A New Favorite

I discovered today that my favorite apple is the Golden Delicious. I had always thought it was the Gala apple, but the GD is way better.

I know, not the most thought provoking post, but it's what's on my mind.

What's your favorite apple?

Happy Feast Day

"Sisters, be careful where you look, where you go, and with whom you convene. There is always danger in what we see becoming the occasion of offense against God and our vow." ~St. Rita

When I chose St. Rita as my Confirmation saint, I had no real information to go on. Paul and I were in the car, on our way to Sacramento where I would be Baptized, Confirmed, and receive my first Holy Communion. Selecting a saint was something we only thought of hours before leaving, so Paul printed out a list of saints with brief descriptions next to the name, it was actually one word next to each name, telling what they were the patron saints of.

St. Rita was listed as the patron saint of loneliness, and though it may sound sad, that's exactly what drew me to her. So without knowing anything else I decided on St. Rita of Cascia. I'm almost glad I was under pressure otherwise I might have had more trouble choosing a saint.

Once I started reading about her life I realized how perfect it was, not because we are so much alike, but because she is exactly who I should try to emulate. All of St. Rita's strengths are my weaknesses, and because of that I believe we are a perfect match.

I have since realized that she is more commonly known as the saint of the impossible, and after reading her life story I know this to be true. I've read 3 books on St. Rita and I really feel that this one is THE BEST, you should read it. I'm not sure if EWTN will be showing the movie called Saint Rita with Vittoria Belvedere, but if you have not seen it and plan to, DON'T!! Or if you do, watch it with the understanding 98% (my opinion) is not accurate. This movie is very far removed from the true life of this amazing saint, the directors definitely took a great deal of poetic licence.

Happy feast day St. Rita!!

Perfect. Perfect. Perfect.

Convert Stories

Reading Rome Sweet Home has inspired me to read more convert stories, and rather than buy new books I asked Paul what he had & he gave me Surprised By Truth. Even though I did not experience most of their struggles with Catholic teachings, since I had no strong previous religious background, I love hearing their stories.

So far I have only read 3 of the 11 convert stories in this book, and so far I think it's great. All 3 started out as Protestant ministers (or studied to be), and the further they dived into studying came to the realization that the "Catholic faith is the faith of the Bible."

I feel that reading these types of convert stories are very helpful to all Catholics as way of studying apologetics too. I do not spend as much time studying apologetics as I should, and I've found their stories are pretty helpful in this area.

The FIRST First Lady

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not our circumstances."

~Martha Washington

When Men Were Men

" You can`t whine and bellyache because somebody else got a good break and you didn't."

" I have tried to live my life so that my family would love me and my friends respect me. The others can do whatever they please."

" When the road looks rough ahead, remember the Man Upstairs and the word Hope. Hang onto both and tough it out."

"Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway."

"To me, The Wild Bunch (1969) was distasteful. It would have been a good picture without the gore. Pictures go too far when they use that kind of realism, when they have shots of blood spurting out and teeth flying, and when they throw liver out to make it look like people`s insides. "The Wild Bunch" was one of the first to go that far in realism, and the curious went to see it. That may make the bankers and stock promoters think that it is a necessary ingredient for successful motion pictures. They seem to forget the one basic principle of our business - illusion. We`re in the business of magic. I don`t think it hurts a child to see anything that has the illusion of violence in it. All our fairy tales have some kind of violence - the good knight riding to kill the dragon, etc. Why do we have to show the knight spreading the serpent`s guts all over the candy mountain?"

Great T-Shirt

Comedy Central Still Mocking Jesus

COMEDY CENTRAL UNVEILS MOCK JESUS SHOW

May 6, 2010

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Comedy Central's decision to offer a new animated show, "JC," in its upcoming lineup:

All we know about "JC" is that it will be a half-hour show about Christ seeking to live a normal life in New York outside the reach of his "powerful but apathetic father." But we know much more about who is doing this.

These are the same executives who delight in bashing Christians while continuing to censor any depiction of Muhammad on "South Park." They also deceive. Kent Alterman, a network official, says this about the show: "In general, comedy in its purest form always makes some people uncomfortable." Not true. Besides the fact that there is no end to the number of comedians who have made a huge name for themselves without ever offending anyone, what is even more relevant is the fact that Comedy Central has absolutely no interest in making Muslims feel uncomfortable.

But maybe they're wrong. Muslims regard Jesus to be a prophet and hold Him in high regard. They may not be too pleased to learn that one of their revered figures is going to be ridiculed on Comedy Central. To that end, we will not only contact the Catholic community, we will contact Muslim organizations as well. Those who would like to dialogue with Comedy Central's CEO, Doug Herzog, can reach him at 2049 Century Park East, Ste. 4000, Los Angeles, CA, 90067.

If you show up at Herzog's office, and he says he is feeling uneasy, let him know that having a fun time in its purest form always makes some people feel uncomfortable. He is sure to understand.

Contact: doug.herzog@comedycentral.com

National Food Drive

Food Drive Website

The food drive is on Saturday May 8th. Just put canned items in a bag & leave them at the mailbox, your mail carrier will pick up the bags for you. Please take advantage of this very simple opportunity to make a donation.

Seriously??

This is absolutely ridiculous.

Card Making

I loved the picture & prayer so much from yesterdays post that I decided to make my own Holy Cards out of it.

First I created the prayer with a color background with my photo shop program, then I printed the picture & prayer in wallet size photos. Once I cut them out I just glued them together.

I have Holy Cards everywhere, I love to use them as book marks too

My Queen, My Mother

My Queen, my Mother, I give myself entirely to you. And to show myself devoted to you, I consecrate to to you my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my entire being without reserve. Since I am yours, my good Mother, preserve me, defend me, as your property and possession. Amen.

Saints Gallery

Our Lady of Mount Carmalpencil drawing Mariola K. Paini

Quoting Paul

The other night Paul said something that I just knew was a quotable quote, in fact as soon as the words came out of his mouth I stopped him from speaking further so I could right down exactly what he said. I thought it was perfect, especially since it came from a discussion about St. Zita.

"We do God's work when we do our own well, and with the right intentions." ~Paul

Beautiful

Pray For Life

Lord, please spare the life of an unborn child who is in danger of abortion. Let him or her be shown love and be given a caring home. If not by the biological parents then by a husband and wife in want of a child.

3AM

I always kind of liked this song, but the more I heard it on the radio the more annoying it became. After spending some time on Youtube creating a play list I found an acoustic version and now I'm in love with this song. I think it's just beautiful.

Saint Zita

St. Zita was born into a poor but holy Christian family. Her older sister became a Cistercian nun and her uncle Graziano was a hermit whom the local people regarded as a saint.

Zita herself always tried to do God's will obediently whenever it was pointed out to her by her mother. At the age of twelve Zita became a housekeeper in the house of a rich weaver in Lucca, Italy, eight miles from her home at Monte Sagrati. As things turned out, she stayed with that family for the last forty-eight years of her life. She found time every day to attend Mass and to recite many prayers, as well as to carry out her household duties so perfectly that the other servants were jealous of her. Indeed, her work was part of her religion! She use to say: "a servant is not holy if she is not busy; lazy people of our position is fake holiness."

At first, her employers were upset by her generous gifts of food to the poor, but in time, they were completely won over by her patience and goodness and she became a very close friend. St. Zita was given a free reign over her working schedule and busied herself with visits to the sick and those in prison. Word spread rapidly in Lucca of her good deeds and the heavenly visions that appeared to her.

She was sought out by the important people, and at her death in 1278 the people acclaimed her as a saint.

She is the patroness of domestic workers.

Shopping Trip

Tomorrow Paul & I are planning on going guitar shopping & I'm so excited. I never learned how to play an instrument, but always wish I had. The guitar has always been most fascinating and something in me says "now's the time". So after we find the perfect guitar we'll figure out where I'll take lessons.

I'm also excited because Paul plays the guitar & it's something we can enjoy together. I do feel a bit guilty buying a new one though, since he already has 6 guitars, but they're all way too BIG for me. He's 6'2" & I'm 5'1", so I'm sure it's easy to imagine that I'm sure.

Good Bye Tim

I was just thinking about the elimination on American Idol and I'm kind of sad Tim's gone. I know he wasn't the best on the show, but I don't think he should have been sent home yet. Even though this week wasn't his best performance. I know, it's sad that I'm thinking about him being kicked off enough to post about it, but I wanted to share my 2 favorite performances of his.

Busy Night

Tonight I made some cake pops for a yard/bake sale that my niece's Soft Ball league is having. I've usually just make cake balls, but I figured this would be the perfect time to try a different way. I've been wanting to make them this way for a long time now, I'm so glad I did it. It was fun and actually easier.

I went to Michael's earlier today to pick up some things I needed & while I was there the idea to make lollipops just came to me. I'm going to offer them for the sale on Saturday too.

My next baking addiction is going to be cupcakes and muffins. The plan is to make both the cupcakes & muffins all from scratch. Hopefully I could find some good Low Carb, Low Sugar recipes, then maybe I wont feel as guilty after sampling the goods.

Our Saturday

I love the feeling of accomplishment once somethings been on checked off of your to-do-list. It's just wonderful!!

Once Paul was home from golfing we just relaxed & talked a bit, then I suggested we go have an early lunch. Paul then did an Internet search for a healthy place to eat, he read off a menu that sounded interesting so we got ready to go.

The place was nice, but there was a strange vibe to it. It wasn't until we opened our menus before we realized they only served VEGAN food. hahaha!! I was starting to dread ordering, but tried not to let it show. I ordered an enchilada which was all vegetables, and Paul had a weird lasagna. I don't know how people could eat that way, I'm not even a big meat eater, but I still gotta have it. But even without the meat, almost nothing on the menu was a hot meal, which is what I was hoping for. Good food or not, it was an interesting experience.

I then talked Paul into going to Costco on the way home. I think he was dreading the trip, it being Saturday and all, but I was excited. We just recently got our Costco card so to us it's still new, that and I love going shopping with him. Every thing is more fun when we do it together.

Once all the Costco stuff was put away we were able to tackle our BIG project for the day, our garage. We had to get rid of some stuff, and re-organize. It took a while, but we're so glad it's done. It was so bad Paul was having trouble getting in & out of his car. We found an old carpet while cleaning that we decided to put on our garage steps, so we have a clean place to walk on when we get something from extra fridge. We are a no-shoes in the house family, so the shoes aren't aloud on that carpet either. I know we're both relieved to have an organized garage again.

For dinner I cooked up the take & bake pizza from Costco and we ate that while watching "The Real Face of Jesus" that I recorded over Easter weekend. It was amazing to watch, it's about the Shroud of Turin and the different studies that have been done to it. At the end of the show, a 3D image of what they believe Jesus looked like was shown. I thought it was AMAZING!! I have to say that they left out some important facts, but it's still worth watching.

We had a wonderful day together, even the working part was fun.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful weekend.

Back Soon!!

I'm actually working full-time this week, so I might not post anything new for a few days.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

Blessings!!

Lies About The Pope

Don't believe everything you hear!!!

I hardly ever watch or listen to the mainstream media, since I find them to be completely un-trustworthy a great majority of the time. I just happened to hear ABC News do a report on allegations against the Pope & was appalled by the lack of factual & detailed information.

Everyone should do themselves a favor and before forming an opinion on ANY news story, search the Internet, do YOUR OWN research, and you'll be amazed at what you discover to be the truth.

The article below is one of many which give details of some of the allegations. Worth the read.

Journalists abandon standards to attack the Pope

An article by Phil Lawler.

We're off and running once again, with another completely phony story that purports to implicate Pope Benedict XVI in the protection of abusive priests.

The "exclusive" story released by AP yesterday, which has been dutifully passed along now by scores of major media outlets, would never have seen the light of day if normal journalistic standards had been in place. Careful editors should have asked a series of probing questions, and in every case the answer to those questions would have shown that the story had no "legs."
First to repeat the bare-bones version of the story: in November 1985, then-Cardinal Ratzinger signed a letter deferring a decision on the laicization of Father Stephen Kiesle, a California priest who had been accused of molesting boys.

Now the key questions:

• Was Cardinal Ratzinger responding to the complaints of priestly pedophilia? No. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which the future Pontiff headed, did not have jurisdiction for pedophile priests until 2001. The cardinal was weighing a request for laicization of Kiesle.

• Had Oakland's Bishop John Cummins sought to laicize Kiesle as punishment for his misconduct? No. Kiesle himself asked to be released from the priesthood. The bishop supported the wayward priest's application.

• Was the request for laicization denied? No. Eventually, in 1987, the Vatican approved Kiesle's dismissal from the priesthood.

• Did Kiesle abuse children again before he was laicized? To the best of our knowledge, No. The next complaints against him arose in 2002: 15 years after he was dismissed from the priesthood.

• Did Cardinal Ratzinger's reluctance to make a quick decision mean that Kiesle remained in active ministry? No. Bishop Cummins had the authority to suspend the predator-priest, and in fact he had placed him on an extended leave of absence long before the application for laicization was entered.

• Would quicker laicization have protected children in California? No. Cardinal Ratzinger did not have the power to put Kiesle behind bars. If Kiesle had been defrocked in 1985 instead of 1987, he would have remained at large, thanks to a light sentence from the California courts. As things stood, he remained at large. He was not engaged in parish ministry and had no special access to children.

• Did the Vatican cover up evidence of Kiesle's predatory behavior? No. The civil courts of California destroyed that evidence after the priest completed a sentence of probation-- before the case ever reached Rome.

So to review: This was not a case in which a bishop wanted to discipline his priest and the Vatican official demurred. This was not a case in which a priest remained active in ministry, and the Vatican did nothing to protect the children under his pastoral care. This was not a case in which the Vatican covered up evidence of a priest's misconduct. This was a case in which a priest asked to be released from his vows, and the Vatican-- which had been flooded by such requests throughout the 1970s -- wanted to consider all such cases carefully. In short, if you're looking for evidence of a sex-abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, this case is irrelevant.

We Americans know what a sex-abuse crisis looks like. The scandal erupts when evidence emerges that bishops have protected abusive priests, kept them active in parish assignments, covered up evidence of the charges against them, and lied to their people. There is no such evidence in this or any other case involving Pope Benedict XVI.

Competent reporters, when dealing with a story that involves special expertise, seek information from experts in that field. Capable journalists following this story should have sought out canon lawyers to explain the 1985 document-- not merely relied on the highly biased testimony of civil lawyers who have lodged multiple suits against the Church. If they had understood the case, objective reporters would have recognized that they had no story. But in this case, reporters for the major media outlets are far from objective.

The New York Times-- which touched off this feeding frenzy with two error-riddled front-page reports-- seized on the latest "scoop" by AP to say that the 1985 document exemplified:

…the sort of delay that is fueling a renewed sexual abuse scandal in the church that has focused on whether the future pope moved quickly enough to remove known pedophiles from the priesthood, despite pleas from American bishops.

Here we have a complete rewriting of history. Earlier in this decade, American newspapers exposed the sad truth that many American bishops had kept pedophile priests in active ministry. Now the Times, which played an active role in exposing that scandal, would have us believe that the American bishops were striving to rid the priesthood of the predators, and the Vatican resisted!

No, what is "fueling a renewed sexual abuse scandal" is a media frenzy. There is a scandal here, indeed, but it's not the scandal you're reading about in the mass media. The scandal is the complete collapse of journalistic standards in the handling of this story.

You Are A Priest Forever

15 Comments

I'm not sure why, but I was wondering which of my past posts had the most comments, and I'm glad to find it was a very worthy topic. The post was a cut & paste from another blog about receiving Holy Communion, and even though not all comments are related to the topic, there are some great comments.

I won't post the whole thing again, but you can CLICK HERE if you wish to read it.

Felt Softies

I found a really cute shop on Etsy that makes saint dolls out of felt. They are just adorable and look to be really well made. Now when ever I look through anything about saints I always look for Saint Rita of Cascia, so that's the picture I'm going to share with you.

I hope you check out this shop (HERE), I think these would make a great gift to any newly Confirmed Catholics or those who will be and have already chosen their patron saint.

Teen Shirts

JCLU Forever

Kelsey Lynne

Happy birthday Kelsey!!

This is my little sister, (I think she was about 5 in this picture) and today she turns 18.

When Kelsey was born I was 11 and I couldn't have been more excited to have baby sister. We have always been very close and even though she's now a busy teen and we don't talk as often as we used to the sisterly/best friend closeness is always there.

Kelsey,

You will do so much changing in the next few years and I can't wait to meet the woman you become. I hope you enjoy the journey of discovering yourself, making new friends, and taking on new challenges. I have so much faith in you, I know you'll be great at what ever you choose to do. I pray that you will not have as hard a time during this part of life as some do, and that in those hard times you are able to ask for God's help. One of my favorite quotes is "Before you go to sleep, give your troubles to God, he'll be up all night anyway".

You will always be my baby sister and there will always be times that when I look at you all I will see is a tiny 3 year old with a short blond bob. You sure were cute. I hope you know how much I love you & that I will always be here for you.

A few fond memories of you as a young child.

1. Using your hand to dig for ice in MY glass of water. This happened quite often, I might have started it actually, and if I remember correctly you still love chewing on ice.

2. Singing the bumble bee song over & over with you in the car. It helped when you'd start to get cranky, you especially liked the spitting part. LOL!

3. Realizing you were really quiet in another room for a long time, getting worried and finding you reading (trying to) and surrounded by books, you were only 2. You loved books right away and always wanted someone to read to you.

4. You really loved Barny, and all though I didn't, watching you get super excited was worth the torture of sitting through it. :)

5. When I was home with you (weekends), you were my little shadow and you never left me alone...I loved it. I think that lasted until about high school, lol.

Blessed Easter