How many classics have you read? See below and pass it on!

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here.




Instructions: Bold those books you've read in their entirety.
Italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read only an excerpt.



If you put this on facebook: Copy this into your NOTES, and put your own answers in. Tag other book nerds. Tag me as well so I can see your responses! Feel free to add comments too.



1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen  (3X)



2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien



3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte



4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling



5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee  (2X)



6 The Bible



7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte



8 1984--George Orwell



9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman



10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens



11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott



12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy



13 Catch-22 --Joseph Heller



14 Complete Works of Shakespeare



15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier



16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien



17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk



18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger



19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger



20 Middlemarch - George Eliot



21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell



22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald



23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens



24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy



25 The Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy--Douglas Adams



26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh



27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky



28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck



29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll



30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame



31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy



32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens



33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (All 7 of them!)



34 Emma - Jane Austen



35 Persuasion - Jane Austen



36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis



37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini



38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres



39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden



40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne



41 Animal Farm - George Orwell



42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown  (I REFUSE!!)



43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez



44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving



45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins



46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery



47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy



48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood



49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding



50 Atonement - Ian McEwan



51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel



52 Dune - Frank Herbert



53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons



54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (and Seamonsters?)



55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth



56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon



57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens



58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley



59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon



60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez



61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck



62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov



63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt



64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold



65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas



66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac



67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy



68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding



69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie



70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville



71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens



72 Dracula - Bram Stoker



73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett



74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson



75 Ulysses - James Joyce



76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath



77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome



78 Germinal - Emile Zola



79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray



80 Possession - AS Byatt



81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens



82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell



83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker



84 The Remains of the Day - Kazu Ishiguro



85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert



86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry



87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White  (3 x)



88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom



89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle



90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton



91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad



92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery



93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks



94 Watership Down - Richard Adams



95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole



96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute



97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas



98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare



99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl



100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

What have I learned this year?

Well, its December 31st and the end of another year full of activities, good and bad events, trials and tribulations, and blessings all around. During that last few days it seems that life had decided to throw in one more lesson just to keep the momentum going in my life. Trying not to be a bummer, downer, or a sad-sap, I want to make this post a positive inventory of what 2010 brought to the table and how I handled each one.




Here's the big question, do you want to good news or the bad news first? Hmmmmmm........I need to be positive...



Ok here I go:



1. Probably the biggest lesson presented to me this year....and I know that this year was not the only time God gave me opportunity to learn this one:



I can't change someone else, no matter how I try, BUT I can change me, and try, try as I might, it can happen.



Wishing someone would be nicer, cooperate, accept change, pay attention, convert, work together, and not be so critical, whatever will not happen just because I want it to. Whomever I am dealing with, change has to come from me, not them.



My action: Prayer, the serenity prayer seemed this year to become a mantra for me....as it will continue to be in 2011.



2. Another biggy for me was finally realizing, after all these years, that my father was merely a sperm donor. When it was fun and easy, he was there, but as the 5 of his children got older and more independent, he left. As my mother says, "I don't really know when he turned the corner", but when that happened, he no longer invested any time in us and there were other fish in the sea much more fun than we.



Probably the largest part of this lesson is how do I handle the "Honor thy mother and father" part of the Ten Commandments. How do I continually forgive as in the 70 x 70 rule?



Here in lies the original lesson learned, I can't change my father, but I can change myself and in the way I see him. I'm in charge of how I deal with him. How will I do this?



Pray for him and for my own heart for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.



3. As much as I didn't want to label my children as "teenagers" when they arrived to this phase in life, I did and I have. As we are now in the midst of 2 teen-aged daughters, moods are flying, and tempers have flared. As the mother, I would get sucked into these moods and get moody myself and plaque the rest of the day in the state of cold war. Not good, not productive, and not wise.



How will I conduct myself with the new year?



Prayer, praying for my daughters, myself, and poor husband (who would arrive home to a tense house that only a machete could cut through). But also, I have thought about it in desperate times, how can I change them!!?? NO! I need to see that they are young people going through something I have already been through. Taking them lighter than in 2010, knowing that they are struggling and that with their mom's love and patience, and possibly some wisdom, they will get through to the other side in one piece.



4. Women and politics don't mix and when they do, the result can be brutal. I have never regarded myself as the nicest person on earth, but I am way too nice to get involved in this combination. I was president of a women's political club for 2 years and boy am I more educated than before about women and their territory. How will I use this lesson in 2011?



Pray for these women that hurt/taught me during these past 24 months and stay away from women political clubs altogether!



5. When asking God for help in different situations, He always answers us. But, He doesn't just give us the help needed; He gives us the opportunity to learn how to obtain the help we need.



For example: I needed help in dealing with the many difficult women I encountered, He gave me an opportunity rise above and be Christian. I kept my tongue, for the most part kept my cool, and hopefully left the club better than it was when I found it.



The bottom line is that God wants me to keep on praying. He showed me special saints and prayers to guide me. Through the years, He has loved me and provided the grace needed to get through the rough spots.

A Christmas Poem by GK Chesterton

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    There fared a mother driven forth

Out of an inn to roam;

In the place where she was homeless

All men are at home.

The crazy stable close at hand,

With shaking timber and shifting sand,

Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand

Than the square stones of Rome.

For men are homesick in their homes,

And strangers under the sun,

And they lay their heads in a foreign land

Whenever the day is done.

Here we have battle and blazing eyes,
And chance and honour and high surprise,
But our homes are under miraculous skies
Where the yule tale was begun.


A child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam;
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home;
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost---how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky's dome.


This world is wild as an old wife's tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.



To an open house in the evening
Home shall all men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.

It's Christmas again......yet again!

After lamenting on the fact that Christmas has come up too quickly AGAIN, I got thinking about how repetitious our life is. Even at Mass, I often wonder how a priest, as he prays the Eucharistic prayer, raises the host up high and then genuflects, keeps it fresh day after day, week after week, year after year? (I have never asked a priest this question, so if you are a priest, let me know.) Each day is the same routine for the most part, get up, go to school/work, eat meals, go home, go to bed, and get up and do it all over again. As Christmas comes back around again with all the readings, the homilies, we walk away with the usual secular world at our heels showering us with commercials of great buys, deals, and steals. How do we keep it fresh?

One can interpret this as a depressing thought, or as another chance! I don't know about you, but there are things in this world that take me a few times around to finally get, and we have this chance each day and each year.

We have a chance to hear how to live a Christian life and look at the end of time with a sober eye.... again. We have the chance to hear about God coming through with His promise to Israel to save it with His only son. We have a chance to hear about the need to be watchful, hopeful, and trusting that God is there to come through for us. We have another chance to get ready for the new day that will dawn by living in peace and harmony with each other. He is honest, dependable, and love itself, so live for Him and His promise of salvation. We have a chance to meet the new born king, the lineage of Jesse and the Kingdom of God, here and amongst us now!

Year after year the readings are cycled, but the message is the same, God inspired authors tell us what we need to know to win salvation and conquer sin.

This is a good thing; I have another chance to finally get it, to make the choice to submit to my faith in God. Really submit to Him, give my life to God and trust that what He has designed me for, I will come through with.

A Christmas Meal Blessing from Magnificat

Blessed Christmas from Magnificat

Dear Friends,

We wish you a very merry and blessed Christmas! May this Christmas be a time of special joy and grace for you and all your family.

We would like to share with you the following blessing that you might like to pray as you gather for your Christmas meal:

Almighty God and Father of light,
a child is born for us and a son is given to us.
Your eternal Word leaped down from heaven
in the silent watches of the night,
and now your Church is filled with wonder
at the nearness of her God.

Open our hearts to receive this life
and increase our vision with the rising of dawn,
that our lives may be filled with his glory and his peace,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Asking God's blessing for you and your dear ones, we assure you of our prayers, and thank you for being a faithful member of the Magnificat family.

Sincerely in Christ,

Magnificat

From the Vatican II Sunday Missal (Boston: Pauline Books and Media, 2001)

Christmas, Our Mother, and the Lessons we should learn

It's nearly the end of Advent, throughout the season the Church has been teaching us, more urgently, how to live as Christians in the world.  Interesting that these lessons ring accurate now as they did two-thousand years ago.  The human condition hasn't changed much, we still have greed, selfishness, cruelty, anger, pride, and all the others elements that breed sin.  But we are a fallen crowd, sin came in and death followed it.

Anyway, so here we are in 2010, still struggling with sin and all it's baggage, and Christ came to save us from what has been taunting us for ages.  The Bible, His teachings, is our resource book for how to act, what to look out for, and advice on how things could go if we just paid attention and took the lessons seriously.

The biggest thing that happened to us was the gift of God's only son, Jesus.  How it happened is a compilation of lessons that are amazingly perfect, many of which came through Mary's role.

The Magnificat, Luke 1:46-56  In greeting Elizabeth, who was with child, Mary said:

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
For He has looked upon his lowly servant.

Can you just imagine her saying this!  She is so full of joy and relief that the promise of Abraham is finally coming to fruition, and that she and her cousin Elizabeth are chosen to be big players!


From this day all generations will call me blessed;
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.

She is fully aware that this is going down in history, that her role in being chosen as the mother of God's son is big and she is praising God for his choice in her.

He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.

She continues to praise God in his mercy and love for all. His power and perfection. 

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

Continuing her praise of God, she is so joyful and excited for what He has done in fulfilling the promise.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for He remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever."

I can only imagine the tears of joy streaming down her face as she spoke these words from her heart.  We don't hear much from her, but this is definitely enough to say that all the rest of her life will be mirrored in these words from her own heart. 

Mary is overjoyed with these events.  She is faithful which is a deep lesson for us to think about.  Mary's faith in this amazing event says something big about her trust in God.  By this moment in her life and what she says we will know how the rest of her life will play out.

How can we take heed of her words and her life?  How can we begin to understand truly what trusting God and having faith in Him is like?

Christmas is coming quickly and the lessons are before us. Can we review the readings that we heard during Advent?  Can we review what God is teaching us and pray about how our lives can play out?

My prayer for our world is that this year we calm down and relax from all the worldly concerns and concentrate on more Bible reading and learning.  A measure of good reads on a daily basis along with the Bible would be "The Word Among Us", the Magnificat magazine, good books from the hundreds of Catholic authors, and more prayer.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and know that He is our God!  Fear Him and what He can do, but love Him for what He has already done and what He will do!

THE DIGITAL STORY OF THE NATIVITY

The Ecumenical Movement should be shouting from the rooftops!

Lutheran Federation's Greeting to Benedict XVI


"We Are Called ... to Our Common Vocation of Witnessing to the World"

GENEVA, Switzerland, DEC. 16, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of the message delivered today to Benedict XVI by Bishop Munib Younan, the president of the Lutheran World Federation and bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land. The Pope received in audience today the bishop and a delegation of the Lutheran federation.



* * *



Your Holiness:



On behalf of The Lutheran World Federation, I greet you in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank you for receiving us this morning, in this holy season of Advent. Advent is both earnest and festive; it holds together memory and hope. Thus it is a fitting time for us to meet together and to hold one another in our prayers.



In this season of renewal and beginning, we are here today as the new leadership of our LWF communion of churches. I was elected President in July at our Eleventh Assembly in Stuttgart, Germany. With me are the Vice Presidents from Africa, Central Eastern Europe, and the Nordic countries, and also our new General Secretary, Rev. Martin Junge, who began his term of office last month. Our delegation represents each region of our global communion.



As we begin our new roles, we welcome the opportunity for this audience. It is for us a sign which honors the remarkable developments between our churches during recent years, and a sign of our hope for what lies ahead. Within our own lifetimes, the climate of relations between Lutherans and Catholics has warmed dramatically – and this climate change has been for the good! Around the world our churches live in a new ecology of relationship. We too celebrated last month, when the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity observed its fiftieth anniversary. Today we want to assure you of the strength of our commitment to

continue deepening our life together.



We rejoice because of the ways in which we have reached new levels of theological understanding and agreement, notably in the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. This is a landmark ecumenical accomplishment: its implications are still being explored in many local contexts around the world and in our international theological dialogue.



We rejoice also because of the many ways in which we can work together in diakonia and advocacy. I would mention especially two:



First, we are united in commitment to address the injustices and idolatries exposed by the continuing global financial crisis. Your Holiness, we are grateful for the moral leadership you have provided consistently on these challenges. For our General Secretary also, this is a signature issue, with special attention to addressing the unfair burdens of illegitimate debt. Our witness will be stronger if we will work together on these problems. Thus we look forward to forging multiple cooperations with our Catholic sisters and brothers at all levels, locally as well as globally.



Second, an issue especially dear to my own heart, of course, is our common vision for a just peace in the Holy Land. Like you, we Lutherans have supported a two-state solution and a shared Jerusalem. Even when outward signs are discouraging, both of us will continue to work toward resolution of conflicts, which have persisted too long and extracted too great a cost. A just peace is possible in the Middle East. This fall I was pleased to participate in the Synod of Bishops devoted to the Christians in the Middle East. It is vital to have a coordinated effort for Christians in the Middle East. What is the Holy Land without indigenous Christians?



Our Stuttgart Assembly this past summer gave The Lutheran World Federation other directions which also are promising for our common witness to the gospel.

Prominent among these was movement toward reconciliation. At this Assembly, our Communion took a memorable action to ask forgiveness from Anabaptists for the legacies of persecutions in the sixteenth century. In preparing for this act, we were especially mindful of those traditions, including Catholics, who also had been persecutors. As Cardinal Kasper said to us, healing of memories with Mennonites is a common task for our communities. Then, with other ecumenical guests, he stood in solemn solidarity with the action. This was a moment when the Spirit of God could be felt in the Assembly. We believe that we took this action on behalf of the whole body of Christ. We pray that this spirit of repentance, reconciliation and renewal will continue to grow among us.



Above all, this was a praying Assembly. The theme itself was a prayer, “Give us today our daily bread.” The theme of bread unfolded to embrace the dimensions of care for the hungry; hunger for justice; and hunger for the Bread of Life. This Bread of Life appears in this small gift, which I have brought from the Holy Land for Your Holiness. It depicts a meal shared with the One who taught us to pray for daily bread. But of course first of all it calls to mind that Eucharistic meal at which the host is himself the Bread offered to us.



Each of us can bear witness to the importance of this sacramental meal in nurturing our own Christian lives. Each of us also knows the yearning for the time when we will be able to celebrate this feast together.



Today we want to reaffirm our commitment to moving closer toward one another around this Table of the Lord, which Luther saw as the “summa evangelii.” This is a commitment of our prayers, and also of our actions. While we rejoice in each small step which brings us closer together, we do not want to be content with these steps. We remain strong in hope – both for the full visible unity of Christ’s Church and for the Eucharistic communion which is so crucial a manifestation of that unity.



I emphasize this hope especially because we Lutherans already look toward 2017, the 500th anniversary of the Reformation movement. We recognize that this will be a test case for ecumenical relations. For us there is joy in the liberating power of the gospel proclaimed afresh by the Reformers, and we will celebrate that. At the same time, we intend our anniversary to be ecumenically accountable: to recognize both damaging aspects of the Reformation and ecumenical progress since the last major Reformation anniversary. But we cannot achieve this ecumenical accountability on our own, without your help. We are called, both Lutherans and Catholics, to our common vocation of witnessing to the world for the sake of Christ’s kingdom. Thus we invite you to work together with us in preparing this anniversary, so that in 2017 we are closer to sharing in the Bread of Life than we are today.



In love, we ask God to bless your distinctive ministry, and the entire Catholic Church. We ask that you remember in your prayers The Lutheran World Federation and our 145 member churches, even as we continue to remember you in our petitions to the God who comes to us anew this Advent. As we approach Christmas, I would greet you with the words from John, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Songs of the Season, a guest post for the "Snoring Scholar"

Sarah and I met during the Catholic Carnivals weekly a few years ago, since then we have had phone chats, email tags, and are members of the Catholic Writer's Guild together and work side by side during online conferences, what a joy!  Recently, she wanted to host some other Catholic bloggers' thoughts on Advent, I chimed in and she accepted.  Here's my offering that you can also find at her blog, The Snoring Scholar:


With all the hurry and scurry of shopping, decorating, and preparing the foods that make the season of Christmas festive, we dig out the songs of the season to get us in the mood. In nearly every song, the words speak of one central message: Peace.

One of my favorite songs right now is Allan Jackson’s “Let it be Christmas Everywhere”

“Let it be Christmas everywhere, in the hearts of all people both near and far. Feel the love of the season where ever you are. On the small country roads lined with green mistletoe or big city streets where a thousand lights glow. Let every heart sing, every bell ring. Let Heavenly music fill the air, let anger and fear and hate disappear. Let there be love that lasts through the year and let it be Christmas everywhere.”
Let every heart sing, let every bell ring the story of hope, and joy and peace. In the songs that we sing and the gifts that we bring. In what this day means, in what we believe.”

Christmas has an enchanted feel to it like no other time of the year. This is the one special time when peace is possible. Not just peace in our world, but inside us too. That somehow the songs and the prayers would sink into our hearts and transform us is the hope of so many.
In Michael Buble’s song, “My Grown-up Christmas List” he asks if he can still be helped somehow with his grown-up list for a world in need.

“No more lives torn apart, wars that never start, and that time would heal all hearts. Every man would have a friend, that right would always win, and love would never end. This is my grown-up Christmas list. This is my only life’s wish, my grown-up Christmas list.”

This year really listen to the messages of your favorite songs; don’t just let the music carry you away to the kitchen to bake yet another batch of grandma’s cookies, let the message sink in. It is the universal need and yearning for Christ’s peace to transform us. With one transformed heart, others will follow.

“Insofar as men are sinful, the threat of war hangs over them, and hang over them it will until the return of Christ. But insofar as men vanquish sin by a union of love, they will vanquish violence as well and make these words come true: “They shall turn their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into sickles. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2:4)

A Message made by Sarah.....our Birthday girl

OIIIII
IIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMERRYCHRISTMAS!!!!


(She made this for the "pillars" back in '08.)

The Immaculate Conception and the privilege of being a woman

Our amazingly perfect Heavenly Father shows mankind the speciality of woman's role in His divine plan.  Choosing a young girl, even before she is born, and preparing her body and soul for the mission is amazing. Proof that our salvation is underway through woman from man by God.

According to the Baltimore Catechism #3's Glossary: 

The Immaculate Conception is "the unique privilege conferred on the Blessed Virgin, whereby she was preserved from original sin from the first moment of HER existence in view of the merits of her Divine Son."

The new covenant was underway, our redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ is being arranged with the cooperation of a single young maiden with so much trust in God to change the course of history.  One word from this young lady and God's plan is permitted to continue on.

With all the pressures of the day as a young unmarried, but betrothed woman, Mary agreed to God's plan.  She wasn't completely sure how it would all play out, as her reaction to the angel's greeting tells us.  The Angel was sent from God.....he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be."  So much so, that the angel was compelled to reasure her "not to be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God." 

A woman is asked to fulfill a destiny that will take a level of bravery, trust, and submission at the same time.  This is not the job of a "take charge' personality, it is that of a submitting personality to another who IS in charge.  And as time went on, without knowing where the next requirement would come from, she followed on.  Carrying out the tasks required to fulfill the mission, THAT is what our Mary said yes to.  Yes, I will bare a God-child, name Him Jesus, and follow you till the fullness of time when your plan is completed and I have completed my tasks.  No small mission, but a privilege in deed!

Day 9:Novena for seminarian Philip Johnson.....and my mom

Father all-powerful and ever-living God,
you chose the Immaculate Virgin Mary,
the mother of your Son, to be the mother and help of all Christians.
As she endured her bitter agony
at the cross of her Son, she was consoled by you
with the hope of His resurrection.
Now, in heaven
she consoles with a mother’s love all who turn to her with faith,
until the day of the Lord dawns in glory.

~Pray the Memorare~

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence, I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me.


~We pray~

O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
we are filled with confidence that your prayers on our behalf
will be graciously heard before the throne of God.
Bring our seminarian, Phillip Johnson healing, peace, courage and strength
as he shares in the suffering your Son.
O Glorious Mother of God,
in memory of your joyous Immaculate Conception,
hear our prayers and obtain for us our petitions.

Pain and suffering, loneliness, and the Pontiff's prayer for the season

The Christmas holiday season is such a fun and joyous time of year that we look forward to them with eager anticipation.  Yes, I know, I know that is not the case for everyone, so when the pope talked recently about pain and suffering during this time of year, I wanted to share his prayers with you. Here the pontiff is talking about the violence throughout the world, the persecutions, and subsequent suffering that accompanies these travesties.  But there is another type of suffering that has become widespread in our world, it's loneliness; however one got there, it's a painful state of being.

My own parents are perfect examples of that loneliness I'm talking about.  They divorced after 26 years of marriage and 3 kids.  Leaving the three of us bewildered, disappointed, and pretty much lost in the dust at the beginning of our own adult lives, we were 17, 20 and 22 when it was finalized.  Now, so many years later, they are both still single, living alone and depending on friends, neighbors, and the paid professionals to help with their needs.  Everyday, they wake up alone, eat alone, and handle their daily routines alone.  Neither of them eat right, have a hobby, or a steady best friend to lean on.  My mother is riddled with arthritis and is in constant pain due to a recent back injury.  My father has diabetes, hypertension, and depression, he's financially strapped and always complaining about having to work into his 70's from poor planning on his part earlier in his life.

Basically, my parents are alone due to selfishness and the lack of charity in their marriage on both sides, I know, I was there.  It wasn't pretty and it wasn't fair to the family.  It didn't have to happen; they didn't have to be living out their "golden" years alone.  They were not thinking about the future when this all happened, but they are living it now.

During the holiday season, my mother doesn't decorate, she doesn't bake those special cookies we always loved at Christmas, my dad doesn't get a tree, doesn't wrap lights around the outside of the house, neither seem too excited about this time of year and just go through the expected motions of getting the grandkids something (my dad doesn't do that anymore).  I know that there is something else missing in these two lonely people, Christ.   The joy of Christ, His peaceful presence, and the hope of His love.....it's hard on them, and we three.  My two brothers never really got over the divorce.  Forgiveness is not used in the same sentence with them when it comes to talking about our parents.  As for myself, I love my parents more than I need to forgive them...if that makes any sense. 

Still, there is that painful knot that takes hold of all five of us, especially during this time of year.  So, when you pray for the suffering in the world, don't forget those who are living lonely lives, too.

The pontiff invites All to Pray for Consolation, Reconciliation, Peace

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 5, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is asking all people of goodwill to pray during the Advent season for those who are experiencing situations of violence, intolerance and suffering.
The Pope made this appeal today after praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square.
"In this Advent season in which we are called to nourish our expectation of the Lord and to welcome him in our midst," the Pontiff said, "I invite you to pray for all the situations of violence, of intolerance, of suffering that there are in the world, so that the coming of Jesus brings consolation, reconciliation and peace."

He continued: "I think of the many difficult situations such as the continuing attacks in Iraq against Christians and Muslims, of the conflicts in Egypt in which there have been deaths and injuries, of the victims of traffickers and criminals such as the drama of the Eritrean hostages and the hostages of other nationalities in the desert of Sinai."
"The respect for the rights of all is the presupposition of civil coexistence, the Holy Father added. "Our prayer to the Lord and our solidarity can bring hope to those who are suffering."

If you or someone you know is considering divorcing your spouse. STOP!  What happens now will be nothing compared to what is in the future:  loneliness.  Leaving one for another has a price, leaving because it's not "fun" anymore will be rewarded with even less fun in the future.  Take heed of my message as I have seen this time and time again in so many other families, it NEVER goes well into the future.  Some of this can't be helped, but if it can be.......
 
As the song goes, "love the one you're with" start again, this time with Christ in the middle.
 
May we learn from these examples and strive toward stronger families, stronger marriages, and stronger children as a result.

Aggie Catholics: Where Are You God?

Marcel, a dear Catholic blogger friend that I have been following for a few years now (being married to an Aggie myself, I had to) shared an amazing story with us: Aggie Catholics: Where Are You God?

May God bless you and your sister forever and ever.

Thank you, Marcel.

Can we pace ourselves this Advent?

After Thanksgiving, reeling from our family gatherings, charity work, large meals, and return trips home, we resume our regularly scheduled tasks for a few weeks until December.




The first week of Advent arrives and we dress our front doors with purple or royal blue ribboned wreaths, get the Advent candles out, and begin the process of preparing/waiting/embracing life for the next few weeks. Prayers at mealtime accompany the lighting of the Advent candles for the week each night and a door is opened on the Advent calendar to reveal a picture of a symbol of Christmastide and Christ's gift to the world.



As Christmas eve approaches, we begin to make purchases of a few simple gifts to loved ones in response to Christ's gift to us Christmas day. These gifts are tokens of our affection to the receiver, like baked goodies, homemade items, useful store-bought things for them to enjoy. No lists were made, no dollar amount pre-determined, no "big gift and little gift" decisions, just from the heart choices.

Simple decorations are put out like the stable and animals, evergreen, poinsettias, and holy family pictures. A tree is purchased a few days before Christmas eve and decorated with lights and garland.

Am I crazy?

The Pope's message: URGENT NEED TO EDUCATE LAITY IN CHURCH SOCIAL DOCTRINE

Thursday, November 4, 2010



VATICAN CITY, 4 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Pope has sent a Message to Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, to mark that body's plenary assembly which is currently benign held in Rome. The assembly is focusing on how the Encyclical "Caritas in veritate" has been received in various communities.
"Only with charity, supported by hope and illuminated by the light of faith and reason, is it possible to achieve the goals of the integral liberation of man and universal justice", the Holy Father writes.
Referring to the "fundamental problems affecting the destiny of peoples and of world institutions, as well as of the human family", which are examined in "Caritas in veritate", Benedict XVI points out that social and national inequalities "have by no means disappeared. ... Co-ordination among States - which is often inadequate because, rather than aiming to achieve solidarity, it aims only at a balance of power - leaves the field open to renewed inequalities, to the danger of the predominance of economic and financial groups which dictate - and intend to continue to do so - the political agenda at the expense of the universal common good".
The Holy Father stresses the urgent need "for commitment to educating Catholic laity in Church social doctrine". Lay Catholics "must undertake to promote the correct ordering of social life, while respecting the legitimate autonomy of worldly institutions".
"A profound understanding of the social doctrine of the Church is of fundamental importance, in harmony with all her theological heritage and strongly rooted in affirming the transcendent dignity of man, in defending human life from conception to natural death and in religious freedom. ... It is necessary to prepare lay people capable of dedicating themselves to the common good, especially in complex environments such as the world of politics".
The Pope concludes his Message by expressing the hope that the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace may continue "to prepare fresh 'aggiornamenti' of Church social doctrine". In order to globalise this doctrine, he writes, "it may be appropriate to create centres and institutions for its study, dissemination and implementation throughout the world".

"In collaboration with others, seek more effective ways to transmit the contents of social doctrine, not only in the traditional itineraries of Christian formation and education of all kinds and at all levels, but also in the great centres where world thought is forged - such as the organs of the lay press, universities and economic and social study centres - which in recent times have come into being in every corner of the earth".

MESS/ VIS 20101104 (450)

Published by VIS - Holy See Press Office - Thursday, November 04, 2010

Memoirs of Mary

If Mary had a diary, what a story it would tell! My biggest complaint about the Bible is the lack of information about Mary, her days of raising the young Savior.  We know she held all the truths about her divine son in her heart, that she followed Him throughout his ministry leading up to his death and resurrection, but what were her thoughts?

Dear Diary, today I was visited by an angel, he told me that I shall bear a child.  What is Joseph to think?  How do I tell him, what will he say?  I shall serve God as he wills, but I am so frightened!

Dear Diary, Joseph needs some time to think about things, he's very upset.  God, please don't desert me now, I will do your will, but what about Joseph?  Please help him understand and trust me.

Dear Diary, Joseph loves me and will stay by my side!  He had a dream and an angel told him about your plan for me.  Oh thank you so much God for you care and help, thank you so much!

Dear Diary,  The baby kicked for the first time today, how amazing this new life is!  I am feeling a bit better today and can finally feel the miracle the angel told me would be happening soon.  I trust God and an am strengthened by his constant love.

Dear Diary, this trip is long and cold.  Joseph is patient, but tired of the travel as I am. Hopefully, when we get to Bethlehem we will find a place to sleep.  I am so exhausted, the baby should come soon.  I'm not ready because of this trip. I must not slip in my trust in God, He knows how things will go....I must keep my faith!  I'm so tired!

Dear Diary, Praise God he is born!  We are fine, it wasn't too bad, but I am glad that it's over.  Oh the baby is so sweet and beautiful.  Joseph was so good and helpful.   Many shepherds are coming and angels are everywhere.  What God has done!


What do you think Mary wrote?