Latin Moment

Sunset leaving Dublin, 2005

I felt the urge for some Latin this morning as part of my reflection, so I went to my favorite book Latin Sayings for Spiritual Growth by Archabbot Lambert Reilly, O.S.B. To this I was lead.

Si Deus pronobis, quis contra nos?

("If God is for us, who can be against us?")
St. Paul ( Romans 8:31)

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God has revealed His love for us in the person of Jesus Christ. St. Paul tells us that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, not principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38, 39)

Suffering could be added to the list. God does not promise freedom from suffering for His friends. In fact, there's no doubt we will suffer, as Jesus Himself did. "The Cross is the gift I give to my friends," is what the Lord told St. Terese of Avila.

Although that which is difficult will be regularly ours, God's sustaining power enables us to conquer in His name, which means through His presence within us.

So here's where our hope lies: If God is with us--and the difficulty is a sign that He is--we can endure and overcome. No enemy has a chance if he is opposing God, and if God is with us, no enemy has a chance to conquer us. +

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Hope, that gift so often hidden. Hope, that I will be the best God has to offer to others. Hope, the will to start a NEW day!

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Thanks be to God!!!

Quirky is as quirky does...

Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings has tagged me for the Quirky MEME. Well, I have to tell you that what you might consider quirky I might consider normal...Just keep that in mind when you read these and don't forget the magnets on the freezer door. And so I begin.

1. I love to play solitaire. Since I am so competitive and such a poor loser I try not to play games that will embarrass me in front of others by throwing a tantrum when I lose. I just deal the cards and prepare to lose again, no tantrum involved.

2. I love watching reruns of Murder She Wrote...my family still teases me about Cabot Cove the murder capitol of the world.

3. I am captivated by old radio programs and can now listen to them frequently since I subscribe to XM radio.

4. I love to crunch on ice...My dentist said I have to STOP! It's an addiction with the ramification being you can lose your teeth and I still have all of them. The dentist is right! DRAT!

5. I enjoy a HOT cup of tea even in the middle of summer...and in the middle of the day!

6. I have no sense of direction...I have to go in and out the same door of a store or I am completely lost...It all happened when we moved from Colorado where I could find my direction by looking west into the Rockies...In Indiana I am completely at a loss!

So there you have it. I keep thinking one day you all will know everything there is to know about me and then I think of just one more thing.

The rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

I tag:

Aussie Coffee Shop
Made for Joy
Our God Is An Awesome God
A Crocus in the Valley
A Catholic Notebook
Unexpected Journey

To you all I say, "Enjoy!"

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And as always,
Thanks be to God!

It's Gold...

The Dutchess has honored me by awarding me the GOLD. Her site is delight to visit. She has such wonderful pictures and poetry. It's a lovely world to visit in which our imaginations are allowed to run wild. Please drop and visit her and see if what I say isn't true. Thank you most sincerely, Dutchess.

Since I was privileged to receive this award, there are also responsibilities that come with it. One must share the "wealth." Please visit these friends, too. And so I begin...

Laura at Exuberance
Kelly at Musings
Angie at Sonflower
Tracy at A Catholic Mom in Minnesota
Laura at Catholic Teacher's Musings

The Blogging Friends Forever Rules are:

1. Only five people allowed.
2. Four have to be dedicated followers of your blog.
3. One has to be someone new, or recently new to your blog, or live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to whoever gave you the 'Blogging Friends Forever' award

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For Family and Friends,
Thanks Be to God

Thought for the Day...

looks-like-a-heart-to-me-
Originally uploaded by strangemagee

"When God measures a man, He puts the tape around the heart instead of the head." ~God's Little Instruction Book~
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"...for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." ~1Samuel 16:7~

For this I say, "Thanks be to God!"

My Life is a Magnet...

If you looked at my refrigerator you would ask yourself, as I have many time, why doesn't this freezer door just fall off? I have collected magnets for some time. I have my treasured Colorado Aspen leaf and the Corpus Christi sea shell. There are magnets from the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Evansville Museum, the High Museum in Atlanta, and the ultimate museums, The Smithsonian. I have magnets from Dublin and Mount Rushmore. I have gifts from Rome and Ontario. For goodness sake. I don't need to write a book...My life is on my refrigerator.

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Thanks be to God!

Another Remodeling Update...

Welcome to the world of remodeling. I can tell you this project is going much more smoothly than either Ron or I could have imagined. As a matter of fact they measured for the carpet and soon we'll have a comfortable room in which to gather.

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Thanks be to God!

Remodeling Update...

Because The Dutchess was interested in knowing how the family room remodeling was going thought I'd send a quick pic.

Ron cut this piece of drywall out of one sheet. No piecing, looks nice and clean...Good job, Ron! A work of art to me...though others may see it otherwise.

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Again, thanks be to God!

The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Amy Welborn, in A Catholic Woman's Book of Days has written a reflection about humanity and me as a woman that I would like to share with you. She touches on every part of my evolution as a woman. I wonder if she will touch you in the same way. I believe that this is relevant to men as well because they, too, are asking the same questions.

First let us hear St. Paul.

It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual
body. If there is a physical body, there is also a
spiritual body.

~1 Corinthians 15: 44~

Since conception, my body has changed dramatically. What began as a single cell is now a bit larger than than. The soft skin of infancy is getting worn. Reading glasses are becoming a necessity. I wonder as I watch elderly women [men] walk past me in the grocery store, in a few decades, who will I be?

I will be the same person, in a body that so mysteriously changes but is somehow still me and will, God promises, remain so for eternity. One more great change will take place, one that I cannot even imagine, but I will remain myself, only whole.

This is what we celebrate today, what God has shared with Mary: eternal life of our whoe selves. There is nothing to fear, for life is the victor!

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Lord, thank you for the gift of eternal life.
Hail Mary...

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No, I don't feel a day over 40, but I am. Yes, I still look at others and see them as older. Then there's the reality check. I am the others. But the truth is my salvation is guaranteed and I have the consolation of knowing that, body and soul, my Holy Mother is in Heaven with her son and one day so will I! Halleluia!

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And Thanks Be to God!

It's so nice...

"Morning Walk"
James R. Roybal
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Today marks the 7th day where no air conditioning has been used here at the Keller homestead. The windows are open, the cool air is flowing unrestrained through the house. For Indiana in August this is unheard of and so I say, "Blessed be God, forever!" Please, everyone, enjoy today!

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Thanks be to God!

Behind in your reading?

I finally picked up my copy of July/August Ligorian. It has some wonderful stories. The cover displays a beautiful picture of St. Paul and the cover story "The Jubilee Year of Saint Paul." There is a "Department" called Catholic Calendar and during the months of July and August the Church celebrate the live of 32 Saints. August holds a wealth of holy men and women, two of which are martyrs for the faith in our time, Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe and Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein).

In the article, written by Norman J. Muckerman, C. SsR., Edith Stein was the 11th child in a Jewish family. She studied philosophy, earned her PhD and became a professor. She was introduced to Catholic thought by a fellow professor Max Scheler. So interested was she in this new "philiosophical world" that she had to learn more. So it was that she read the autobiography of Saint Teresa of Avila and it became a turning point in her life. She was baptized, taught in Catholic schools for a number of year and then entered the Camelite monastery. Seeking to protect her from the Nazis and their widespread persecution her community sent her to Holland where she "lived, suffered, and prayed for the next eight years." She was later captured and sent to Auschwitz with her sister, Rosa, also a convert where they were put to death in the gas chambers.

Needless to say, I know very little about the life of this courageous lady and perhaps it is time I made an effort to become more acquainted with her. Have you met a saint today? I did and now just like any new friendship, it's time to learn more about her.

Wishing all a Grand day!

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Thanks be to God.