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A thought on January 29th Readings

Being told by a dear one a few years ago, that she didn't need a book to tell her how to live a good life, I can't stop thinking that contained in the Bible is rich and perfect guidance that no human could come up with alone. There are parables to answer any situation's dilemma and a clear-cut rule of how to conduct ourselves on a daily basis. Yes, one can be good from life's experiences, knowing what outcomes to avoid and when to duck from trouble or danger; but the wisdom behind these lessons gives depth and encouragement.


The first reading from the Old Testament Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13 calls out to us to be humble and seek the Lord, to seek justice, humility and hope to be sheltered from the Lord's anger.  That God will leave a
people humble, trustworthy to care for us.  Psalm 146 concretes how the Lord cares for His people.  The Old Testament readings are calling out to us the Lord loves us and will care for us.

The New Testament answers the Old Testament in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 that WE are those humble and common people chosen, not by our brains, wisdom, money, or place in society, to care for our brothers and sisters; and that we need to give all the glory to God.  For it is not by us or any human effort that chose us, no merit of ours brought us here, just God.  For the pure reason that no one is better over another, all gifts are from God alone!

To further this, Jesus teaches how we are to live, how we will be rewarded by our lives, what is expected of us.  The Beatitudes are our go-to rules of the road and fearlessly we can tread along with this book under our arm and faith in our hearts that God has provided for us.

"Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in Heaven."

Theology of the body Thursday

From reading the Wednesday audiences that Pope John Paul II delivered in 1979, I can see how passionate he was about love.  He wanted us to learn to love each other as God planned.  We weren't going at it the right way, love had not been the central theme of our culture for many years, and the pope wanted to show us the path back to having it as the centerpiece of every heart.

Sometimes a subject sounds too complicated, too much to grasp in our busy lives, much like the Theology of the Body.  For years, I knew about it, knew it was important, but with small children at home keeping me pretty busy, I didn't pay any attention.  In fact, I remember saying to myself, "I know I need to read this, but not now."  The thing is Theology of the Body is not complicated at all and today, I can't get enough of it!

Perhaps those of you that are reading this feel that same way.  We are all very busy people!  Children, schools, homeschooling, jobs, careers, there are lots on our plates on a day to day basis; and if you only saw the book, "Man and Woman He Created Them, A Theology of the Body"  with it's 663 pages of content, you'd say Whoa! someday, but not today!  I know, I'm there right with you.  Though I am reading the big book, I started with the book, "The Theology of the body made simple" by Anthony Percy, with just 91 pages.  This one you can do in a week or 2, just bring your highlighter, hehehe.  If you ever borrow a book from me, I'm warning you, there is yellow in the pages.

Do not be discouraged or intimidated by Pope John Paul II's teaching.  This was his passion to teach us to love and be loved...the right way.  To respect each other first, giving dignity to all those around us, first.  When there is respect and dignity, love follows.

News FLASH!! American Approved Apparition!!

By the Grace of God and the Authority of the Apostolic See

Bishop of Green Bay

Decree on the Authenticity of the Apparitions of 1859

at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help

Diocese of Green Bay

 

 

Given That

For over one hundred fifty-one years, a continuous flow of the faithful has come to

Champion, Wisconsin to pray, to seek solace and comfort in times of trouble and
to petition Our Lord Jesus Christ through the powerful intercession to Our Lady of
Good Help.

Incessant prayer has gone up in this place based upon the word of a young Belgian
immigrant woman, Adele Brise, who in October 1859 said that the Blessed
Mother, a Lady clothed in dazzling white, had appeared to her on this site.

Incessant prayer has gone up in this place based upon the word of a young Belgian
immigrant woman, Adele Brise, who in October 1859 said that the Blessed
Mother, a Lady clothed in dazzling white, had appeared to her on this site.

The Lady was elevated slightly in a bright light and gave words of solace and
comfort and a bold and challenging mission for the young immigrant woman. The
Lady gave her a two-fold mission of prayer for the conversion of sinners and
catechesis.

“I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners,
and I wish you to do the same. You received Holy Communion this morning and
that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession and offer
Communion for the conversion of sinners… Gather the children in this wild
country and teach them what they should know for salvation… Teach them their
catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the Cross, and how to approach
the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing, I will help
you.”

More of the decree you can find here.

THEREFORE,

It remains to me now, the Twelfth Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay and the
lowliest of the servants of Mary, to declare with moral certainty and in accord with
the norms of the Church:

that the events, apparitions and locutions given to

Adele Brise in October of 1859 do exhibit the substance of

supernatural character, and I do hereby approve these apparitions

as worthy of belief (although not obligatory)

by the Christian faithful.

I encourage the faithful to frequent this holy place as a place of solace and
answered prayer.

Given at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, Champion, Wisconsin, the eighth

day of December in the year of Our Lord two thousand and ten, the Solemnity of
the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

David L. Ricken

____________________________________________________
His Excellency, Most Reverend David L. Ricken, D.D., J.C.L.
Twelfth Bishop of Green Bay

John F. Doerfler

_______________________________
Chancellor

Youth Turnout Strong at US March for Life 2011!!

WASHINGTON, D.C., JAN. 25, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., had a new energy this year due to a significant youth presence among the hundreds of thousands of protesters.

Each year since the Jan. 22, 1973, Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States, marchers from across the country have taken to the streets in the nation's capital in protest. Although the protest is traditionally held on the anniversary date of the Roe v. Wade decision, this year, since that day fell on a weekend, the March for Life took place on Monday, in order to allow for the interchange of the people with their representative lawmakers.

This year's protest, which drew up to 400,000 people, featured a majority of young people born after the court decision.

One participant, Richard McGill, of Elmira Heights, New York, a regular participant at the annual March for Life since the beginning, told the National Catholic Register that there has been a "dramatic change the last few years."

"Try to find the old-timers," he said. "It's mostly young people now."

McGill added: "Something is going to change sometime. You can see it in the young people."

As is tradition, the march was preceded by a youth rally and Mass on Monday morning. This year, however, a second venue was added to accommodate the growing numbers of young people.

Some 34,000 gathered in the Verizon Center and the D.C. Armory for the rallies, and six additional Masses were held at churches around the capital city.

Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, addressed the youth and shared with them a message from Benedict XVI.

Alive

In his homily at the armory, Father Patrick Riffle, parochial vicar at St. Peter Church in Olney, Maryland, observed the energy in the crowd: "The Church is young; the Church is alive! Man, I love being Catholic!"


He acknowledged that "what we are dealing with here is something much greater than just the issue of abortion."

The priest continued: "It is a state of mind; a way of thinking that fails to recognize the beauty and dignity of the human person. It is a mentality that says that it is all about me."

"If I am only seeking my good, and you are only seeking what is good you, then all we are doing then is simply using each other," he stated. "What we are dealing with is, as the soon to be beatified Pope John Paul II rightfully named it, the culture of death."

Father Riffle explained: "This is the mentality that lies behind violence, terrorism, and discrimination. It is what is behind drug and alcohol abuse, pornography and pre-marital sex and contraception."

"If we are going to rid our nation of the tragedy of abortion," he added, "if we are going to be truly pro-life, we are going to have to rid our society and ourselves of this culture of death."

Pro-Christ

"The Gospel of life is proclaimed first and foremost in the living out of our Catholic faith in daily life," the priest affirmed.

He urged the young people: "If you as a Catholic want to be pro-life, you must be pro-Christ. That means that you must seek to live out your Catholic faith in its entirety."

"The best way that you as young person can really be a living witness to the Gospel of life is through living lives that are chaste and pure," Father Riffle said.

He continued, "Keeping sex within the context of marriage, not viewing pornographic materials, keeping your Facebook page free from inappropriate materials all reaffirm your belief in that the dignity that belongs to each and every person."


"Men, you need to take the charge in this," the priest asserted. "So often the media and advocates for abortion would like to portray life issues as a woman's issues, but it is an issue for both women and men alike."

"We are naturally the protectors of life," he affirmed. "Never do anything that seeks to objectify or lessen the dignity of anyone, yourselves included, but most especially the dignity of a woman."

Changing culture

At the Verizon Center, Father Mark Ivany, parochial vicar at the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Maryland, gave the homily.

He underlined the need to know what it means to be human as God created us, in his image and likeness.

"As Catholics we all know the One who created us, the One who knows us and who loves us," the priest affirmed.

He stated, "We must remember that our mission is not just to change one law in our country; our mission is to change the whole culture of our country."


Father Ivany underlined the need "to create a culture in our country that recognizes and protects human life from conception to natural death, a culture that sees the importance of purity and chastity before marriage and the gift of openness to life in marriage."

"You do this every time we live our lives the way Jesus intended humans to live," he encouraged the youth, "every time you say no to sex before marriage, and yes to purity, every time you say no to materialism and yes to helping the less fortunate, every time you help a friend to say no to abortion, and yes to life, and every time you help someone who has been involved in an abortion to get help."

In this way, the priest said, "you are setting an example that will lead to the end of the culture of death and the beginning to a culture of life, the culture that we were created to live in."


Yes!  we can be culture changers!  I was there, it was beautiful!!

HT:  Zenith.org

The New REvised Roman Missal, Who Prepares it?

If you are like me, I don't just take something for face value, I need to know how and why things come about.  So, consistant with this, I looked up the committees instrumental in the revising and establishment of our Roman Missals then and now, here are my findings:

International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) http://www.icelweb.org

The International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) is a mixed commission of Catholic Bishops' Conferences in countries where English is used in the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy according to the Roman Rite. The purpose of the Commission is to prepare English translations of each of the Latin liturgical books and any individual liturgical texts in accord with the directives of the Holy See.

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (Congregatio de Cultu Divino et Disciplina Sacramentorum) is the congregation of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Catholic Church as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches and also some technical matters relating to the Sacraments. Its functions were originally exercised by the Sacred Congregation of Rites, set up in January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V.

Vox Clara Committee: (Vox is Latin for voice + Clara is Latin for bright, CLEAR) This Committee of Bishops from around the English-speaking world was established by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on July 19, 2001, to advise that Dicastery in its responsibilities related to the translation of liturgical texts in the English language and to strengthen effective cooperation with the Conferences of Bishops. Its inaugural meeting took place from April 22 to April 24 of this year.

Basically, ICEL relies on the two other committees, both part of the Roman Curia, compiled with many experts.  They research the texts, vote on the suggestions, and pass them on to the next committee for their discussion, suggestions, changes, and votes. The committees work together making changes that are more faithful to the original Latin, making text more meaningful. All three committees have experts in language and history that devote their lives to this research, so “the work is good, but some compromises have been made.”


As I read through the changes, some feel awkward, but I understand the changes and they are more biblically accurate. Next week, we will start with the Introductory Rites.

Schedule interrupted for DC trip

Today, I will be taking my 2 daughters and attending the March for Life in Washington, DC with our 2 Catholic schools.  Travel prayers would be appreciated.

My post on the new Roman Missal will be tomorrow, so please look for it midday.

God Bless you, our country, and the babies; especially the millions of holy innocents.

Ebeth

Sunday Snippets

Sunday snippets at RAnn's place, This, that, and the other things.

We are Christ -ians!

This morning I was reviewing the readings for tomorrow's Mass, the second reading: 1 Corinthians 1,10-13,17 is a timely appeal by Paul in our day, especially this week of Christian Unity.

Paul is addressing the news that in Corinth, they are quarreling, and there is division in the Church.  Some are saying that they are Paul's, others are saying they belong to Apollo, others are saying they belong to Cephas, while some are saying they belong to Christ, the division is great with so much to do!

Paul is saying, Come on, guys, stay focused and remember who you are!  You are here because of Christ, He was baptized for us, so He baptizes us!  He was crucified for us!  I am here to proclaim the Gospel in Christ's name as you are!

In today's world, we have our own set of divisions, race, color, creed, sex, and much more.  Sometimes we cannot see past these divisions and we fail to love as God loves us.  When a house is divided, the family crumbles and peace ceases to be. Paul saw this happening in Corinth as it is happening in our own world today.

How can we stay focused on Christ and be Christians?  We are called to be Christ in the world, we are called to be saints, and we are called to be love, God's love to each other.  Mother Teresa talked about looking at each person through love.  She taught that:

"Every human being comes from the hand of God, and we all know something of God's love for us.  Whatever our religion, we know that if we really want to love, we must first learn to forgive before anything else."  ~Mother Teresa

Nothing has changed from Paul's time to today, we are called to be Christians.  We are God's people, God is love.  We are God's love!

Good News About Sex and Mary

This post from Catholic Exchange is by far the most perfect and indisbutable explanation concerning the Virgin Mary and her perpetual virginity. Christine Pinheiro, a student of Theology at Notre Dame, wrote this article Good News About Sex and Mary.

Thank you for such a beautifully written article!

Christian Unity Week: We have so much in common!

Christian unity week, January 18-25 is a shared prayerful week by many denominations around the country desiring unity among all those believers of Christ Jesus and His teachings.  This year they have chosen a theme  "One in the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer," a reference to Acts 2:42: "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."


Actually each day has its own theme for prayer:



•January 18: The Church in Jerusalem.

•January 19: Many Members in One Body.

•January 20: Devotion to the Apostles' Teaching Unites Us.

•January 21: Sharing, an Expression of Our Unity.

•January 22: Breaking the Bread in Hope.

•January 23: Empowered to Action in Prayer.

•January 24: Living in Resurrection Faith.

•January 25: Called for the Service of Reconciliation.

What a beautiful way to spend a week!  Look at these themes, today is "Many Members in One Body", Believers and kindred spirits separated, but living as the Body of Christ on one planet.  How can we talk with each other about Jesus?  By knowing who Jesus is, what He has done for all of us, and what He wants for us as Children of God.  Wow, isn't that enough to bring people together in song and supplication?

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is: Devotion to the Apostles' Teaching Unites Us.  With the New Testament deemed the teaching and instruction manual by so many believers, how can we stay divided over this?  By interpretation, yes, but we still firmly belief the apostles were the authors with God's inspiration.  We can come together in discussion about the ministry Jesus called the apostles for and how amazing His teachings and healings were.  We can share our favorite scriptures and share our insights from the Word, both inspiring each other and encouraging fellowship this week and every week.

Thursday's theme is: Sharing, an Expression of Our Unity.  As mentioned above, we can share our favorite references in the Bible, favorite prayers, and believe it or not, the rosary is respected by many non-Catholics.  I recently learned this for myself as a small group of moms met to pray the rosary for our new Catholic high school and one of the moms is not Catholic, but wanted to sit and listen to the prayers.  She teared up as she told us later that her daughter was planning on coming into the Catholic Church this Easter and she was so proud of her.  We all teared up and hugged her!  The rosary made her feel closer to how her daughter felt about the Church.  Wow.


Friday's theme is "Breaking the Bread in Hope" do you see a thread connecting these themes by now?  We found a sign of hope in praying the rosary in our little group the other day, hope that we can all respect each other, love our sameness and respect the differences.  All we have to do is find the two and begin to know each other as believers of Jesus Christ and our Triune God!

Saturday's theme is:  "Empowered to Action in Prayer" Prayer, don't we all pray some way?  Beit rote prayers, supplications, meditation, just off-the-cuff conversations, or on our knees in a secret moment alone with our Lord we all pray, acknowledging that He is our God and we love and need Him.  We can certainly have a discussion about this, can't we?

Sunday's theme is:  "Living in Resurrection Faith"  Jesus was the first to overcome death, giving us hope of salvation and eternal life, with this hope, faith grows.  Everyone who believes that Jesus rose from the dead and will come again has something to share with others.  Last year, I attended the "March for Life" in Washington, DC with my oldest daughter, during Mass with our diocese, I was caught up by the mozaic behind the altar called , "Christ in Majesty".  My breath was taken away as I realized how strong and powerful he was portrayed as newly risen and glorified after the horrific torture and death He endured for us.  Surely we have this in common with believers worldwide!

Monday's theme is:  "Called for the Service of Reconciliation"  Forgiveness is a tough one for many of us, but we are asked to forgive our trespasses(debtors) as we forgive those who trespass against us, aren't we?  In the most perfect prayer that Jesus Himself taught us, we are called to forgive.  God tells us that our sins are thrown into the sea, so why should we think we are ammune to this task?  Maybe the first part of this task is to forgive ourselves.  As Catholics we have the sacrament of reconciliation to our avail.  We can go every week (like they used to!!) and continually work on being forgiven, so that we will be able to forgive others.  It is far easier to smile than frown, bitterness and anger grow deeper and stronger with the lack of forgiveness.  Prayer, once again and a good conversation with Jesus can help us reach forgiveness.

Spend some time in prayer and conversation with a brother or sister in Christ this week, you may have more in common than you know.   It all starts with a smile and 'hello.

HT:  Scott at Catholic.about.com

The Revised Roman Missal: changes are a-coming around the mountain!!

We are what we are, people of habit.  There is no way around it, when it comes to making a change from something that has been done for years it is going to be a job getting everyone to participate.  The Mass has been changed in the past, I was there as a very young child, but I do remember saying the Mass in Latin.  It was mysterious, but reverent and spiritual to me.  That was some 40 years ago and it's time for some updating and reverting back to a more biblically based set of responses and prayers.

To help you get through this change, there is a great booklet, "Understanding the Revised Mass Texts" can help for a very small price of $1.25 plus shipping.  I've read it and will share some highlights from this publication with you each week.  I encourage you to purchase this booklet, it should probably be available at all the parishes for their parishoners to purchase.

The Catholic Church is ever changing and discovering itself in how she teaches and brings forth the mission Christ designed her for. No dogma or teachings are changed, no! Just how it is brought to the people.  As a living, human entity, the Catholic Church is constantly learning about the past and ways to reach the people of God.  To quote this booklet:

"The third edition of the Roman Missal in Latin was published in 2002.  Our current translation dates to 1973, and some parts of the Mass first appeared in English as early as 1970.  After a generation of usage, the translation we know well is being revised to reflect the current Latin edition.

Translators now have a better sense of how to achieve desired results.  They have a firmer grasp of the meaning of the original texts and of the demands of oral proclamation.  The revised translations will have more depth.  As people say and hear the new words, they should appreciate even more the value of the faith they hold so dear."

I completely agree after reading these changes, I can't wait to share more with you.  Until next week.

The Old Testament calls out and the New Testament answers back!

Our Lord calls out to us from the Old Testament, "You are mine and I will give you my salvation which reaches to the ends of the earth.  Our strength is His strength and in his sight we are glorious.  Enlightened we are sent forth to all the tribes of Jacob to restore the hope of the people in God and His mighty desire for us to know Him and His Kingdom.

Through Psalm 40, the Lord tells us He wants us, not our things of sacrifice, no burnt offerings; just that His will, "should be our delight."  Open obedience, He has greater plans for us, with His strength.  We can do all things with the strength of our Lord, we are assured.

In Corinthians, Paul answers back from the pages of the New Testament, acknowledgement of God as He who has sanctified us as Jesus Christ.  Called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, he sends greetings to all in Corinth and beyond his time to us in the far future.  The Bible, never out-dated, shares the message of the Kingdom of God to all peoples, all of God's children.

And, we shall not restrain our lips!

Getting Organized at the "Pillars"

This morning I needed to be at the Church early, it ended up that I had more time than I thought between Masses.  Needing to spend some time with our Lord, I sat in the sanctuary for some quiet time.  Lately, it has been troubling that there is no concrete direction with the 'Pillars' and it's eating at me.  There is so much I want to share, so much that is going on around us that the Catholic Church can help with.  There is just so much out there to talk about, give direction on, and inspire perhaps.  Confusion and overwhelming feelings have brought me to this point of complete desparation, so I need to get organized.

Quietly, my head began to clear and solid ideas were coming in strong: give each day an assignment and work on only one book.  So from this day forward, each day of the week will cover a topic, God will help me stay organized, I certainly can't do it.

Sundays I should really stay off the computer, but today I have something to share from my quiet time.

Mondays will cover the new Revised Mass texts coming up this November

Tuesdays:  Teaching, as a master catechist, I need to teach

Wednesday:  Open mic

Thursdays:  Theology of the Body stuff

Friday:  Faith and Morals and maybe some food thoughts

Saturday:  Sunday readings

Prayers are always welcome!

Blessings!
Ebeth

From my iPhone I post a thought

It is my deepest desire right to write
about John Paul II's work, "Man and Woman; God created them."
During this study, I quickly learned
That our purpose in life and the roles
That each of us play on society is very
Specific, deliberate, and imperative
To the success of each other.

As we have found in the study of the
eco-system, each living organism
has a purpose, a specific job to do.
If one organism is lost, it creates
A void, confusion and an imbalance in
the whole system, which can and has been
proven to be detrimental to the rhythm of creation.

It is so far evolving rather quickly this morning.....

Understanding the Revised Roman Missal, Part 1 by Diocese of Buffalo, NY

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii: Confronting Dissent

Is your parish Catholic enough? Check this out: A Catholic Mom in Hawaii: Confronting Dissent

Always know that Jesus is with you!

Never think for one solid moment that Jesus is not with you.  Before you, beside you, beneath you.  He is there with and for you.

It is your decision to keep this in mind.  On my bike one day, I thought about God for a moment and as I realized that I was thinking about Him, I decided that it was important to remember to think about God tomorrow and every day.  Not sure how old I was, but I was still loving my bike and riding it all the time, maybe 8 or 10 years old?

God has been in my head ever since and I plan on remembering Him tomorrow too.

You?

What grabbed me in todays readings.

"What is man that you are mindful of Him,

or the son of man that you care for Him?

You made Him for a little while lower than the angels,

you crowned Him with glory and honor,

subjecting all things under His feet."

A requested post about the List of 3..er 5 people in history

Last week I had a discussion with my youngest as we drove around doing errands.  The question, what 3 people in history (which turned into 5 persons) would you like to have a 30 minute discussion with turned out some very interesting names from my 14 year old as seen here.  Evan, from evanscove suggested that I post about this list of names, its simple really.

1.  Her first choice is the Women's Sufferage hero, Ms. Alice Paul.  Back in 2008, prior to the election, still homeschooling, I planned a lesson about the struggles women had to go through just to be able to vote.  As we studied about Women's Sufferage, we began to learn about the heros of this fight.   Evidently, Ms. Paul left enough of an impression on my youngest for her write an historic paper on Alice Paul: Women's Sufferage, last fall for school getting to know her further and voila, she would like to have a nice chat with her.

2.  CS Lewis was second on her list since reading the Chronical of Nania and loving the stories.

3. As homeschoolers, curriculum is fair game to the parents, which can be designed according to their students' interest.  As our oldest daughter was getting bored with the history books in her 8th grade year, I decided to change things up a bit and have her study a president each week.  This way she can get to at least # 32 and the historical events surrounding these gentlemen.  We also took a constitution course  last year.  As our youngest watched her sister's admiration for Gen/Pres. Washington grow even to the point that we took a trip to DC for her to visit Mt. Vernon, evidently it rubbed off enough to have George Washington make the third slot.  Incidently, Washington was born the day after our oldest daughter and died on the younger's birthday......hmmm.

4.  Mr. Tolkien was chosen in the 4th slot as she absolutely loves the Hobbit, and is reading "The Lord of the Rings" right now.  I think that it is also that he and CS Lewis were dear friends could certainly be playing a part in this list.

5. Jesus made it, whew!  Actually, I understand why He is 5th, she thought for a minute and had an "Aha!" moment and said, "Jesus!" 

Note:  Not exactly where she got the information on Benjamin Franklin, but I think I'd still like to talk to him especially about the kite and the key.

Sunday Snippets

Sunday snippets is a great way to find other Catholic bloggers and learn some things.

Blessings!

A REPOST: The Pope's 10 Commandments for drivers and HYPERMILING!!!

Well, here in NC, we are seeing the fuel prices jumping back up to over $3/gallon and I think it's time to revisit my post from June 10, 2008 on hypermiling.  It was great because the pope had just come out with a Ten Commandments of being a considerate driver, so here it goes:
____________________________________________________

Hypermiling is the way to drive now! Believe me when I say this...I got another 93 miles out of my gas tank this time by changing my driving habits; thinking more and accelerating less. My knight has me driving the "family car" which is the popular SUV and more than once I have been told that there is nothing you can do to get more gas mileage out of those things, but alas!

Now what does the pope have to do with my new driving technique? Well, last June he came out with the Ten Commandments for drivers, which I thought was amazingly funny, but needed. As I have been driving along, beaming at the seams and being passed by "gunners" I thought about those ten commendments and thought that they lend to hypermiling. Here's how:

1. You shall not kill.
If you are driving the speed limit or even a tad lower, you have more control of the vehicle and less chance of serious crashes, etc.

2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal
harm.
Again, I say, driving the speed limit or below, not accelerating excessively, and just plain behaving more conscientiously, less chance of mortal harm.

3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
Driving more conscientiously lends to us having more time to plan ahead for up coming lights, turns, pedestrians, bikes, etc.

4. Be charitable and help your neighbour in need, especially victims of accidents.
As we learn to drive more kindly, possibly we would be less road angry and more humane?

5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion
of sin.
Hypermiling is so peaceful! Constantly listening to your engine and driving as smoothly as possible, envisioning all the gas droplets that are NOT going into burn oblivion. The only power and domination one could feel would be triumph over the gas pump and oil companies.

6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not
in a fitting condition to do so.
Hypermiling also makes one think: Do I need to go out today? Is this trip necessary? Can I bum gas money out of mom one more time to go hang with my buddies?

7. Support the families of accident victims.
Hypermiling could very well lead to far less accidents! As we become more aware of our driving techniques and low down, making more time allowances, we can become a nation of peaceful drivers!

8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so
that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
With less and less accidents, more and more calmer drivers, forgiveness is truly possible. More so than ever before are we finding ourselves needing to change the way we think about that common, but necessary thing we do in our daily lives, drive.

9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
Hypermiling is an adjustment, but slowing down, allowing more travel time, and being aware of our technique will be a better thing all around, especially for pedestrians, our children and passengers and cyclists.

10. Feel responsible toward others.
Finally a reason to be responsible drivers, to save money, that's right where it hurts. If by changing our habits and saving money at the pump causes us to slow down and be more kind behind the wheel, than so be it!

No, I am not for raising gas prices, not at all! But, why pout about it when there is a silver lining to this whole thing!!

Pontiff Says Children Bear the Face of God

Brings Gifts to Pediatric Unit at Polyclinic

ROME, JAN. 6, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says he wants children suffering illness to feel the closeness and affection of the Pope. He visited Rome's Polyclinic on the vigil of today's feast of the Epiphany, bearing gifts for the children being treated there.
"Why have I come here amid you today, day in which we begin to celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany?" the Pope asked them. "First of all to say thank you. Thank you, children, who have received me: I want to tell you that I love you and that I am close to you with my prayer and my affection, also to give you strength to face your sickness."
The Holy Father said his visit made him "somewhat like the Magi [… who] took gifts to Jesus -- gold, incense and myrrh -- to manifest to him their adoration and affection. Today, I have also brought some gifts, precisely so that you would feel, through a small sign, the sympathy, closeness and affection of the Pope."
Still, the Pontiff said, the "greatest gift was made by God to each one of us."
"Let us look in the cave of Bethlehem, in the crib, what do we see? Whom do we meet?" he said. "There is Mary, there is Joseph, but above all there is a small child, in need of attention, of care, of love: That child is Jesus, that child is God himself who willed to come on earth to show us how much he loves us; it is God who made himself a child like you to tell you that he is always beside you and to tell each one of us that every child bears his face."
During his visit, Benedict XVI visited the pediatric department on the fifth floor, the center for children with spina bifida, and the neonatal intensive care unit.
He also stopped on the seventh floor for a visit to the Paul VI International Scientific Institute, whose objective is the promotion of responsible procreation. He expressed a special word of encouragement to this initiative, saying it is at the "service of life."


"Thank you again to all!," he concluded. "The Pope loves you!"

A conversation in the Pillars home the other day

My youngest daughter and I were running errands and I thought about it and asked her:

"What 3 people in history would you like to sit down with for a 30 minute conversation?"


Silence for a very short time, then she said: 

"Alice Paul

CS. Lewis

George Washington

"Not Benjamin Franklin, he was a flirt"  Oh, is that my three?

"Ok," I said, "your top 5 people then."

JRR Tokien

and  Jesus"

Wow, I had to give her another two if she didn't want to stop at 3....glad I did!

It's still Christmas, in fact it's The Epiphany of the Lord!

The commercial world does not agree, according to the culture we are now back to normal time...the holiday season is over.  I always feel a huge let down by my surroundings about 5 pm Christmas day.  The music stops, the stores are open, and some families have all the trappings of the morning delight out at the curb - it's all over.

No it's NOT!!  Ignore them, don't strain to see what they got from boxes in front of your neighbor's house, don't listen to the radio as they abruptly switch to regular music around about dinner time on Christmas day.  Don't let them in your world, it's still Christmas until the Baptism of the Lord on Sunday.

In fact, today is the Epiphany of the Lord!!  What is that you ask?  Oh, that's OK, you aren't alone.

The Epiphany of the Lord

According to the Webster's dictionary:
 Epiphany comes from the Greek word epiphaneia, appearance to show forth, manifest < epi - upon and phainein - to show
1. an appearance or manifestation of a god or other supernatural being.

2. in many Christian churches, a yearly festival, held January 6, commemorating both the revealing of Jesus as the Christ to the Gentiles in the persons of the Magi and the baptism of Jesus; also called TWELFTH DAY  and;

3. a moment of sudden intuitive understanding; flash of insight b) a scene, experience, etc. that occasions such a moment - epiphanic.

Christ made Himself known to the world in several ways, but this day acknowledges 3 specific events:

Visit of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12): Worldly royalty met the Christ child on bended knee, with gifts in hand.  They knew He was bigger than they and their presence revealed this epiphany

Baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:9-11),  Coming forth from the Jordan waters, God Himself speaks to those around this event telling the world "This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased."^[.  Well, I don't need an elephant to fly over me on this one!

The miracle at Cana (John 2:1-11):  Christ's mother, Mary, instructed him to make things happen to provide more wine to save the groom embarrassment.  She knew who He was and it was time for him to take the reigns.  Wish I could have tasted that wine!

Think about these events in Salvation history and seek your own epiphany about Christ and your relationship with Him.

It's still Christmas and we can still give gifts, give one to yourself.  Christ

Let us pray.

On this day, Lord God
by a guiding star you revealed your Only-begotten Son
to all the peoples of the world.
Lead us from the faith by which we know you now
to the vision of your glory, face to face.
Through Christ our Lord.

Amen
http://www.universalis.com/

Miracle approved for beatification of John Paul II

This is wonderful news!!

Miracle approved for beatification of John Paul II

Let's start this new year in Prayer.....

Did you know that prayer doesn't mean having to stop everything and getting out a book, or having to come up with something formally well rounded that makes sense?  Did you know that prayer is as simple as talking to your next-door neighbor (who does THAT anymore!) or a co-worker?  Absolutely!  For the most part off-the-cuff conversations are as important as formal prayer.  Length doesn't matter either, just being in communication with our heavenly Father is what Paul talked about in 1 Thes 5: 16 Always rejoice. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In all things give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all.

As a lecturer, I developed a presentation on prayer a year ago and during my research found several good resources that can help one in their journey toward a more fulfilling prayer life without the guilt that enough isn't being done.  One prayer that we Catholics do without even thinking in a matter of seconds is not considered a prayer at all, but is. Here is an excerpt from my talk about this simple gesture...er.. prayer:

The sign of the Cross:

We Catholics make the sign of the Cross so many times that possibly it’s lost its powerful message. There’s a book written entirely on this prayer by, Burt Ghezzi, called ‘The Sign of the Cross: Recovering the Power of the Ancient Prayer.” In it, Ghezzi says that there are six reasons to make the sign of the Cross



1. It’s the mini Creed – as the creed is the profession of our faith in the Triune God, declaring our belief in Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit and what He has done for us, Creation, redemption, and establishing the Church. We are making ourselves aware of God’s presence.

2. A renewal of our baptism; making the sign of the cross reminds us of our own baptism that we died with Christ on the cross and rose with Him in new life sacramentally. We are asking for graces to continue in the role collaborating with Christ in rescuing our brothers and sisters from sin and death.

3. The sign of the cross is the mark of discipleship; when we make this sign we affirm our loyalty to God and denying that we belong to ourselves. That we are His soldiers commissioned to work with Him in advancing His kingdom on earth.

4. It’s an acceptance of suffering. Jesus promised us that suffering would be a normal part of a disciple’s life (Lk 9:23-24), at the same time, it comforts us with the realization that Jesus, who endured the cross for us, now supports us and we should celebrate this in this prayer

5. The Sign of the Cross is a 2-edged move against the devil. On one level, making this sign is a defensive move declaring that we won’t be swayed by the evil influences and on another level it is an offense weapon helping us advance the kingdom of God together with Christ and the Holy Spirit

6. The sign of the cross is a victory over the flesh. In the New Testament the word flesh sums up all the evil inclination of our old nature even after our baptism, but making the sign expresses our decision to crucify these desires of the flesh and to live by the spirit. Our Church Fathers taught that the Sign of the Cross diffused the force of powerful temptations such as anger and lust.

Now for the exercise: Everybody make the sign of the cross with me six times as I apply each time one of the perspectives:


1. First, sign yourself professing your faith

2. Second, mark yourself remembering that you died with Christ in Baptism

3. Third, make the sign to declare that you belong to Christ as His disciple and will obey Him.

4. Fourth, sign yourself to embrace whatever suffering comes and to celebrate your suffering with Christ the Church.

5. Fifth, make the Sign of the Cross as a defense against the devil and as an offensive advance of God’s kingdom against him.

6. Finally, make the sign to crucify your flesh and put on Christ and His behaviors.
Go through these six signings often in your daily prayer and watch the grace flow through this ancient sacramental in the days to come. Maybe the next time you need to count to 10, you could count to 6 with the Sign of the Cross prayer.

Now, I hope, I have given you something to think about!

Prayers to you!

Books, books, and MORE books!!

Books, books, and so many more books!!  How many books can I be working on at one time?  My deepest desire this year is to learn all there is to learn about Pope John Paul II's Theology of the body, this is a VERY important teaching, but along with that, I want to read both Dr Alice and Dietrich von Hildebrand's works.

There are 2 books in my mind to write that are in the works, too.

So much to read, learn, teach, and do and I still have kids at home and a wonderful husband to care for...

Oh, I didn't get a Nook for Christmas either, but I did buy my son's old iPhone 3G 2nd generation and think there are some book apps I should consider getting.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Blessings!
Ebeth

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE PILLAR FAMILY

Here's a prayer for our world for

PEACE

LOVE

MORE PRAYING

LESS FIGHTING

PROTECTING LIFE FROM WOMB TO TOMB

PROTECTING MORALITY

PROTECTING RELIGION

PROTECTING FAMILIES

Dear Lord, Scoop us up into your loving hands and hold us tight in your love!