Awareness of Prayer

Picture by Marie Rose Ferron

I awoke this morning saying the Hail Mary, even before I got out of bed and the Our Father soon after. I closed the dishwasher this morning and thought, "Thanks be to God." I find that wherever I turn I am often "turning" in prayer. I think of my children and offer a prayer. I think of my mother and offer a prayer. When I spoke to Rita last night, for the first time in a long time, I was joy-filled and thanked God again.

I realize that my life is a prayer. Sometimes I am aware of it more than I am at other times, but a prayer none-the-less. If only I could avoid those times when my life is void of prayer for that is the time when temptation and sin intrude. Oh, that they might go away!!!!!

I am encouraged by the words of Saint Faustina.

...Today, I was undergoing the Passion of Jesus for a longer time, and thus I saw that many souls were in need of prayer. I feel that I am being completely transformed into prayer in order to beg God's mercy for every soul. O my Jesus, I am receiving You into my heart as a pledge of mercy for souls. [996]

I can only pray that my humble prayers will be of value to those who receive them whether they know it or not. I can only show my sincere gratitude to my Savior in prayer and deed, and when the deeds fail then only in prayer!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

Holy Visitor

I am visited often in the darkness of my soul by the Holy Visitor. He brings me the light of grace. This light brightens my life and gives me hope. He brings with him love that nourishes my soul and gives me the courage to go on. He sees my imperfections and loves me all the same. Having him enter my soul and by making him welcome is the highlight of my life.

Knowing he lives in me and that I carry him wherever I go causes me to frequently pause and thank the Father for sending His Son, the Holy Visitor. I am immanently aware of his presence everyday and even more so when I cause the light of His grace to dim when I am less his friend and more the friend of the "unholy visitor." I am disappointed in myself, but am once again consoled by Him-Who-Is-Holy and am assured that I am worth it.

All praise and glory to the name of Jesus through the Father and the Holy Spirit who provide this grace, this holy light to my soul!

~~~^j^~~~

Truly and sincerely,
Thanks be to God!!!

One Thousand Gifts

Gifts
Precious Treasures
Given with love, affection
Welcomed with open arms and love
Presents

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1) Gift of my birth. To never have experienced life is unimaginable.

2) Gifts of my children. Each is a different face of God.

3) Cousin Pat. No longer with us but she was a wonderful role model

4) Ron, the faithful husband of 41 years. True gift of love.

5) Gift of health. May it never be taken for granted.

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God

Strength In Numbers

There is an old saying that there is strength in numbers. To stand alone for a cause is hard, but to stand with a group gives us bravado, purpose and identity. Jesus knew that. He knew that his mission would be accomplished more easily if many individuals banded together as one body to give strength and support to one another.

3-Minute Retreat
Loyola Press

As I listened to the web cast last night on Stop the Abortion Mandate, I became very aware that I was part of a larger group of people whose voice is being heard by those who will formulate a health care plan that will serve all people of this nation. While I was listening to the speakers it became clear that if 36,000 people can gather in prayer in their homes to promote LIFE then we can touch others in the same manner by gathering together in the name of God to prevent any further causes that would diminish the value of human life.

It was clear in what was said that if the health care plan succeeds, not only will the unborn be allowed to die through INCREASED funding, the elderly will be allowed to die due to LACK of funding. And all because there is no statement in the health care law that will make it understood that abortion will not be funded through the plan. Omission of these words, in the law, by not specifically saying "No abortion funding" will make it so.

Certainly, in many aspects life is not fair as some claim. But we are those with a voice who can speak out. Maybe because we care for others we can make life more fair for those in need. If, through the voice of many, we can stop the funding of abortion then we will also be able to promote a better quality of life for the aging.

It seems that the health care plan is not focused on improving the quality of life. It appears to be more intent and funding death. The focus is on terminating the life of an innocent before it is born and extinguishing the light of those who are still able to contribute but are older. If you allow enough people to die, unborn and born, there will be no one left to support and pay for the health care of the rest.

If we do not stand up for those who need us to defend them because they have no voice then we have failed as believers in Christ. God creates us, and in his time, not ours, he will bring us home. We have no right to end lives before they are destined for God.

The voices of many can make a difference. I truly believe this. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God we will prevail. I really have hope that diligence will win out. For 30+ years the road has been long but perhaps this peaceful uprising will bring the importance of life for EVERYONE to bear and LIFE will WIN!!!

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Thanks be to God,
Through the power of the Holy Spirit
In Christ Jesus!

Rainy Days and Mondays

Today is gloomy, gray and rainy. Sadly, that is how I felt when I got up, gloomy and gray. It seems the environment had encouraged these feelings. You know, I have no reason to feel this way. I have no feelings of anxiety, tension, or sadness. In fact, the opposite is true. Life is good! The grass is green and the roses are blooming. Duchess is napping at my feet and Sam is asleep in his favorite chair. It's quiet and peaceful in this rain, yet I feel "gloomy."

And so in seeking consolation in this "rainy world" I'm in, I picked up Pope John Paul II: His Essential Wisdom, edited by Carol Kelly-Gangi.

And he said to me,

In prayer we express to God our feelings, our thought, our sentiments. We wish to love and to be loved, to be understood and to understand. Only God loves us perfectly, with an everlasting love. In prayers, we open our hearts and our minds to this God of love. And it is prayer that makes us one with the Lord. Through prayer we come to share more deeply in God's life and in his love.

Speech to Youth
New Orleans, 1987

And so with this encouragement and incentive I will attend to the projects of this seemingly gloomy day with prayer and thanksgiving. It is certain to brighten my corner of the world. I prayer your corner of the world is brightened by the love of God!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

Abandonment to God's Providence

I am always astounded every time I am lead to a new prayer. Today before Mass I was saying my prayers in the Daily Roman Missal. This short prayer, almost hidden among the other, and missed by me for who knows how long, was gifted to me today.

My Lord and my God; into your hands I abandon the past and the present and the future, what is small and what is great, what amounts to a little and what amounts to a lot. Things temporal and thing eternal. Amen.

St. Josemaria Escriva,
The Way of the Cross
7th Station
Point for meditation #3
Princeton, NJ, Scepter Publishers, 1976

I don't know why I should be surprised, but I am none-the-less. "Give it up, Cathy. Let me surprise you!" he seems to say. Yet, I do worry about tomorrow. I fret about what I cannot fix.

Please God, increase my trust in you!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God

Latin, the Living Language

Numquam minus solus, quam cum solus
"Never less alone than when alone"
John Henry Cardinal Newman

When one is alone, one can invite into his life anyone he wishes.

Alone, we have the opportunity to invite God into the silence. When we open our hearts in faith to that presence of God, we can also do something quite paradoxical. Alone with God we can tap the reality of any and every person and every situation in the world.

This is why contemplative life is dedicated so much to the benefit of the world. This is why those behind the walls, so to speak, are so much for those who live outside of them in the world. They invite them in.

We are never really alone when we see with the eyes of faith. If we do not perceive this truth we then need to join the prayer of the two blind men of Jericho, "Lord, let our eyes be opened?(Matthew 20:33).

Latin Sayings for Spiritual Growth
by Archabbot Lambert Reilly, O.S.B.

As I sit here alone and in the quiet I, indeed, understand what Archabbot Reilly is saying. It's my opportunity to feel who I am. I'm not bombarded by telephones, voices on all sides, TV and sundry other distractions and temptations. It's just me alone, yet not alone.

Closing my eyes and breathing evenly, not letting anything else enter my thoughts, I find calm and serenity, true gifts of the Holy Spirit. Grace is given to start another day with a feeling of confidence and joy, that is not always the way I begin a day.

Perhaps this is the beginning of my first real lesson in learning that being alone can be quiet and I can be with the Lord. And even if my mind wanders aimlessly, Jesus doesn't care as long as I am wandering with him.

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

There are days when I don't think I'm very special. Those days when I lose my temper over petty things, cleaning up a mess in the kitchen while others are playing or having to do laundry at work because no one else will. I'm a great fan of the "Pity Party." The truth is I really feel awful when I do this. I don't like ME at all when I do this. And no one notices the "pucker lip" or pouty face. They have their own problems...Why do I do it then? I guess it's because Satan gets his greatest pleasure out of seeing me unhappy! And I buy into HIS happiness. SHAME on ME!!!!!

Today I will try very hard to remember that "God Thinks I'm Special" and show the rest of those around me that I BELIEVE it!!! I will do the laundry with a smile and do the dishes humming a tune. God loves me and Satan doesn't. That makes all the difference in the world!!!!!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

God In All His Glory

"This is a view to which nothing needs to be added...
This scenery satifys my soul."
~Isabelle Bird~
A Lady's Life In the Rocky Mountains, 1879

When you travel this glorious earth you can only imagine what heaven will be like. God in his infinite wisdom as gifted us in so many ways. He gives us all glimpses along the way. When I was standing in the midst of the mountains Friday, it occurred to me that this is heaven, if we choose to allow Him to make it so.

Yet, some never see the beauty in it all. We are far too busy to grasp the wonder of it all sometimes. Why am I so busy?

This is something upon which I will need to ponder.

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!!!

Reflection

The sky is overcast here today. Not a gloomy sky, just overcast. It causes me to reflect on why it is that gray skies cause lethargy and an overall feeling of I-don't-want-to-do-anything.

Sunny skies always cause me to feel cheery and invigorated. I want to move about and get things done. I have a positive attitude and am uplifted by the glory of the day.

As I thought about this I realized this is the state of my soul in sin. When in sin my soul is overcast and gloomy. It's an I-don't-want-to-do-anything soul. I am not a productive Christian in this state. I can't be a witness to others as I can't take care of me.

Enter the Sacrament of Reconciliation. By simply opening my soul to the grace of God by ridding it of the sin that causes this Christian lethargy, we open our soul to the warmth and sunshine of God's priceless gift of grace.

It's so easy to rid ourselves of that unholy lethargy. All we need to do is avail ourselves of this most important sacrament.

You know, just knowing I am privileged to have this gift offered allow the sun in the window of the soul.

~~~^j^~~
Thanks be to God!!!

The Grandeur of God

It is always awe-inspiring for me to witness the Nature of God, for nature is of God. Traveling by air my be short and timesaving but it is no substitute for travel by automobile through this grand country of ours. We have seen antelope, prairie dogs, wild flowers, mountains, and rocky cliffs. We have seen the vast expanse of the Great Plains and the magnificent beauty it has to offfer.

It's important that wherever one lives to witness the work of the hands of the one who formed and shaped it. Then with all sincerity thank God heartily!!!!

I cannot take this gift for granted. A gift of the Creator! God Bless America! God bless this spectacular world!!!!!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!