Glory to God for All Things

"I kiss the soil as if I placed a kiss on the hands of a mother, for the homeland is our earthly mother."  

~Pope John Paul II

"Nature, therefore, becomes a gospel that speaks to us of God."  ~Pope John Paul II

Akathist Hymn:  Glory to God for All Things

O Lord, how lovely it is to be Thy guest. Breeze full of scents; mountains reaching to the skies; waters like boundless mirrors, reflecting the sun's golden rays and the scudding clouds. All nature murmurs mysteriously, breathing the depth of tenderness. Birds and beasts of the forest bear the imprint of Thy love. Blessed art thou, mother earth, in thy fleeting loveliness, which wakens our yearning for happiness that will last for ever, in the land where, amid beauty that grows not old, the cry rings out: Alleluia!

Thou hast brought me into life as into an enchanted paradise. We have seen the sky like a chalice of deepest blue, where in the azure heights the birds are singing. We have listened to the soothing murmur of the forest and the melodious music of the streams. We have tasted fruit of fine flavour and the sweet-scented honey. We can live very well on Thine earth. It is a pleasure to be Thy guest.

Glory to Thee for the Feast Day of life
Glory to Thee for the perfume of lilies and roses
Glory to Thee for each different taste of berry and fruit
Glory to Thee for the sparkling silver of early morning dew
Glory to Thee for the joy of dawn's awakening
Glory to Thee for the new life each day brings
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Glory to God For All Things

"Thou hast brought me into life as into an enchanted paradise. We have seen the sky like a chalice of deepest blue, where in the azure heights the birds are singing. We have listened to the soothing murmur of the forest and the melodious music of the streams. We have tasted fruit of fine flavour and the sweet-scented honey. We can live very well on Thine earth. It is a pleasure to be Thy guest." ~from Akathist Hymn of Thanksgiving:  Glory to God For All Things, Ikos 2

With the beginning of May I've passed the four year mark in my blogging career.  When I first began to blog I thought that, like many of my other hobbies such as scrapbooking, floral arranging and counted-cross-stitch, this would be a short-lived endeavor lasting maybe a year or two and it would fizzle out.  Except that blogging isn't really like any of my other hobbies.  I don't blog simply to pass the time or to learn a new craft. I blog to share my faith and hopefully glorify God in the process.  And, one of the joys of blogging is that over these past four years I have come across many kindred spirits, blogging buddies, you could say, that are quite gifted at sharing their own experience of faith and who inspire me with their words.  One such blogger is  Amanda Rose who writes at Little Steps Along the Way.

Amanda has recently written two amazing posts that have worked their way deeply into my soul and have made a profound impact upon my prayer life.  I tend to be a melancholic spirit and slip quite easily into depressive episodes, but Amanda has shown me an effective antidote for my moodiness.

In her post, My Portion is the Lord, which was featured on Dr. Anthony Lilles contemplative blog, Beginning to Pray, Amanda reminds us to sing hopefully when all seems dark:

"I hope when my mind says I shouldn’t. I hope while the tears run down my cheeks. I hope when I cannot hold back the sobs of disappointment, grief and exhaustion.  Even when I doubt, my souls sings “my portion is the Lord."  I cling to this truth."

I encourage you to read it all and to remain hopeful.  And on her own blog, Amanda shares a post that not only encourages the virtue of hope, but also the virtue of gratitude.  In Singing Alleluia Through Our Tears, Amanda introduces her readers to a magnificent Orthodox prayer, an Akathist Hymn of Thanksgiving, written in 1934 by an Orthodox Metropolitan while he was held in a Russian prison camp.  I am startled each time I consider a man held captive, enduring the horrors of a prison camp, who can conjure up a prayer to magnify the Lord with such glorious words of praise.  I have since printed out the Akathist Hymn, Glory to God for All Things, and have been praying with it every day.  I encourage you to pray with it yourself and see if you, too, aren't amazed by the beauty of this prayer and uplifted to give glory to God for all things, even in the darkest of times.

"Glory to Thee for the Feast Day of life
Glory to Thee for the perfume of lilies and roses
Glory to Thee for each different taste of berry and fruit
Glory to Thee for the sparkling silver of early morning dew
Glory to Thee for the joy of dawn's awakening
Glory to Thee for the new life each day brings
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age"

~from Akathist Hymn of Thanksgiving:  Glory to God For All Things, Ikos 2

Praise-Palm Sunday

Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that "You're my God."

He rode in on a donkey to the shouts of "Hosannah!"
Today, I want those shouts to ring in my ears and remain in my heart.
I want to always remember that in his humble humanity, he saved my soul.
I cry along "Hosannah!" It is my song of unending praise for the One I love,
for everything He has done and everything He will ever do.
Hosannah and Praise forever!

Join Jennifer at My Chocolate Heart in weekly Praise

A Most Blessed Holy Week to you all!

Praying the Psalms-Nine/ Praise

"I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will declare all your wondrous deeds. I will delight and rejoice in you; I will sing hymns to your name, Most High. Psalm 9:2-3

















Are you listening Lord? I said with ALL of my heart. I didn't mean just some dusty little corner that wasn't already filled with praise for other things like peanut butter cookies with chocolate on top, spring daffodils, piano music or childrens laughter. The only reason I will praise those other things is because they are all gifts from you, so when I praise the delights of this earth, when I am rejoicing in the pleasures I find here in my life, what I am really doing is declaring Your wondrous deeds.

Sometimes, though, my heart forgets. Isn't that sad? I hope it doesn't make You terribly unhappy that I forget to praise You, and that I take Your gifts for granted. You know I never mean to hurt You. What can I do, my glorious Father, to atone for my all too frequent ingratitude? If I sing hymns to Your name, will that please You? If I sing so that all my words and actions bless You and give You glory,and in doing so, I draw others to notice You and love You, will Your own heart sing for joy?

Then I will sing, just listen to my voice grow louder with a sweet melody for You. For You alone are wondrous, marvelous, fabulous and amazing. You are my maker, my lover, my father and my friend. You are my yesterday, today and tomorrow. You love me like no other ever could and I will love You in return, all my days. I will give You my heart and my soul, all that I am and all that I ever will be, in gratitude for the love You have bestowed upon me...simple, little, next-to-nothing me. In Your eyes, with Your love, I too, am wondrous, marvelous, fabulous and amazing. For You, and to You, I sing praise! Amen and Amen, forever.

Thanks to Jenny at Just a Minute for the Praying the Psalms MEME and to
Jennifer at My Chocolate Heart for the Praise MEME

Praise when God says "No"

"Nonsense! Being a wife and mother is good enough for you, like your own mother!"
Fr. Fitzgibbon to Carol in "Going My Way" when she told him she wanted to be a singer.

It's been a while since I wrote about my desire to establish a Spiritual Motherhood Apostolate here in Milwaukee. My friend Marge and I had plans to connect a mother who would pray for every bishop, priest, seminarian, and religious brother in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. That meant that we needed 800 women to sign up to become spiritual mothers, and we wanted to accomplish this before the end of the Year of the Priest. I know that many of you have been helping me with your prayers and words of encouragement and support for this endeavor.

We finally received word from Archbishop Listecki, and he does not give his approval for this apostolate at this time. He would like to focus on continuing to enhance the programs and devotions that are already in place in Milwaukee such as rosaries and Holy Hours so that these will be strengthened and renewed.

We are blessed with a wise and wonderful new Archbishop and I trust that God in His wisdom is acting through Archbishop Listecki with what is in the best interests for everybody. That doesn't mean that we can't all continue to pray for those priests and seminarians whom we know and love as well as those who we believe are struggling in their vocation. The more people who pray for our priests, the stronger our church will be.

I thank you, dear reader, for the blessings of your prayers and encouragement and I praise God for His many blessings in our lives! Our prayers were not wasted. "We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28 I believe that this "no" from Archbishop Listecki was God's way of telling me that being a wife and mother is all that He asks me to be and truly, it is a beautiful vocation, it is more than enough! Truthfully, I am relieved because I know that God can read my heart and He knew that I was worried that I might have been trying to take on more than I could handle at this time in my life. Our God is an awesome God and I praise Him whether He says yes or no! My life is in His beautiful hands now and forever. Praise God!

Thanks to Jennifer at My Chocolate Heart for this MEME.

Praise for the Sunrise

In this bitter cold winter weather,
I can always count on one thing...
the sun will rise.
It doesn't matter if my teeth chatter and my body shivers,
it doesn't matter if I awaken to a dark morning
and my feet hit the icy floor
instantly jolting me into a state of alertness.
What matters is that by the time I am sitting
behind the steering wheel of the van
driving my children to school,
our breath revealed before us in puffs of white,
and as we pull our hats a little more tightly over our ears,
God sends the bright, clear blue sky to cheer us,
and to the east
we see the sun rising in all of its splendor,
creating lines of glorious color-
pink, purple, yellow and blue-
on the horizon.
For ten breathtaking minutes as we fight
the early morning traffic,
our eyes are treated to a feast from our God
who loves us and wants to show His love
through His art in the sky.
And we adore Him and His gift of the sunrise
and we praise Him for loving us so much!


Thanks to Jennifer at My Chocolate Heart for this weekly Praise MEME.

Praise for a Lovely Holy Hour for Life

"Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works." Psalm 139


What a busy day! Why is it that Sunday rarely feels like a day of rest? My sons, Jack and Joe served at 7:30 Mass and John lectored at the same Mass. After our family returned home, it was a quick breakfast and then back to church where John sings in the choir at the 11:00 Mass. A few errands to run, followed by a couple of basketball games at which I sat and supported my sons and their friends and it feels like the day is nearly over. Here I am, with just two hours to spare before our youth group has their meeting tonight. There's just no time like the present to join with Jennifer at My Chocolate Heart and offer a little praise before I'm too worn out to do so.

My favorite event of this past week, of which I am most grateful to God, was the opportunity to attend a Holy Hour for life that was simultaneously held in 100 parishes in our Archdiocese and was being offered by the Deacons of Milwaukee. I especially offer praise to God as this is the first time that adoration of the exposed Host has been held at my parish since I have been a member, that's seventeen years! So this truly was an historic event! If I don't offer praise to God for this tremendous blessing, I know I will burst!

I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the magnificent monstrance that must have been original to the parish 150 years ago. How wonderful it is to see our Lord contained in such splendor! I praise God for the sweet simplicity of the Holy Hour led by our deaf deacon. I praise God for the last minute panicked request from our liturgical director asking me to read at the service. How grand it felt to read from the book of Genesis and also to read an excerpt from Humanae Vitae for all of the vulnerable souls at both the beginning and the end of life. I was equally honored at the last minute request for my son John to offer his acolyte services for this same Holy Hour. It was so wonderful to watch my son direct and help our deacon on conducting his first ever Holy Hour. I praise God because this very special hour of prayer was simple, beautiful and heart felt and it followed an evening when I missed out on an opportunity to adore the Lord, so it was even more meaningful to be in His Holy presence.

I praise God that my daughter Mary asked to come along, even though it meant she would have to sit alone in the pew while John and I were busy in the sanctuary because Paul and my other sons were occupied with other activities and weren't able to attend. When we arrived at church, our dear friend Mrs. B was there and she was so glad for the company of Mary during the Holy Hour. She gave Mary a rosary that had been given to her for the purpose of praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, only Mrs. B had never heard of the chaplet before and didn't know how to pray it. She confessed that she had asked two priests about it and neither of them knew it either. What a blessing this was, because Mary has recently learned to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet and she was happy to tell Mrs. B all about it!

Finally, I praise God for this beautiful prayer offered during exposition and benediction of the Holy Eucharist:

"I devoutly adore you, O hidden God, truly hidden beneath these appearances. My whole heart submits to you, and in contemplating you, it surrenders itself completely. Sight, touch, taste are all deceived in their judgment of you, but hearing suffices firmly to believe.

I believe all that the Son of God has spoken; there is nothing truer than this word of truth. On the cross only the divinity was hidden, but here the humanity is also hidden.

I believe and confess both, and ask for what the repentant thief asked. I do not see the wounds as Thomas did, but I confess that you are my God. Make me believe more and more in you, hope in you, and love you. O memorial of our Lord's death! Living bread that gives life to man, grant my soul to live on you, and always to savor your sweetness. Lord Jesus, Good Pelican, wash me clean with your blood, one drop of which can free the entire world of all its sins.

Jesus, whom now I see hidden, I ask you to fulfill what I so desire: that on seeing you face to face, I may be happy in seeing your glory. Amen."

Praise for Extra-Ordinary Time

Joining in Praise with Jennifer at My Chocolate Heart

I love ordinary time. I love routine and repetition. It feels so normal. Normal is good. But sometimes, upon closer inspection those normal and routine events are anything but ordinary. They are the extraordinary signs of the presence of God and for those I give praise.

1.A gentleman holds the church door open for me and greets me with a smile. That gentleman is an 8th grade boy, one of my son’s friends. The rest of his class walked right by me without a glance in my parental direction, but this one boy, he took an extraordinary chance and revealed God’s goodness to me in his act of kindness and for this, I praise God.

2.It’s not news to my regular blog readers that I struggle with depression, it’s an ordinary, seasonal, hormonal part of my life. But when someone new comes along, and spots it in my words just.like.that. and then reaches out with a loving and concerned email, it becomes an extraordinary sign of God’s love. Praise God for Mary P. who responded to my comment on YIM Catholic this week.

3.Daily Mass is an ordinary part of my family’s life, but every once in a while, something extraordinary happens there. This week God showed His sense of humor through my daughter who was full of spirit and life. I praise God for Mary’s bathroom rendition of “I Am Woman-W-O-M-A-N” that brought an extraordinary smile to my face this week!

4.In this week when the world watches the small island of Haiti with broken hearts and whispered prayers, I praise God for all of the extraordinary heroes who are able to lend a hand and come to the aid of all of those who are distraught and suffering. The words of Archbishop Dolan resound in my ears..."Haiti is the broken, bloody body of Christ."

5.And finally, I praise God for this extraordinary song, Beauty Will Rise whose lyrics touched my heart in an extraordinary way and made me think of all of the suffering souls in that poor country. This song was written by Steven Curtis Chapman after the tragic death of his daughter, but the lyrics really apply to the situation in Haiti...

It was the day the world went wrong
I screamed til my voice was gone
And watched through the tears as everything
came crashing down
Slowly panic turns to pain
As we awake to what remains
and sift through the ashes that are left
behind

But buried deep beneath
All our broken dreams
we have this hope:

Out of these ashes... beauty will rise
and we will dance among the ruins
We will see Him with our own eyes
Out of these ashes... beauty will rise
For we know, joy is coming in the morning...
in the morning, beauty will rise

So take another breath for now,
and let the tears come washing down,
and if you can't believe I will believe
for you.


Please God, quickly bring us to the day when beauty will rise from the ashes of Haiti. Until then, we continue to praise You, for without You, we could not take another breath. Amen.

Praise for More Love

"Real love hurts. We must love until it hurts." Mother Teresa

Sometimes praise comes hard. This is a hard praise.

Yesterday, I received the news that one of my friends at work has suffered the loss of her husband this past Thursday. Suicide. My friend, along with her 18-year-old son and her 20-year-old daughter, found him dead inside their home. Their love couldn't save him. My friend is a sweet, strong and loving person. She is always thinking of others and doing for others. She has great love. I haven't been a very good friend to her. I didn't know that her family was suffering so much. I never reached out to her to ask about her life. Her office was down the hall from mine, and I didn't take the time to walk down the hall and get to know her better. It would have been so easy for me, but I didn't do it. Would showing my love for her by spending more time with her have changed anything in her life? I don't know. But knowing that we are loved has to help. I do love my friend. Today, I am hurting for her. I want to do more for her and I resolve to love her more from now on.

We were supposed to have our office Christmas party yesterday, but none of us felt like celebrating so we canceled it. I went to a small adoration chapel to spend some time with the Lord. I was in the front row, so close to the Monstrance that I could almost touch it. Was my mind playing tricks on me, allowing me to see what I was longing to see? The light cast a shadow on the the Host, and it looked as if I could see the outline of a person in the wafer. I decided it was Jesus. Jesus showed himself to me in the form of a man in the Host yesterday. I always have believed that He is truly present there, but to "see" Him, when I really needed Him was a great comfort.

I love the silence of adoration and am always hoping that I will "hear" Him speak to me. I never feel as though I do. But yesterday, I was sure I did. What I heard Him say was "Love more. Let it hurt."

Isn't that exactly what Jesus did? He loved us more and more until He hurt with the pain of crucifixion. Would it really be so hard for me to spend more time with others, showing my love in a real and tangible way, instead of hiding within myself, nursing my own wounds? I believe that this is what Jesus was telling me to do during my time with Him in adoration.

Jesus, I praise you because you "loved more". Help me to also "love more". Let me love others until it hurts. Amen.

(Thanks to Jennifer at My Chocolate Heart for this MEME.)

Praise for Miracles!

This morning eight year old Mary came downstairs early in the morning and climbed into bed with Paul and I to snuggle. I told her that today is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and asked her if she knew the story.

She began to tell me about the peasant, Juan Diego and how he had a vision of Mary but nobody believed him. Then, after he picked the roses that were growing in December and carefully placed them in his tilma, an even greater miracle appeared. A perfect image of Mary remained on his tilma and it still is perfect today. After that, everyone believed him. We discussed the fact that one of the most beautiful aspects of her appearance to Juan Diego was that he was a peasant, an ordinary person, just like us. For us that means that Mary is here for all of the little, simple, ordinary people living their every day lives. She is here for me and for you.

We talked some more about how Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared as a pregnant woman when Juan Diego saw her and that today she is the protector of all unborn babies. Mary wondered why people can kill sweet little babies. Then she broke my heart by telling me something that I didn't know. Last October as our family stood on the busy highway holding pro-life signs for "Respect Life Sunday", a woman drove past Mary and called out "I kill babies all the time, freaks!" Mary held that hurt inside for two months without ever telling me about it. We decided that we don't want to dwell on our hurts or on people who are mean, we want to focus on our blessings.

That led us to a discussion of all of the miraculous things that God has done and continues to do that so many people take for granted. We don't want to take miracles for granted. Mary and I choose to praise God for each and every miracle he sends us, each and every day. Starting now, and here is the beginning of our list...

Praise God for the miraculous workings of the human body.

Praise God for the miraculous orbit of the planets and moon.

Praise God for the miraculous rising and setting of the sun each day.

Praise God for the miracle of grass growing in the summer.

Praise God for the miracle of rain pouring from the sky.

Praise God for the miracle of love.

Praise God for the miracle of Christ within us.

Praise God for the miraculous changing of bread and wine into the very Body and Blood of Jesus within the beautiful hands of the priest at every Mass.

Praise God for the shape of angels appearing in our bowl of cereal at breakfast. (Is it a miracle or did Mary shape it herself? She won't say...)

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!

(Join this MEME at Jennifer's My Chocolate Heart)

Praise for the Reality of God!

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”
1 Thessalonians 5:18

















I've had a couple of rough weeks recently. Nothing major at all, just lots of little things that nagged at me and bothered me. I wrote down all of the things that were bothering me, thinking I would counter each negative event with a positive thing. I never got around to doing that. Once I had my list of negativity, I was ashamed that I would even bother to write down the things that upset me as if I needed to hold onto them somehow, nurture them, let them grow and fester inside my heart.

I was blessed to spend a little bit of time with a friend this week and when I told him about my negativity list he said "Anne, that's not real. All of those things will be gone tomorrow, they don't last. All that is real is God. He is the only One who will last forever." WOW! That made so much sense to me, I went home and tore up my list. I am now determined to focus on the beautiful reality of God and all of the real ways that he shows his presence to me.

Here is my list of praise for the week. It is real because they are all gifts from God and I choose to remember them all and praise God for them.

1) For the reality of Jesus in the Eucharist.









2) For yellow mums growing in the garden in the middle of November after everything else has died.

3) For walking under a beautiful pink sunset, listening to the song of a friend.







4) For the new Archbishop of Milwaukee-Archbishop Jerome Listecki! Hooray! And a huge Praise be to God!!!







5) For the gift of old friends from the original St. Matthias Mom's Group and the chance to reconnect-especially for wonderful Sr. Moira who is visiting from Australia. How I've missed her these past 13 years!










Dear One and Only Real Father in Heaven, thank you for the reality of your love and goodness in my life. Thank you for the reality of my husband, my children and my friends. Thank you for the reality of your love in my heart. Thank you for the reality of the beauty found in nature. Thank you for being Real. Amen.

Thank you also, to Jennifer at My Chocolate Heart for hosting this weekly Praise MEME, and for her recent story about The Velveteen Rabbit becoming real (The Process of Holiness: Sometimes it Hurts to Let Yourself Be Loved for Real)published in Catholic Online.

Praise! This One's For the Girls!

Joining with Jennifer at My Chocolate Heart in a list of praises. I am a terrible copy-cat, her post included praises for time spent with her daughters, so I thought I would just have to share the joy that my daughter Mary brings to my life.

Last Sunday the kids and I spent a Holy Hour at the Seminary praying for vocations. It was the first time that Mary has heard the Divine Mercy Chaplet chanted. It must have made quite an impression on her. On Monday, when I came home from work, there she was processing around the living room with the crucifix held high above her head, and she was chanting "for the sake of the sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world" over and over again!

This morning, she came downstairs to snuggle under the covers with me for just "a few minutes more" before it was time for church. I told her that there was nothing I loved more than snuggling on a cold morning. "No!" she said. "There's nothing we love better than God!" She's just so smart! And sweet, too!

So, today I thank God for my lovely daughter Mary who knows that God is the most important, most worthy of all of our love, most wonderful, most everything! And, I thank God for my lovely Mother Mary, who also knows that God is the most important, most worthy of all of our love, most wonderful, most everything-and she is the one who always leads my daughter and I to her precious Son.

Praise!

Jennifer at My Chocolate Heart has a thankful, chocolate heart-I want to be thankful, too!

1. It does a mother's heart so much good to watch her 5 children stand on a busy thoroughfare on a Sunday afternoon for one and one half hours holding signs that say "Abortion kills children", without a word of complaint. It's been a week since "Respect Life Sunday" and I'm still feeling good about what they did. I have to say that my brave kids really rock!

2. I love receiving letters with kind words, and this past week brought quite a few my way. What a blessing to know that I have touched others hearts even in a small way, and that others have touched my heart in return.

3. My husband Paul and I spent Saturday at a "Light Up Your Marriage" conference. It was wonderful! Confession, adoration, delicious lunch, fabulous guest speakers such as our dear own Fr. Don Hying from St. Francis de Sales Seminary, Mary Beth Hicks of "Bringing Up Geeks" Fame as well as a columnist for Catholicmom.com(a kindred spirit!), and the energetic and enthusiastic Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers of EWTN. I have to say that this wonderful day that ended in a blessing of the marriages of all participants certainly was a light for our marriage!

4. Spending Sunday afternoon with my children and friends at a Holy Hour for Vocations was a great way to start a new week!

5. Most of all, I praise God because He loves me so much, and keeps showing His love for me in new and varied ways like falling autumn leaves, bright blue skies, cool, crisp air, the opportunity to snuggle under blankets with my daughter and the first hum of a working furnace warming up the house.

And best of all, please pay a visit to Esther's Catholic Mom in Hawaai and be blown away by an amazing video by Eric Clapton and Luciano Pavarotti (Holy Mother)! I am very thankful that I got a chance to watch it today-I hope that you will be thankful for it, too!

For all of these blessings and for so much more, I thank you Father!

Praise!/Vocations and Respect Life Sunday

Join Jennifer at My Chocolate Heart in a weekly celebration of Gratitude to God for the many blessings He bestows upon us!

1. Praise God for young men who are willing to step out of the stereotypical box of teenager as hooligan and show their true selves as sons of God willing to give their all to serve the Church. Have you seen "A Vocation to be a Priest" yet? If not, please check it out! These amazing teenagers have united to put forth an outstanding website where they can share their love for the Lord, their unique call to the Catholic Priesthood and encourage others to do the same. Let's give these boys our support and encouragement as they listen to the voice of God calling them to lifelong service in the vocation of Priesthood! Here is their new press release link and a link to their "call stories". My son John has added his call story to their page as well.

2. My husband Paul, our son John and I had the great honor to attend our Archdiocese's Rector's Dinner this past Friday. Over 500 people were in attendance to show their support through prayer and finances to continue the education of the 36 fine Seminarians studying in our Archdiocese. Praise God for our Seminary and it's fabulous Rector, our Seminarians aspiring to holiness and all of the good people who love and support them.

3. Today is Respect Life Sunday and my family and I will participate in a local life chain. Later, I plan to visit my homebound neighbor and friend to show my love for her and hopefully decrease her loneliness just a bit. For more ideas of unique ways to celebrate this special day, visit Esther at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii. Praise God for all those who choose and support all life from conception to natural death.

4. Praise God for my awesome, loving husband who has put up with me for 18 years and who has blessed me with his love through thick and thin.

5. Praise God for the wonderful support of the blogging community. In my sheltered life I never imagined I could feel so connected to so many wonderful people around the world!

For what are you most thankful today?

Elvis Lives! And he works for the St. Vincent de Paul Society/Praise!

My family and I participated in the annual St. Vincent de Paul Society walk for the poor today. The rain clouds held off and the day was wonderful! It's such a joy to celebrate Mass under a huge tent on the Seminary grounds, and to join in with so many people who care about the plight of the poor and work to help change their lives. New this year, an Elvis Presley impersonator participated in the walk! I overheard Fr. Don, the seminary rector, tell Elvis how great he looked and how much they had in common since they both were dressed in black. Elvis is so generous! Not only did he walk to raise funds for the poor, he also offered his rhinestone studded belt to Fr. Don to snazz him up a bit! Unfortunately, he didn't sing for the walkers. That came later...

My sister Cindy and her husband Gary, invited Paul and I to join them for dinner and a show at their parish this evening. My niece Elizabeth and her boyfriend Ryan were featured performers in the show, and they were fabulous, of course! This program also raised funds for the St. Vincent de Paul Society. And there was Elvis again, in the show, and of course, this time he sang! Isn't he a great guy? Buried these many years but still hanging around to do good for others! Sounds like a lot of the saints!

So, today I praise God for kind and generous people who work to raise money for the poor, and who know how to have a good time as well! And, I thank God for the St. Vincent de Paul Society! (Feast Day September 27th)







Prayer to St. Vincent De Paul

O Glorious Saint Vincent de Paul,
The mention of your name,
Suggests a litany of your virtues:
Humility, zeal, mercy, self-sacrifice.
It also recalls
Your many foundations:
Works of Mercy,
Congregations,
Societies.

The Church gratefully remembers,
Your promotion of the priesthood.
Inspire all Charitable Workers,
Especially those who minister,
To both the spiritually
And the materially poor.

O Lord, give us the grace,
That You bestowed upon,
Your servant St. Vincent de Paul,
To relinquish the temptation,
Of material things,
In our holy effort,
To minister to the poor.

Amen.

Join Jennifer at My Chocolate Heart and add your own praises to the Lord!

In Praise of Youth

It seems to be quite a fashionable past time to grumble about our youth and their behaviors. The grumbling is really nothing new...my parents grumbled about me, I'm sure their parents grumbled about them and on and on. Teenagers do seem to give us quite a bit to grumble about. My favorite pet peeves to nag my own teenagers about include pants worn down to their knees, rap music and lack of outdoor activities-too much sedentary time behind computer and television screens. If you were to ask my husband, his number one complaint would be the revolving door that we've recently had to install on our refrigerator! (kidding) But their constant eating does get on his nerves.

What's less fashionable is praising our youth for all of the wonderful things they do. I am very fortunate to have three fantastic sons who are all teenagers. Aside from the normal laziness, I have very little to complain about, and really that goes for their friends as well. But the person I just have to praise today is not related to me in any way, in fact, I don't even know his last name...

My son John sings with the Music Ministry at his high school. Today I took a vacation day from work so that I could hear him sing a solo during the closing song. (He was fabulous by the way!) But the boy who really shone so brightly was a young man in his junior year.

This particular Mass was celebrating the students in their junior year. The youth minister had asked M. to give a little talk after communion. Here is a brief summary of what he said..."I went to a public high school for my freshman year. One of my teachers was suspended for three weeks because he talked about God in class. I used to have a lot of anger at God while I was at that school. I thought, why would a God who loves me allow someone who wants to be a priest attend a school like this? I was fortunate to obtain some great scholarships which allowed me to come here to this Catholic High School for my sophomore year. I have been so happy here! I am so glad that at this school, I am free to express my faith in God and be the person that God intended me to be."

WOW! When he finished speaking, I wanted to stand up and cheer! This young man stood up in front of his entire school and told them that he wanted to be a priest! That took a lot of courage! He may be free to express his faith, but that doesn't mean that all of the other students share that faith. Sometimes those teen years can be pretty tough for faith-filled children. I don't know whether or not M. is going to take any ribbing for his public profession of his faith and call to priesthood, but I will be praying that he only receives support. And I pray for all youth who have the courage to stand up for what they believe in, especially when what they believe in is God.

Church of the Gesu

At the end of a long day, filled with babies and children crying, mothers scolding, and computers frequently freezing, I drag my tired, hungry body up the parking structure steps to the 6th floor roof where my car is parked. As I step out onto the roof, the first things I see are the towering steeples of Gesu church with the cross of Christ on top of each.

They stand out against the bright blue sky with the sun descending in the west. I am prompted by this sight to whisper a prayer of gratitude for this visual reminder that God is always looking out for me. He is always with me to lift my spirit up with his love when my body feels so low.

And with this beautiful scene imbedded in my heart, I am ready to begin the long drive home to my wonderful family.

Such a Deal!

My niece, Jenny, loves to shop at rummage sales and thrift stores. It's a great thrill for her to buy something wonderful at a low price, and she is an expert at finding a bargain.

Whenever my family and I see her, she is always sporting a new purse or shoes. When we compliment her on them, the game begins...

She gets a gleam in her eyes and says "Guess how much this cost?" We all throw out a few guesses and we know by now to keep the figure low. After a few close tries, she triumphantly announces "This purse was 50 cents!" or "These shoes cost $2.00!" We all rejoice with her at the fabulous bargain she has found.

But with God, we've been given an even better bargain. We can revel in his glorious love for absolutely free, nothing, nada! What can bring us more pleasure than knowing that there is nothing we can do to earn God's love? We can't buy it. We can only accept it and offer it to others. In that knowledge, I rejoice! I can brag to the world, "God loves me! And guess how much his love cost me? Nothing!" There is no better bargain in the world!

Thank you God, for Your never-ending love. Thank You for loving me always and everywhere. Thank you for leading my heart to love You right back with all I've got. Your love didn't cost me a thing, but it cost You everything. You are my treasure, You are my joy, You are my everything! Amen.