I begin, as I did last year, the Novena For Life offered by the Knights of Columbus. Please join me daily on this prayerful journey. I will post the link daily for the next 9 days. I appreciate your caring companionship,
Monday, January 12, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The "G" Challenge
Well it happened. Laura at Catholic Teachers Musing challeneged me to list 10 words using the letter G in honor of GrandmaK. I'm supposing that's one G I can't use. To begin:Gauntlet
It's been thrown down and now I must accept the challenge. (At least there was no "double-dog-dare!)
God
The one and only, three in one Triune God. The essence of life.
Grandchildren
Being a grandmother is a badge of honor. I wear it with pride. It's also a continuation of this fabulous gene pool.
Gladiolas
A gorgeous flower with strong stems and beautifully fragile flowers.
Grace
This means many things to me. Prayers before and after meals. Gratitude for so many gifts. It is the way one carries herself with dignity.
"Good Grief!"
My favorite comic strip is Peanuts and Charlie Brown my favorite example of humility.
Glorious
Sunrises, sunsets, days, nights, and life.
Grand Canyon
One of God's greatest works of art. You cannot explain the grandeur (bonus G-word) unless you've stood and taken in the beauty.
Green
How can it be anything but my favorite color? Is there any other color if you family roots go all the way back to the Emerald Isle?
Great day...
it is and you all have one, too!
**
*****
***
=
~~~~~
Thank you Laura
and
Thanks be to God
*****
***
=
~~~~~
Thank you Laura
and
Thanks be to God
Friday, January 09, 2009
A Bit of Catholic Trivia
The first bishop of the United States was John Carroll, brother of Daniel Carroll (who signed the Constitution) and cousin to Charles Carroll (who singed the Declaration of Independence).
Born...in 1735 John attended a Jesuit grammar school in Maryland and St. Omer's College in Flanders. In 1753, he joined the Society of Jesus. At 34, He was ordained in Europe and taught philosophy and theology in Belgium for the next four years.
In 1772, Pope Clement XIV dissolved the Society of Jesus under pressure from European Kings who, among other things, didn't like that the Jesuits were subject only to the Pope.
Fr. Carroll returned to the U.S. to serve in Maryland and
Virginia, arriving just as the American Revolution was beginning. Along with his cousin Charles and Benjamin Franklin, he was asked to help convince Canada to either join the American Patriots or remain neutral during the war.
In 1788, Rome gave permission for the establishment of a diocese that would extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, and from Canada to Florida and directed priests to conduct an election to choose the bishop. In 1790, priests elected Fr,Carroll; he was consecrated bishop in 1790.
In a 2008 talk honoring Archbishop Carroll, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee noted: "Had Carroll not stepped into the wasteland, either the microscopic Catholic Church would have languished, with member leaving clergy adrift,souls lost, to the faith and the Church never quite 'making it' in the new country or Rome would have appointed a foreign superior...thus making the Catholic Church seem even more an outsider than ever."
Carroll was a close friend of George Washington, and delivered a funeral tribute when Washington died in 1799.
~~The Blue Book~~
Born...in 1735 John attended a Jesuit grammar school in Maryland and St. Omer's College in Flanders. In 1753, he joined the Society of Jesus. At 34, He was ordained in Europe and taught philosophy and theology in Belgium for the next four years.
In 1772, Pope Clement XIV dissolved the Society of Jesus under pressure from European Kings who, among other things, didn't like that the Jesuits were subject only to the Pope.
Fr. Carroll returned to the U.S. to serve in Maryland and
Virginia, arriving just as the American Revolution was beginning. Along with his cousin Charles and Benjamin Franklin, he was asked to help convince Canada to either join the American Patriots or remain neutral during the war.
In 1788, Rome gave permission for the establishment of a diocese that would extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, and from Canada to Florida and directed priests to conduct an election to choose the bishop. In 1790, priests elected Fr,Carroll; he was consecrated bishop in 1790.
In a 2008 talk honoring Archbishop Carroll, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee noted: "Had Carroll not stepped into the wasteland, either the microscopic Catholic Church would have languished, with member leaving clergy adrift,souls lost, to the faith and the Church never quite 'making it' in the new country or Rome would have appointed a foreign superior...thus making the Catholic Church seem even more an outsider than ever."
Carroll was a close friend of George Washington, and delivered a funeral tribute when Washington died in 1799.
~~The Blue Book~~
Thursday, January 08, 2009
The Road to Providence
Photo by peatadownunder1While we met yesterday, Sister Dorothy and I discussed many things about prayer. For one who has wept because she thought she could not pray or even learn to pray as a young mother and how the way I prayed was certainly unacceptable to God as I grew older, I learned by my study this last month that, Indeed, He has always been there. And my life, as I choose to live, it can be prayer.
Reflecting on my life, I have developed a mental scrapbook. A book I now call Providential Life. I could spend days sharing with you the ways in which the Triune God has affected and shaped my life.
Though I think the story of God's providence in my life is Pulitzer prize material and how I would love to share the tales of His presence in my life, I will not. (I heard the sigh!) I would simply ask each of you to sit quietly in His presence and share once again those times when he was near at hand. Reflect on the times you were most aware of that presence and soon He will be reminding you of all the other times you have forgotten.
The key is to be quiet! This is a tool I have been working on for years. I do think the more I practice the larger my wonderful scrapbook will become. It's great when you can collaborate when preparing a book even though you and He are the only ones to see the pages in your mind. Give it a try!!
~~~~~*~~~~~
Thanks be to God!
Thanks be to God!
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Meditation, Walking on Water With Jesus
From today's Magnificat.
May the Lord give us
all the courage that we need
to go the way he shepherds us.
That when he calls
we may go unfrightened.
If he bids us come to him
across the waters,
that unfrightened we may go
And if he bids us climb a hill
may we not notice that it is a hill,
mindful only of
the happiness of his company.
He made us for himself,
that we should travel with him
and see him at the last
in his unveiled beauty
in the abiding city where
he is light
and happiness
and endless home,
Father Bede Jarrett, O.P.
Father Jarrett (+ 1934) was a Dominican priest from England renowned for his preaching, his lectures,and many books on theology and spirituality.
May the Lord give us
all the courage that we need
to go the way he shepherds us.
That when he calls
we may go unfrightened.
If he bids us come to him
across the waters,
that unfrightened we may go
And if he bids us climb a hill
may we not notice that it is a hill,
mindful only of
the happiness of his company.
He made us for himself,
that we should travel with him
and see him at the last
in his unveiled beauty
in the abiding city where
he is light
and happiness
and endless home,
Father Bede Jarrett, O.P.
Father Jarrett (+ 1934) was a Dominican priest from England renowned for his preaching, his lectures,and many books on theology and spirituality.
~~~~~
Today is my Road to Providence Day. Pray we are blessed by the had of the Holy Spirit and we both have save travel.
~~~~~
Thanks be to God
Thanks be to God
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