Why do we boil and decorate eggs for Easter?

Eggs symbolize new life. At Easter we celebrate our new life in Christ. The egg has three parts, reminding us of the Trinity: the hard outer shell (God, our refuge); the egg white (Jesus, our purifier); and the yolk (the Holy Spirit, our nourishment).

Thought of the day....

Don't discard your fantasies as merely wishful thinking. Honor them as messages from the deepest part of your being about what you can do and directions you can choose. -unknown

Sunday Fidgets

It was a quiet morning. No shoes being thrown from our bench. No squeals or kicking. That alone was unusual for us. A peaceful morning.

The sermon was about the Holy Spirit and the gifts he brings. In short *God gives you gifts, he does not want you to hide them, he wants you to use them and share them.* Enjoy your day. :)

Final prayer in Pentecost Novena

Tomorrow will bring the end of the novena I have been praying. I have enjoyed my first Novena. It has been rewarding to take a little quite time to ask for grace. In the words of Fr. John "prayer is its own gift". I plan to add this to my prayer on the last day. It is a prayer I learned this past year, and I like it a lot. Today I am sharing it with you.


Come, Holy Spirit
Replace the tension within us
with a holy relaxation.
Replace the turbulence within us
with a sacred calm.
Replace the anxiety within us
with a quiet confidence.
Replace the bitterness within us
with the sweetness of grace.
Replace the darkness within us
with a gentle light.
Replace the coldness within us
with a loving warmth.
Replace the night within us
with your light.
Replace the winter within us
with your spring.
Straighten our crookedness.
Fill our emptiness.
Dull the edge of our pride.
Sharpen the edge of our humility.
Light the fires of our love.
Quench the flames of our lust.
Let us see ourselves as you see us
That we may see you as you have promised
And be fortunate according to your word.
Blessed are the pure of heart,
For they shall see God. Amen

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel (Right Judgment), Fortitude (Courage), Knowledge, Reverence, and Fear of the Lord. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Generosity, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Modesty, Self-Control, and Chastity. This is stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and from Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians 5:22-23.



Over the weekend I met up with an acquaintance. She has one son and one daughter, expecting one more. She asked me, since I have three boys, if I had a favorite. I closed my eyes and told her a quote that I had recently learned from church. It was about God's love for us. "God loves each and every one of us as if we were the only one." I told her that was easy to understand because it is the same way that we love our children. Each as though they were the only one. We love them as they need us to, and in the ways that they will let us.


A year ago my answer would have been a simple no. Left at that...true, but not very helpful. She needed more then that. I closed my eyes, and gathered courage to give more. It was part of a plan. The idea that I would go out of my comfort zone to join a group I would not normally join. Learn so much that I can share with others, and find the courage to say it out loud. That was a gift from the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost Novena

I am looking up information on Novena's. A group I am a part of is doing a Novena in honor of Pentecost. Pentecost Sunday is May 31st. Nine days from today. (Novena means nine) I am inviting you to join us. Once a day for nine days you recite the Prayer to the Holy Spirit. It honors the nine days the apostles spent in prayer, between the Ascension and Pentecost. It honors what would be the very first novena.

I am sorry I am getting this out so late. Just starting mine and realized others may want to do this too. Even if you don't start on Saturday to end on Pentecost, it doesn't mean you are left out. Start on the day you choose. The Lord will hear you.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit:

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be created, and You will renew the face of the earth. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit instructs the hearts of the faithful, grant that by that same Spirit we may be ever wise and rejoice in his consolations. We make our prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen