Check out this quiz....

http://quizfarm.com/run.php/Quiz?quiz_id=7095


I'm Roman Catholic. Big surprise, huh.

...If you are what you eat....

Become What You Love
It’s not only true that you are what you eat. You also become like the people you hang around. I’ve even heard that couples begin to look like each other. I’m not sure that’s true but I do believe they may take on each others traits and characteristics. Wouldn’t it be great to do that with Jesus? To spend so much time with Him in prayer day after day and year after year that people recognize His qualities in you? That looking at and talking with you reminds them of Him?

I have a post-it in my closet....

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ
I have a little post it in my closet with that note on it. So every morning when I dress for work I remember to put Jesus’ personality traits on top of my own. Years ago I learned I am nothing on my own and that I need Jesus. This little prayer helps me work toward that goal. I want people to see Him before they see me. Only God’s grace can do that for me. So that’s why I make a daily prayer to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Undo What I've Become

God’s blessings and His design made me who I am. He is the Everlasting Artist. God is my Creator. And when He made me I believe He made something beautiful – because of who God is.
Throughout the years of my life, however, I’ve managed to transform His creation of me into someone not as beautiful or as full of grace as He created. I’ve sinned. I’ve taken on bad habits. I’ve created patterns of behavior for myself.
In prayer I ask God to undo what I’ve become. (Change me back, please to the simple grace-filled version of me that You initially created.) I need a daily re-conversion thru prayer so that I may return to my Source and be renewed. During that special time together I am who I really am, the person God created me to be. Face to face with Him in candid and open communication I can be nothing less if I want to have an honest relationship with Him. The challenge is to remain that person throughout the day. For that I need to be conscious of His presence. That presence is not only within me but in everyone and every situation around me thru-out the day. When I learn to recognize Him I know I am closer to my Source and my real self, i.e. a person of integrity and grace.
I praise and thank you God for your mercy and love.

The Song I’m referring to is great. Check it out!
Artist- Rush of Fools
Song Name - Undo What I’ve Become
Verse 1
I've been here before
now here I am again
Standing at the door
praying You'll let me back in
To label me a prodigal would be
Only Scratching the surface
of who I've been known to be

CHORUS
Turn me around pick me up
Undo what I've become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, need Your help
I can't do this myself
YOU'RE the only one who can undo
What I've become

Verse 2
I focused on the score, but I could never win
Trying to ignore, a life of hiding my sin
To label me a hypocrite would be
ONLY Scratching the surface
of who I've been known to be

REPEAT CHORUS

BRIDGE
Make every step lead me back to
The sovereign way that You

What They Taught Me

What They Taught Me About Jesus
* The Blessed Mother taught me faithfulness in spite of trial and to stand by Christ when everyone else disappears
* St Therese of Liseaux taught me to think of Jesus before I think of my own needs and how to live virtues to an heroic degree
* My best friend taught me to be more public about God and the value of prayers
* My mother taught me extreme giving in God’s name, poverty, selflessness and detachment
* My former religious community taught me the potential of depth prayer can reach
* My siblings taught me by their example how to endure suffering but remain faithful to God; to search for fulfillment in Him
* The Catholic Church taught me how to perfect my search for God; the comfort of rituals; what Christian community is
* My Spiritual director and retreat directors taught me how to perfect my search for God and how to be less of a perfectionist while being more gentle with myself and others
* The Friends that I admire most taught me simplicity, humility, the gift of tears and spiritual intimacy; different approaches to a personal relationship with God; honesty in prayer; how to live a life that evidences God as my priority
* My Enemies taught me humility, endurance and faithfulness to prayer
* My “Jesus Women” Prayer Group taught me the value of community and spiritual support /encouragement; the definition of spiritual strength, especially in family.
* My job taught me about the corporal works of mercy; what *PRAXIS means and how blessed I am.

I look back at all the people who’ve contributed to my spiritual formation and I stand grateful.
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praxis_(word)

change is a good thing

http://pascalcampion.com/web/233.jpg

c o u r a g e

i choose how i behave

my life can change and so can i

i can be a better person than i am now
i am free to live differently

Hope for the homeless homepage image

hope
patterns of behavior don't need to tie me down
routines don't need to be prisons

THE BIBLE ACCORDING TO KIDS

(The jewels found below are said to be written by actual students and are genuine, authentic, and unretouched. Compiled by Richard Lederer. They appear in the 12/31/95 issue of National Review.)

"Solomon, one of David’s sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.”

“When Mary heard that she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the
Magna Carta”
“A Christian should have only one spouse. This is called
monotony.”
"Samson slayed the Philistines with the axe of the Apostles.”

It's the Last Day of May...

...Mary's month. So don't forget to

Prayer is a Hunger

"Ages pass, and still thou pourest,

and still there is room to fill."
Gitanjali

http://www.flickr.com/photos/papersculptures/503443118/

I marvel at you Lord God. I hunger for you and you fill me with your Eucharist. I ache for you and you send me your Word in Scripture. I thirst for you and I am sated by your graces and fellowship with others.
You continue to give. But I am living proof Lord, that our hearts will remain restless until they ultimately rest in You.

AS IS but loved

Did you ever go to IKEA, the furniture store? There's a section marked " AS IS". The store's rejects are brought there. You may see a chair with a stain on it or a table with a wobbly leg. People who visit the AS IS section don't expect to pay full price because they know this furniture isn't first quality. The standards are lower there. The furniture is usable and fixable, but not worth full price.

In the furniture store of life, that's where I belong. I daily tell God how very much I love Him and how I want to live a virtuous life to an heroic degree but I mess up. I'm like the chair with the wobbly leg - good design but imperfect. I'm old enough now to be willing to accept the reality of my weaknesses. I haven't given up by a long shot. I do want to please God with all my heart and soul, but like St. Paul "I do the very things that I hate." (Rms 7:15) It's amazing how easy it is for me to slip into selfishness or laziness no matter how fervent my prayer that morning might have been. I'm disappointing to myself. I'm a great design with imperfections. As Is. Not special enough for the showroom floor.

Unlike the wobbly legged table at the furniture store though, I am worth full price! Jesus Christ thinks I'm really special. He believes in His design. Jesus believes His creation has wonderful potential and He loves me. I celebrate Jesus' unconditional love and mercy. I rejoice in His tender care and protection of me. It's all about Him. I can't get depressed about my own behavior because the focus would be on me. Wouldn't satan love that? I'm not giving him that chance. No way. Instead I offer my praise and thanks to a merciful generous God. Even though I'm AS IS God thought I was worth the death of His only Son. That's full price. Jesus thinks I'm worth His daily graces. He gifts me with His word and with Eucharist. That's Full Price for sure. How blessed I am to be fully and completely loved AS IS.

Praise and thanks to you, God!

God Gifts

God calls the end times the “renewal of all things” in Mathew 19:28
“Repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, that time of refreshing may come from the Lord.” Acts 3:19

What appears to be pain and sorrow has frequently in my life been the predecessor of intimacy with God. The Gospel even calls the end times a renewal. What can I endure with the knowledge of God’s presence within me and his protection surrounding me?

Don’t we get excited when we know we’ve bought or made the perfect gift for someone? We wrap it carefully and well, decorating our emotional wish to please a loved one. We present it with a smile being that sure the recipient will be pleased. If it really is as perfect the gift we thought it to be, that mutual happiness of the moment adds joy and intimacy to the relationship. Wasn’t that the purpose of the gift in the first place?

God’s packages to us aren’t always pleasantly wrapped. His gifts aren’t always fun. But gifts they are. Pain, be it emotional, physical or spiritual can sometimes be a gift depending on the way we see and appreciate it. We must accept gifts gracefully and acknowledge the Giver. Simply being a participant on this globe, of course, can impose pain. Even that pain though, is a gift and can be transformed.

So God gifts us or allows us to experience sorrow. Is it to test us? To prove us? Or like many gifts does it depend on our spirit of understanding and acceptance? Do we rebel asking such questions as “why me?” citing our honest attempts to live a decent life? Reading the lives of the saints helps me in this area the most.

St Joan of Arc
Blessed Mary of Australia
St. Louis Marie De Montfort

They were misunderstood, judged to be insane and persecuted for their Godly lives. What made them saints is their heroic degree of virtue. And Joan, Mary and St. Louis Marie De Montfort were simple human beings like us. Their prayer life, i.e. their intimacy with God in the face of trial gave them strength and courage.

Renewal of all things.
Times of refreshing from the Lord.

It does require time spent in the Lord’s presence to be able to translate pain and sorrow into renewal and refreshing. It’s barely human to be able to do that at all. Spiritual intimacy with the one who was persecuted for our sins is the only way for me.

Prayer: Jesus you know how much I really mean that. I come to you be to repaired and made whole. Re-paired that is, to be paired up with you again. Your example and your love is my strength. Thank you for ALWAYS being there.
THE SAINTS CLUB

If Sin Had An Odor

St. Bridget of Sweden could SMELL sin as it had an odor to her and caused a bad taste in her mouth. If sin could be smelled~

*Buy stock in Renuzit, personal deodorants and perfume companies
*People would try to pretend the smell was coming from someone else
*What would a reconciliation service smell like before and after
*Would different sins have different odors so that each person’s sin would be recognizable? Pride would smell like onions; a lie would smell like a skunk…
*Saturday afternoon lines in Church would be longer than the lines in the mall stores.

Your ideas?

http://members.dodo.com.au/~teresaa/stbridget.html

Spiritual Intimacy

What is spiritual intimacy? (aka Prayer)

• to share the deep seated fears and anxieties that I don't share with others
• to admit that I am known and understood more fully by Someone Else
• to let myself be loved completely and wholly by a Perfect God
• to offer protestations of undying devotion and complete adherence to His will - then to fall on my face tripping over my own words. At the same time spiritual intimacy has the audacity to look at God right in the eyes after that experience.
• to be completely and comfortably quiet with nothing to say for long periods of time

It is hunger for more information about Him whom I love. It is the revelation of knowledge and insight He shares with me thru reflection on Scripture and quiet time together. It is the confidence God has in me that encourages and challenges me to grow.

Enduring Joy

Endurance: the ability to make it to the end. To plow thru all the little things that get in the way precisely because of the value of the goal. To examine a goal, determine it to be worth any price and work toward its achievement accepting any sacrifice.

Enduring Joy: not just when the spring pastel colors arrive on the scene, nor the chocolate and butterflies. Words like constancy, loyalty and faithfulness come to mind. Joy that comes from Christ is that which endures, i.e, rises to the surface in the face of any obstacle. It is not to say that human emotions disappear or should be denied. While on the cross Jesus did say "My God why have you abandoned me?" Rather enduring joy give us strength to go beyond the natural human reaction~ in time~ and move to a place of peace with God. The gift of joy comes from the knowledge that God is love and that He chose you and me to be the object of His love despite our unworthiness. When I accept the gift of joy from God I commit to daily being faithful to Him and to His relationship with me until the end, overcoming any obstacle.

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Rms 8:18
"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Phil3:4
also see Phil 4: 4-7

I wish you joy.

Rejoicing in the Relationship

You have blessed me Lord! You've guided me and protected me all thru my life. You keep promises you make and you are faithful regardless of my faithfulness and sometimes despite me. You are full of surprises, like rising from the dead! I know of the goodness of all your ways. I know of your mercy and patience. You forgive me and believe in me. You also work thru and challenge me.
I rejoice in our relationship. I rejoice that you chose me. I appreciate you not as you deserve but as much as I can. I worship you and you alone for you are my Risen Lord. Amen. Alleluia!

http://www.christart.com/clipart

Easter Father & Son

If my son was killed ~ even if I knew it was going to happen and had to happen for the greater good~ I cannot imagine how I'd feel. Like the story of the man whose job it was to switch the railroad track not far from his home. One morning his young son ran out of the house to go see his dad. His son ran across the field smiling and reaching out his arms toward his father. The father had already switched the track as his young son neared it...and it was too late. The father had to make a decision.....
If after that, I had to opportunity to see my resurrected son...well, just imagine that Easter Hug between God the Father and His Resurrected Son, Jesus!

I believe

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii: 2nd Anniversary of the Death of Our Beloved John Paul II

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii: 2nd Anniversary of the Death of Our Beloved John Paul II

a sign worth seeing

WTAT

Words tickle. Actions thunder.
(St Francis of Assisi)
Wasn't St Francis a smart man? Anyone can talk. But very few can walk the walk. I'm conflicted while writing all these words, as what is really important is living them. That will be my focus this Holy Week.

God Invited Me Into His Home

“Jesus please take me home to see your Father. I want to meet your Dad.” We’re walking along the beach and Jesus asks me if I want to get cleaned up first. “ Yes, of course!” is my reply. I know I’m not worthy of this blessing. I know my sins and weaknesses. But my hand is in Jesus’ and I know He’s the only way I can access the Father. Jesus and I walk toward the water and I
kneel in the ocean facing him. With my face held in his two hands Jesus speaks. “My friend I know of your sinfulness and I know the shame you bear b/c of it. I’m the only one who knows it all, who sees it all. I see your
soul and I know your life. As I pour this water over your head see your shame fall away. Watch your sins drown in the ocean and get pulled away from us by the tide. Let them go. Do not concentrate on them, but look at me instead.” I look in to Jesus’ eyes and feel sorry that I ever hurt him by these sins. I can feel them tumbling out of my head, my heart, my hands.
They fall down into the ocean with every handful of water Jesus pours onto my head. They float around me for a short while before they disappear into the tide. The next wave encircles me and washes away all the remnants as Jesus continues to look into my tear filled eyes. “I am so very sorry Jesus. I’ve been weak many times and selfish. Please forgive me.” Jesus replied;
“I forgave you a very long time ago my daughter. I forgave you on the cross long before you even knew me. As I walked along Golgatha I remembered
you. When they nailed my hands and feet I was thinking of you. ‘I can do this,’ I thought. ‘ I can do this for her. She’s worth it all. I love my friend!’ Did you know you were on my mind then?

As sorrow for my sinfulness and weakness overwhelms me Jesus takes my two hands and tells me to stand. Its time to meet his Father! Jesus is so happy that it’s contagious. We’re both smiling as we walk along the beach toward a small cottage further down the road. I’m full of anticipation. It’s a mixture of nervousness and excitement. Jesus is jumping up and down all around me while he talks, “ Just wait, you’re going to love him. He already loves you. I’ve told him so much about you! He’s looking forward to talking with the person I care so very much about. He’s just like me but even better.
I learned every thing I know from Him. I can’t wait for you to meet Him.” I can’t help but absorb Jesus’ joy and I find myself grinning from ear to ear. With each word we get closer to the beach cottage. It’s a small but friendly looking home. I can see a porch with a 2-seated swing and plants lined up on the railing. The house is white and there’s a pathway and a welcome mat
leading to the front door.
Jesus looks at me and his eyes are wide with anticipation, ‘Here we are’ he says. ‘Are you ready?’ Feeling encouraged by Jesus’ happiness I say yes. I’m also very anxious to meet his Father. Jesus never stops talking about him. He’s so proud of he’s Abba- that’s the nickname Jesus uses. I’ve never experienced a Father-Son relationship like this one before. They are
definitely very close. And Jesus says he’s the spitting image of his Father so he must be a great man. With an ever so slight shaking of my knees I say, “Yes Jesus. I really want to meet your Father. Let’s go in.”
Jesus opens the front door for me and while walking into the living room he says, “ Abba this is my friend. She’s the person I was telling you about. I really love her and I’m very proud of her so I wanted her to meet you.” Then he turned to me and said, “This is my Father.”
Immediately God the Father walks over and greets me with a strong voice and a welcoming hug. “My son Jesus has not stopped talking about you. I’m so happy we can be together now and get to know each other a little better. Come in and sit down. Put your feet up. We’ll have supper together a little later.” And God directs me toward a soft armchair in front of the
fireplace. He and Jesus sit on the sofa to my right after they’ve hugged and given each other loud pats on the back. It’s a warm and friendly atmosphere to be sure, but I’m still a little nervous. Experience taught me that the best way to get over yourself is to focus on others. I comment on the quaintness of this simple home and its charm. Pictures line the mantle and adorn the walls. Jesus and me, Jesus and His mom, Jesus and His friends – the apostles. There’s a framed picture of Jesus and Peter, the first Pope, on a side table. On the shelf under that table is a photo album through which I browsed later and saw photos of some of their special friends: Mother Teresa, Pope John XXIII, my grandmother, St Francis and many others.

Sharing a cup of tea together we begin to chat about how Jesus and I first met and how our relationship has grown over the years. I realize while hearing myself speak that throughout all that time Jesus was much more attentive to me than I was to him. As a matter of fact I was surprised about the degree of pride Jesus had in our relationship. He felt he could let it all out. He kept smiling and his eyes were dancing. I was embarrassed frankly by this outpouring of attention and tried to return the favor. “I’m sure He’s told you about the time I read all those books about saints because I wanted to be a better person for Him, but then I couldn’t put it all into practice. Well, Jesus turned right around and blessed me with graces to live my daily life to the best of my ability and accept that with humility. He always knows how to make people feel better about themselves.”

God the Father replied, “Oh for sure I know that about my Son. He spent his whole life doing that. I told him it would be hard and that people might not accept him but he was determined not to let that stop him. He’s a great Son and always has been. We’re very close, my Son Jesus and I, and I’d like to include you in that relationship too if you’re willing.” “That’s why I’m here,” I answer, I’m not as good nor anywhere near as
holy as Jesus is for sure but I’m willing to work on it.” Jesus says, “You misunderstand. My Father wants you just as you are. He loves you because he sees the potential you have, your eagerness your simplicity. He’s just affording you the opportunity to be more of a participant than a spectator.” With a pat on Jesus’ back God chimes in, ‘I couldn’t have said it better myself Jesus! That’s what I mean. So what do you say? Are you interested in becoming more intimately involved in our family?”
Well what would that mean?” I ask. My heart is pacing with nervousness and anticipation. Can I do this? What if I fail? Will they be disappointed in
me? My thoughts were interrupted by God’s words “ Only more times together like this. My Son and I could let your see circumstances and people as we do. We’d introduce you to some of our friends and spend more time with Jesus’ Mother. We could talk things over together. What do you say? Do you want to join us? My nervousness had melted away with the sound of
God’s voice. It was replaced with a kind of awe and embarrassment. They just wanted me to hang out with them. It was much simple than I thought. It always is with Jesus. Everything is much more peaceful when He’s with me. Without Him I get full of myself and cocky, eventually tripping over my own feet. I could tell that being with Jesus and His Father could do nothing
but make me a better person. Why wouldn’t I want that? “I’d love to if you’ll have me,” I answer. God and His Son look at each other and smile. As one unit, they engulf me with a double hug “Thank you” says Jesus, “Thank you for believing in us we’ll never let you down.”
God the Father directed us over to the table where supper was waiting “Wait till you taste the Bread,” he says. “It’s especially delicious.