Saint Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing.
Dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.

40bags/40days

So here we are, the first week of Lent. Some of my friends are doing the 40 bags in 40 days. Removing the excess from their house one bag/day at a time. It is a double good. The house gets cleaner, and in the process it creates donations for others who are in need.

What ever you
Choose,
Do,
Let Go,
and Pray,
during Lent
may it bring peace.

Sunday Fidgets

Do not use being busy as an excuse not to pray.

The rewards of prayer are always worth the time and effort.

Novena to St. Therese

I have a soft spot for St. Therese. I stopped by CatholicByGrace today. She has listed a Novena prayer to St. Therese. Please take time out of your day and pray with us.

Prayer is a gift from God.

"Yes, all is well when we seek only the will of Jesus."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

Lessons from great leaders

My father-in-law would always ask trivia questions at dinner. One night he asked "Who was the greatest leader in the history of the world?" We were stumped. We threw out answers like... Alexander the Great?, Caesar?, George Washington?... The answer was "Jesus, he still has millions of followers even 2000 years after his death."

Today I am left with the thought that I need more Jesus, and less Caesar in my life. People fallowed Jesus out of love not fear. Cesar lead with his might. After their death each was remembered, books written about them. Yet, it is obvious which one was the greater leader. The one that changed hearts, and minds.

I was listening to my husband talk to our son about doing his best. He was encouraging him with love and kindness. He was pointing out his strengths, and encouraging him to work on his weaknesses. He did not use threats to persuade him to do what was right, he used love. I find it hard to fallow this path sometimes. I just want to say as Caesar would "DO IT! GET IT DONE." or "Stop That!" The path that Jesus would take would be a much longer road. I know it has more rewards, but in the heat of the moment it is not easy to choose the high road. If everyone always behaved as they should ... well then I guess we would still be in Eden.

So that is my prayer tonight and through the day. My prayer as I work on my dishes, and a commotion starts in the next room. I am praying for more patience, strength, and grace. I am praying to have more Jesus and less Caesar in my life, and in our home.

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

about friends

The following is a speech that I gave at a Mom's group at my church. Before you read it I just want to say that I never suggest giving more then you have to give. It is important to take care of yourself and reserve energy, only then you can enjoy sharing your talents and gifts with others. I am happy to give freely to my friends because I know if I needed them they would be there in a heart beat with scotch tape and band aids. Love you guys. So here it is.......



Not long ago I was walking with a friend, when she asked me a question that has been sticking with me. “Are you the person you wanted to be when you grew up?” Wow. I started to take a personal inventory. Yes, I recycle. Yes, I try to be a good person. Yes, I have a husband, kids, two dogs, a big yard, a nice enough car. I’m not a size 9. I don’t have a ton of friends, but I the ones I have are good friends. Am I happy?

She asked me this the same month I joined a Mom’s group in my church. One of our questions in our journal for that week asked, “If you could change anything, what would it be?” Throwing caution to the wind, I wrote….”I would like to win the lottery. Then I could hire a personal assistant to do my shopping, pay my bills, a maid to do the laundry and clean the house, and a cook to fix our meals. Then I could spend more time playing with my children, enjoying them at this stage of their lives. More time to nurture their individual “gems”. Teaching them the skills I want them to have. More time working for them. Helping them grow to be responsible adults, and someday loving parents to their own children. Next, I would do things for my friends and family to help them feel less stressed. I would buy them, a maid service, or a new car, something to make their lives easier.

The next page in the journal asked “how are you going to make that happen?” Well now. I guess I need to buy a lottery ticket, but then what if I never win? I could still do things for my friends to help them out. Carpool, babysit, listen, be a better friend, etc. That was the moment I vowed to become that person I always wanted to be. The person who doesn’t make work a chore. I still have to do the dishes, and the laundry, clean out the car. I don’t have to be grumpy about it. Otherwise I am missing out on too much. I want to enjoy my children. Not put off our together time until the living room is clean. I am trying to make cleaning up is part of our together time. Anyone with small children knows that our work is never done. I want to do that work with a joyful heart.

Things have changed this year. Struggles and heartache seem to be everywhere. I am grateful for my friends. Like the list above, friends do not make you happy, but they aplify our joys and mellow our sorrows. Our friends help us see possibilities. They help us stretch, and encourage us to grow into the person we think we can become. True friend help us see the better side of ourselves.

My prayers have changed this past year. I have come to accept “thy will be done”, it’s not my will be done. My prayers are less for things to happen, or change. Instead I try to pray for wisdom, and courage, grace and strength. Where this path will lead I do not know. What I do know, is that I want to be a person who walks my path with grace, strength, courage, and please God a little wisdom.

Now I leave you with more a challenge then a question. Who is the person you want to be? And, How are you going to make that happen?

Friends and Angels

I was talking to a friend the other day about Guardian Angels. I have a theory, that friends and angels have a lot in common. If you don’t give them respect, or make time for them, they disappear.

The Guardian Angel Prayer fits well as a before bed, or morning prayer:

Angel of God

My guardian dear
To whom His love

Commits me here
Ever this day

Be at my side
To light and guard
To rule and guide.
Amen.

Beatitudes for Women

In honor of Mothers Day.....



Beatitudes for Women
(Courtesy of the Newark Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women)

Blessed is she who suffers with
The very young, the very old, and the very lonely,
For she has compassion.

Blessed is she who greets the
world with joy, laughter, and anticipations,
for she has courage.

Blessed is she who speaks gently,
Lives humbly, and chooses to give freely,
For she has dignity.

Blessed is she who listens and hears
And extends her hands as a friend,
For she has understanding.

Blessed is she who gives simply,
Loves deeply, and walks joyfully in life,
For she has awareness.

Blessed is she who has
Compassion and courage, freedom and dignity,
Understanding, sincerity, and awareness,
For she is a woman, a gift, a blessing.

First Communion - May 2009

Over the course of the past year, we have been preparing for my oldest son’s first communion. Within the past few weeks, I’ve been talking to my Mom about it. She shared with me memories of her first communion. The company at her parents’ house, the flowers that were in bloom. She asked me if I remember mine. I can remember the Knights of Columbus standing on either side of the isle, holding their swords in a criss cross pattern above us, as we took our walk toward the alter. It was like walking under a silver canopy. I remember the gift my parents gave me. It was a necklace with a gold cross and a diamond in the center. It was my first piece of jewelry. It been more then 20 years and I still have it.

It seems everyone I’ve asked, in the Catholic Church, can remember their special day of First Communion. This made me wonder what my son was going to remember about his special day. I doubt it will be that the dogs had a fresh bath, the lawn was manicured, the house was clean, or that the food was good.

We arrived early for pictures. He kept stepping out of line, and we would end up in the back. We started out third in line, and ended up being the last one to get our picture taken. That worked out well, because one of his good friends came in… almost late. We stood in line together and talked. With being the last two in line, we ended up getting a nice snapshot of them together, without feeling rushed.

There were 33 children in his class taking first communion Last Saturday. Each child stood up with their parents behind them as they took the host for the first time. When our turn came, I was surprised how my emotions rose to the surface. My little baby is growing up before my eyes. Father handed John the host and I found myself praying. “Dear God, Please watch over my son as he grows to be a man. Help guide him to make a good life. Please guide him in a gentle way to make good choices.”

John took the host, and turned Left. (We were supposed to turn Right to return to our pew.) I fallowed him, but before I touched his shoulder he turned around. We walked together with his Dad down the right aisle. If this was a sign, a response to my prayer, I have a theory. It’s not the sign I wanted, but I’m listening Lord. We are going to make mistakes. We are going to head down the wrong path now and then, but we can turn around. We each have to find our own way. Hopefully we learn from our mistakes, the big ones and the little ones.

After the ceremony, we had a small gathering at our home. It was very nice; with BBQ, potato salad, Cole slaw, sparkling wine, and soda. Every one enjoyed the cake. John received some wonderful presents. The weather man had predicted rain, but it never did. The kids played in the yard. The grownups had conversation. It’s hard to say what John will remember about his First Communion. It could be how the wafer tasted, or the friends he sat with in the pew. Maybe it will be how they sang the response to their baptismal promises, or the homily about guardian angels and Gods love for us. It could be the torture of posing for tons of pictures. Maybe it will be that he found a fossil in a rock with his cousin, or playing with new toys with his brothers. He will probably remember that Grandma and Grandpa stayed the night and put him to bed.

Whichever memories stick with him, I hope they remind him of how much he was loved. I hope they are memories of friends and family, and that they are full of love and happiness.