Advent

Advent begins tomorrow! Watch this quick video to learn some beautiful (and easy) ways to participate perhaps more fully and with great JOY this year.

Father, all-powerful God, your eternal Word took flesh on our earth when the Virgin Mary placed her life at the service of your plan. Lift our minds in watchful hope to hear the voice which announces his glory and open our minds to receive the Spirit who prepares us for his coming. 
We ask this through Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

More Resources:

USCCB Interactive Advent Calendar

USCCB Family Calendars

USCCB Audio Retreats

Busted Halo - Advent in 2 Minutes

Advent Examen 7 Day Prayer Cycle

Discerning Advent Series - God in All Things

Catholic Culture Advent Workshop

Thank YOU!

Bless the Lord

Psalm from the Book of Daniel 3: 

"Praise and exalt the Lord above all forever"

Sun and moon, bless the Lord;

praise and exalt him above all forever.

Stars of heaven, bless the Lord;

praise and exalt him above all forever.

Every shower and dew, bless the Lord;

praise and exalt him above all forever.

All you winds, bless the Lord;

praise and exalt him above all forever.

Fire and heat, bless the Lord;

praise and exalt him above all forever.

Cold and chill, bless the Lord;

praise and exalt him above all forever.

"Between heaven and earth
Between light and dark
Between faith and sin
Lies only my heart
Lies God and only my heart."

(Opening poem - For Greater Glory)

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Virgin Mary, most loving mother, please give me a heart like yours, firm in its attachments and of unshakable loyalty, an affectionate heart that radiates a discreet tenderness and that is open, a pure heart that lives in the flesh without being burdened by it, a generous heart, quick in forgetting its hurts and always ready to forgive, a considerate heart that hides a great deal of love in the smallest details, in the most humble service, a magnanimous heart that rejoices in other's triumphs and shares in their sorrows, a heart that condemns no one, and does not tire of being confided to, a heart taken up by Christ, totally given to his infinite love. Amen.

- Traditional

Www.livingwithchrist.us

Childlike Faith

Dear Jesus,

I prayed the rosary with a couple 2nd graders today. Boy was that a gift. I smiled more times during prayer than I have in a while. How many times you must smile at our prayers? The first smile came when I was showing a little girl the Apostles Creed on the paper that was handed out to the children. I told her we would begin with that prayer. She held the paper in her hand, looked at the whole prayer, tracing the words down the page with her finger, all the way down (it took up one whole side of the page because the font was enlarged for "little kid eyes"). Her big eyes looked back at me, got close to my face, and in a "kid-attempted whisper" (which is not even remotely close to a whisper) exclaimed, "we believer all of this!" I chuckled at her surprised response, but also the simple truth that she spoke and the appropriateness of her question. "Yes." I whispered back.  "We do."

 I showed the three children how to begin holding the rosary and

continued to coach them on as we prayed together. They were very concerned that they they were always on the exact bead for every prayer. This pattern continued of: prayer, hold-up the rosary to check, nod from me, sigh of  relief from the kids and then smiles all around, prayers, repeat. Excitement was interlaced throughout our prayer as little legs kicked (since their feet could not reach the floor) to the rhythm and eyes peeked up occasionally to smile at one another. So proud and happy to participate!!

By the third decade the children were doing quite well without much assistance. At one point though, one little boy dropped his rosary...mid-prayer. The little girl sitting next to me, immediately turned to me, wide-eyed, leaned in real close to my face and was just ready to speak in her "kid-whisper", when all of a sudden she put her finger up to shush ME reminding me she was praying and we shouldn't speak. :) When she felt it was appropriate, she used her "kid-whisper" to tell me that whenever anything holy drops (the boy's rosary for instance) you need to kiss it to make it holy again...well the boy definitely heard this (along with the the pews in front and behind us I'm sure because I saw some heads turn and smiles as she spoke this) and the boy definitely heard because he quickly kissed his rosary and we prayed on. (I'm not sure about the whole kissing things to make them holy again, maybe as a sign of reverence, but I didn't dare interrupt her prayers to discuss this with her, in fear she would "shush" me again, she wasn't messing around the 1st time...lesson learned). The bead checking continued every once in a while but a good rhythm continued for the duration of our prayer until we ended with the sign of the cross.


When we finished the little girl turned to me and said, "I'm good at this!". The boy said, "I never prayed the rosary before." and he smiled happily. And I told them both "Thank you for letting me pray with you, I would love to do it again."

Just like St. Therese, with childlike faith, we too can approach prayer like children. They were just learning how to pray the rosary prayers, made some mistakes, even dropped a rosary...but what matters is they prayed with love for Jesus Christ and with their whole hearts! They wanted to please God and nobody else, they felt happy afterwards and about their prayer experience so much so they wanted to do it again! 

Jesus I'm sure you smiled and felt their love no matter if they were on the right bead or said all of the prayers word for word, for you know what was in their hearts, how much they tried to do their best for you and how much they love you! I continue to learn so much from these kids each and every day. Thank you Jesus for teaching me through your children.

(from journal entry dated 10/11/13)

O Glorious St. Therese, whom Almighty God has raised up to aid and inspire the human family, I implore your Miraculous Intercession. You are so powerful in obtaining every need of body and spirit from the Heart of God. Holy Mother Church proclaims you 'Prodigy of Miracles... the Greatest Saint of Modern Times.' Now I fervently beseech you to answer my petition (mention here) and to carry out your promises of spending Heaven doing good on earth...of letting fall from Heaven a Shower of Roses. Little Flower, give me your childlike faith, to see the Face of God in the people and experiences of my life, and to love God with full confidence. St. Therese, my Carmelite Sister, I will fulfill your plea 'to be made known everywhere' and I will continue to lead others to Jesus through you. Amen.

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” 

(Luke 1:38)

Be at Peace

Be at peace.

Do not look forward in fear to the changes and chances of this life;

Rather, look to them with full confidence that, as they arise,

God, to whom you belong will in His love enable you to profit by them.

He has guided you thus far in life,

and He will lead you safely through all trials;

and when you cannot stand it,

God will bury you in His arms.

Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;

the same everlasting Father who cares for you today

will take care of you then and everyday.

He will either shield you from suffering,

or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.

Be at peace, then, and put aside all

anxious thoughts and imaginations.  

Amen.

- St. Francis de Sales

Giving to God

"In February of 1995 I visited Honduras which is located in the Caribbean Sea. Leaving the group I walked through the streets of poverty and disease wondering what life would be like if I were to live there. After purchasing something in a store I stood holding my change and having a fragmented conversation with one of the locals who only spoke a little English. After 5 minutes or more the woman behind the counter signalled to me to give back the change from my purchase which I was still holding in my hand. I hesitated for a few moments because I already thought she had not given me enough of the foriegn currency. Finally, I handed her the change and after shuffling around in her money box she handed me back some money--more money than she originally handed me. I believe our experience of surrendering to God has some similarities. We are scared to abandon what we have and give everything to God in case we end up with less than what we started with. Fools we are! God always gives more than what He asks from us." ~Mustard Seeds

http://dynamiccatholic.com

O Lord, from now on 

let me not desire health or life 

except to spend them for you and with you. 

You alone know what is good for me. 

Therefore do whatever 

seems best to you. 

Give to me or take from me. 

I desire to adore equally 

all that comes to me from you, 

my Lord and God. 

Amen

~Blaise Pascal

www.livingwithchrist.us

Eternal Rest

In paradisum deducant te Angeli;

in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres

et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.

Chorus angelorum te suscipiat,

et cum Lazaro, quondam paupere,

æternam habeas requiem. 

May the angels lead you into paradise;

upon your arrival, may the martyrs receive you

and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem.

May the ranks of angels receive you,

and with Lazarus, once a poor man,

may you have eternal rest.

Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine,

et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Requiescant in pace. Amen

Only Name That Matter 2 Me