal tragedies. — from Real Women, Real Saints

Have you held on to the last drop of hope
and found it most delightful in the end?
Knowing that it is by God's grace alone that I am sustained...
brings me consolation and peace in my heart...
For today...
for just this singular moment...
this is enough for me.

Seeking Faith

"If faith is so important to our salvation, I will seek it where true faith first began; seek it among those who received it from God Himself." — St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Spiritual Companions

We call upon the intercession of that ever-growing blessed communion in heaven, those spiritual companions who through their prayers continue "to do the good" from their celestial watch posts on high.
— from Real Women, Real Saints

Remembering my mother

I remember my mother on this day... She taught me how to lead a worthy life.

In my daily living I am necessarily occupied with ordinary and secular things. But my mother showed me how to sanctify everything I do through the intentions of the heart.

In this way, my life is pleasing to God and I am able to reach him in my daily actions.

Prayer:
Father, in heaven, grant that my life may be a sacred service to You.
May I always bring honor to You, to my family, and draw Your blessings upon us all. Amen.

Created in His Image

We were created in the likeness of an infinite God whose grandeur surpasses all earthly categories. The more perfectly we embrace this divine image, as the saints have done, the more expansive we become.


— from Real Women, Real Saints

Mary, Mother of God

Today we celebrate and honor Mary, Virgin and Mother.
We ask for her motherly compassion to show us the way to her son, Jesus.

She said "yes" to God's invitation to be the mother of His Son, Jesus.
She also shows us how to keep all things in our heart, and be credible witnesses for a culture of peace.
Mary has an important role to play in the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. She consents to God's invitation conveyed by the angel (Luke 1:26-38).

Elizabeth proclaims: "Most blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:42-43, emphasis added). Mary's role as mother of God places her in a unique position in God's redemptive plan. "The Blessed Virgin was eternally predestined, in conjunction with the incarnation of the divine Word, to be the Mother of God. By decree of divine Providence, she served on earth as the loving mother of the divine Redeemer, an associate of unique nobility, and the Lord's humble handmaid. She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ" (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 61).
(This entry appears in the print edition of Saint of the Day.)