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The will of God is prime spiritual real estate.  It is the safest, most secure “place” in which a person can dwell. In order to live within this refuge, however, we must embrace its walls.  The primary perimeters of God's will are not at all hard to find. They are revealed in Scripture and outlined clearly in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.   Because God loves us, He has set these boundaries in place for our security, and He has generously revealed them to us.... (continue)

I'll be giving up skydiving for Lent again this year: also mountain climbing, another activity I am profoundly unqualified for and uninterested in. ( February 13, 2013 ) So, what am I doing for Lent? Some folks in my circles are going offline for Lent — refraining from socializing online. That's a good idea: but I won't be changing my online habits. Not much, anyway.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I can't believe how long it has taken me to write this post, nor how soon it is until Ash Wednesday. We all know that it is customary to give something up for Lent, but before we choose what that is this year, I wanted to share some different perspectives on "giving up" that will bring us closer to the LORD. Here they are in seven quick takes. Source 1 Look beyond chocolate and soda. Give up those bad habits. We all have them. Lent is the perfect time to refocus our lives off of our selves and onto God. Nail biting and chewing on pen caps aren't sins, but they are bad habits that are controlling you instead of the other way around.  Practicing self denial not only reigns in your impulses and ground you in more conscious behavior. While it may seem woeful to live without ice cream for forty days, finally kicking that habit will be harder but more fulfilling. Being conscious of your every behavior affords the ability to put God first in all things because you

DNA evidence in a court case isn't new: but deer DNA in a poaching trial is. Less than two decades after a cloned sheep 's birth, British Members of Parliament okayed human cloning: using DNA from three people. Scientists who think this is a good idea may be right: at least for some versions of the new tech. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

The video and Sr. Helen Burns' perspective is worth seeing and reading. You can view the video and get the link to Sister's review at Being Catholic ... Really .

Of course,  that veil has to be pink! I've decided that during the season of Lent, I will use a chapel veil in Church. Believe me, this takes me back to pre-Vatican 2 years. It was during this time that all women wore head coverings when at church. A woman could wear a hat, a veil, or a small chapel veil. It seems that the older I get, the more I long for the older ways.   Read More at:: His Unending Love

The Social Media Coordinator of Ascension Press wondered if I would share a video entitled "I Will Follow" to get young men excited about the priesthood. It is part of their larger Mass education program called "Altaration" which they have designed specifically for teens. Ascension has already attracted over 100k views on Facebook for their videos. I loved it. + When I agreed to post it, I was delighted with their Social Media Coordinator's response.I will end this short post with his words ringing in your mind, heart and prayers. Awesome! If we get even one vocation from this project we will consider it a success. Watch  their short film calling young men to consider the priesthood. See why it has already received over 95k views. Learn more about the project at  WillYouFollow.com.    

About a month ago I wrote an essay and submitted it.  Last weekend, I auditioned for  Listen to Your Mother. You can read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .

Christ as Saviour , El Greco,  National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh  Web Gallery  Gospel   Mark 1:40-45  ( New RSV, Catholic Ed. , Can.)   A leper   came to Jesus begging him, and kneeling   he said to him, “If you choose, you can make me clean.”   Moved with pity,   Jesus   stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean!”   Immediately the leprosy   left him, and he was made clean.    After sternly warning him he sent him away at once,   saying to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”   But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus   could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter . Dr Carlo Urbani with his wife Giuliana Chiorrini and their children Towards the end of February 2003 Dr Carlo Urbani, an

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'There is no greater joy on earth than to be chosen by our Lord to co-operate with Him in the sanctification of souls.' Dom Marmion (from The Breadbox Letters)

The fleeting dream that eludes many of us is happiness. We are running around, miserable in our insular little worlds, only catching glimpses of the world around us through dung coloured glasses. The solution to our dilemma is easy. . Stop. Take off our dung coloured lenses. Look. Appreciate. I discovered a secret after years of mothering my tiny children. They taught me to take my eyes off my exhaustion and to take delight in the plethora of tiny details all around me. Little kids are born with a sense of wonder and the ability to enjoy little things. My daughter’s retain an appreciation for detail; they all remember the little things. continue

Most of our lives are spent carrying out necessary routines: eating, doing dishes, washing, cleaning, driving, and (hopefully) exercising. If we work, our job might be quite ordinary, menial, or boring. Day follows day, and we don’t expect to ever appear on the evening news for an act of heroism. Neither do we expect to be canonized. Take heart! While researching the lives of saints, I found that several of them bear witness to and teach that holiness can come from simply living a normal life faithfully. click to continue

At the end of this month, I will be going to New York with my daughter for nine days!  My daughter is friends with a family that she used to babysit for here in Chicago.  When they moved to New York last summer, they invited her to come stay with them.  It was a "working vacation."  She helped with the kids, but during her time off she became a tourist.  It was amazing to get her texts and pics as she navigated that humongous city all by herself! You can read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .

Getty Images Dear friend, Your heart is broken. You feel abandoned and weak, a shadow of your former lively self. I have been praying for you. At church this weekend, we prayed Psalm 147, and these verses leaped out at me, sounding so applicable to you, my friend: The Lord heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He tells the number of the stars; he calls each by name. I guess I've never thought about every star having a name, but there we have it: "He tells the number of the stars; he calls each by name." So the stars have names. What's more, God  calls  them by their names, implying that the stars respond. The stars are in relationship with God. Not just cold, mechanical constellations that guide navigation, stars have a sort of life and dignity, simply because God makes them and calls to them. Please join me at Praying with Grace for more. As I repeated the Psalm response after the cantor, I wondered how calling stars by nam

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Have you ever really paid attention to your vocabulary? Does it match your faith life? Or is your faith life a bit stalled and you wonder how to jumpstart it? Your vocabulary is the key to it all and understanding these five simple words can drastically change your life. Word One:  Disordered Our world gets a bit crazier every day. More things take up our time and energy and consequently leave us less time for God. Our dreams, desires and longings get caught up in the ways that we experience the world. So, instead of dreaming God’s dreams for our lives, we live with and pursue disordered dreams and desires. We keep ourselves on Satan’s treadmill where our disordered existence exhausts us and steals our joy. “Lord, remove the disordered desires from my mind and heart so that I may experience your peace and dream your dreams for my life. Do not allow the illusions of the evil one to infiltrate my heart or mind where I unwittingly allow them to undermine or repl

1) "Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,      they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary,      they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40: 31 Friday is a good day.  It's the end of the work week for many people.  The weekend becomes a time of renewal.  God is our strength and He renews us.  For this I am thankful. 2) " He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end." Ecclesiastes 3: 11 Read More at:  His Unending Love

Beginning with a riddle... " What Am I? I’ve been considered the center, while holding many seats. In need of silence to hear. I reveal your emotions & intellect, both the physical & the spiritual.   You might swear with me… Some will cross me.  I could melt… or become hardened. Sometimes real… or not. Restless when wrong. Cured when open.     Could sing for you. Yet best at keeping beat. Heavy or broken at times. Despised, pierced, forgotten…  Though without me, there is no life! Still humble, I am. What Am I… to you? " Do you know? …Do you know? Hope you'll c ome see... a paint-by-numbers picture (in need of change), key factors (both physical & spiritual)...  along with LOTS of saintly quotes on….. you know what. ;)   A Matter of Life! >> Click Here to Read More at: The Way to Nourish for Life >>

A most unusual idea inspired by the actor, Alec McGowan, hit the London stage in the 1970s, when, in a personal tour de force, he rendered the whole of St Mark’s Gospel. Against all predictions he performed to a full house night after night. When the same thing happened in New York, where it was performed at the Marymount Manhattan and Playhouse theatres, a Catholic impresario had an idea. He approached Kieron Moore, who had made a name for himself playing Count Vronsky in the film version of Anna Karenina, opposite Vivien Leigh. He asked Moore, who was a devout Catholic, if he would ‘star’ in a similar stage production, but this time in a rendering of St John's final discourse of Jesus at the Last Supper. “It cannot be done,” said Moore, “And it most certainly will not be attempted by me. Only one person could utter such deep and profound mystical truths, and that is Jesus himself, and when they are read they can only be read and understood by those who are inspired by the same

The Dolors of Mary give me such food for pondering. She, like the most significant visionaries of our time, St Bernadette, St Jacinta, St Lucia, St Francisco, St Imelda , ( ok, she’s not so well known but ought to be….) were little kids, LITTLE!!! St Bernadette was the oldest at 14! St Jacinta the youngest at 6.  They too, bore unimaginable weight of heinous attacks,  pressure that I don’t know I would have stood up to. Then again, God did not use me between 6 and 14 to communicate to the world messages either. But think of it…… 29% of the highlights of painful events that Mary suffered, that we know of, she suffered when she was not yet 15. Those decisions shaped the salvation plan of God. That’s impressive. 50% of Her decisions dealt with parenting, decisions that were to lay the tracks for humanity to ride the train to heaven, (should they choose to). continue reading https://theoutlawedgod.wordpress.com/

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The Monastery of a cloistered heart is the person's own life.   A monastery is a place consecrated to God, a place of prayer, a place where God is loved and served.   Our lives can be all of these things.... (continue)   Painting: Fritz von Wille, in US public domain due to age

Today, February 8, is the  First International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking .  This day was picked to coincide with the feast day of  St. Josephine Bakhita  who suffered horrific treatment by her kidnappers. You can read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .

My wife and a friend are making bread, about 15 feet from my desk. They're having a great time, and I'm trying to not get distracted while writing this post. The results may be interesting. Or confusing. I'll let you decide which. Thanks to some very powerful prescriptions, my ADD-inattentive and major depression isn't nearly as hard to handle as it was: which reminds me of this morning's first reading. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

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I am spreading the word about an online, free online conference called  The Catholic Conference for Moms  .  I think it’s going to be a great event.  And it’s not about organizers or the speakers–it’s about Jesus Christ and letting Him more and more into our lives and the lives of the those attending the conference. continue reading

Apostle St Peter , El Greco, 1610-14 Museo de El Greco, Toledo, Spain [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel   Mark 1:29-39  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)   As soon as they   left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.   Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her at once.   He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons.   And the whole city was gathered around the door.     And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. In the morning,

It's been a little while since I have posted anything. Life has been so busy. But I wanted to get a quick post in about this fun activity I did with my kids last Lent/Easter. Time to Hide the Alleluia! Blessings, Jen

I mentioned yesterday that I have been having some strange dreams lately. I wonder what you'll think of this one. I can't remember why, how or with whom I was having a conversation. I was being told that the lack of sacramental wine offered at parishes of late is causing the faithful to forget that Jesus shed his blood for our sins. How we need to sip and taste the sweet, stinging wine to remember, really remember. I don't dream like this and I am the kind of person that pays close attention to her feelings, the movement of thoughts and their possible origin. I'm always psychoanalyzing myself. To be honest, I think that's how I am able to separate, mentally, the bad from the good in my childhood and early adulthood from how I interact with my children and husband. So why this dream? Why now? What does it mean and where do I go from here? Of course that's rhetorical. Read more at Filling My Prayer Closet

Confession:  I have been writing (true) stories ... some of these are about events that happened years ago. Like a little old gently maturing lady penning her memoirs, I'm looking over events, old and new, and setting some down on paper. Or at least on screen.... (continue)

Chicks and humans associate small numbers with the left side and large ones with the right. A scientists says this may mean that our 'number line' is a very old piece of neural hardware. Other scientists are studying part of a skull that's from one of the earliest of today's sort of human to leave Africa. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I know I'm a little late to the game, but I have a few thoughts on the rabbits comment made by Pope Francis about two or three weeks ago. His words from the interview spurred MANY conversations among people I know in person, over the phone, and on social media.  And rather than push it aside because I'm late, I would rather share them... because I have thoughts -Deep Thoughts!- to share about the rabbits! (And Pope Francis!) I know, it's better late than never, right? To start, let's link to what Pope Francis  actually  said: Another curious thing in relation to this is that for the most poor people, a child is a treasure. It is true that you have to be prudent here too, but for them a child is a treasure. Some would say 'God knows how to help me' and perhaps some of them are not prudent, this is true. Responsible paternity, but let us also look at the generosity of that father and mother who see a treasure in every child. (read the rest  here ). {read the

The Offertory,  (Battle of Tears) Now is the time to fight.  Not with weapons or words, but with tears, the tears of a Mother pleading for her children.   Some time ago I prayed the words of Rachel during the stations, I said, "Give me children or I shall die."  I meant spiritual children that I can pray for.  God in His goodness gives me children that I cannot see or touch, that are somewhere in the world and in need of a Mother's tears for them.  At this moment in the Holy Mass He not only gives me these children but also fills my heart with love for them at the same moment.  My heart is pierced and tears flow for the children I love, although I do not know them, I love them no less.    The tears of a Mother pleading for her children before the throne of God is very powerful.  A Mother's heart willing to be pierced for her children to lead them to God can pluck those with the darkest of hearts directly from the demons grasp.  The heavens are opened and ... TO

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Learning to listen to a child’s unspoken communication is much like connecting to God. You must forget everything you think you know, let go of arrogance and humbly and silently listen. Just like in contemplation, our hearts  must open to God and to a little one’s heart and soul. It is God who will teach us how to connect spirit to spirit with His little child because babies are part of the Communion of Saints, one with us in the Body of Christ. Children — especially babies — are  little and vulnerable, vulnerable to the large, often clueless adults who care for them. Put yourself in a baby’s situation. Preverbal for years, it must be frustrating to be tired or in pain, only to have a bottle thrust into your mouth or have a tense, upset mother try to nurse you when your stomach is bloated with burps. continue

Be honest.  Have you ever worn your Rosary out?  Wait!  Do you know where your Rosary is?  Wait! Do you own a Rosary?  Wait!  Do you know how to pray the Rosary? These are important questions for a Catholic.  Next to the Mass, the Rosary is one of the most powerful prayers we have in our arsenal of faith.  Each mystery of the Rosary takes about 20 minutes to pray.  Through each decade we view the Gospels with the eyes of Mary, His Mother.  The prayers of the Rosary are simple.  We begin with the Apostles Creed which reminds us of the fundamentals of our faith.  The rest of the prayers are basic, prayers we should have learned as children.  There are a total of 6 Our Fathers, 6 Glory Be's, 53 Hail Mary's, and, between each decade the following prayer:: "Oh My Jesus, forgive us our sins.  Save us from the fires of Hell.  Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in most need of they mercy." The prayers are repetitive and meditative.  Each decade br

Today’s Gospel:  Mark 6:1-6   Jesus is not accepted in his hometown What is disturbing about this famous gospel passage about the reaction Christ receives in his hometown is Jesus’ neighbors  admit  He speaks with wisdom and He has performed great deeds. They are astonished, in fact, by His reputation. Yet they cannot admit His miracles and His words come from God. They sputter, “ Where  did this man get all this?” They know his family and He was a simple carpenter. So, they cannot even acknowledge His anointing as a prophet, never mind perceiving that He is the Son of God. The key to their negative attitude towards Jesus is their pride. They are  offended . Their pride shuts their hearts and souls to the truth. Perhaps their noses are out of joint because they are still ordinary. Ironically, it is precisely ordinary, little people who flock to Jesus and who are healed and loved and taught about the wonderful secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven. However, it is little people who ar