Full Moon Rise Behind Half Dome (by Jeffrey Sullivan)
I was here about a year ago.
(via dennisnoodles)
from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
• Ask me anything
my soul magnifies
my soul magnifies
“Lord, give me a new heart.”
There is no fear in love … And so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.
Lord, Your love for us is perfect, even when all we do is let You down.
Help me to love you more perfectly. To love others the way Mary loved Jesus. To love as divinely as is possible in this life.
Help me to let go of my fear.
“If we are really humble and annihilate ourselves, not only in our imagination (which often deceives us), but if we truly detach ourselves from all things, our Lord will not only grant us these favors but many others that we do not know even how to desire.”
— St. Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle
Pour over me your holiness…
for you are holy, Breath of Heaven.
Adulthood, or Castles in the sky
I haven’t posted in quite a while because … well, because of life I suppose! I graduated from college in May and have been practicing at being an adult since then. Oh yeah, and I am now engaged! My wonderful, kind fiance proposed and I was completely surprised. It is really sobering to experience how quickly life changes, how little I can do to control it, and how personal struggles and joys change right along with it.
God truly has a design for our lives that are never dull, never meaningless, and never the same. Whether I believe it on a run-of-the-mill Tuesday that He has great hopes for me to become a courageous, loving wife and mother and a just, dedicated engineer, He most definitely does. One of the greatest blessings that in the past few months of my life is beginning to practice the Creighton Model of NFP - more posts about that in the future :)
Anyway, I’ve started readingThe Interior Castleby St. Teresa of Avila and want to share some of the amazing insight that such a holy woman captured in such a simple book. It is really easy to read (unexpectedly so) and was beautifully addressed to St. Teresa fellow sisters, which I love since she affectionately refers to the reader as “daughter.” I’ll be posting blurbs from the book that speak to me and will hopefully speak to you too.
Until then, prayers and blessing…
“Justice - When you get what you deserve
Mercy - When you don’t get what you deserve
Grace - When you get what you don’t deserve”
— Sister Laus Gloriae, O.C.D.
(Catholic) Rebel
Five Positive Ways for Catholics to Rebel against the World
- Avoid Cafeteria Catholicism – We can’t pick and choose what we believe and still be authentically Catholic. Follow the Magisterium and authentically practice our faith, trusting that two millennia of Church history and teaching are far superior to what we may come up with on our own. ”Be Catholic, really, faithfully, unapologetically Catholic, and the future will have the kind of articulate and morally mature leaders it needs.” (Archbishop Charles Chaput)
- Put our Pride aside and Surrender – “Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him and if they were to allow His grace to mold them accordingly.” (St. Ignatius of Loyola) It must take a pretty big ego to say no to Christ and His Church! What we need is more humility, total surrender and a sincere commitment to put Christ’s will before our own. I know from personal experience that doing it my way has never really worked out well.
- Practice Personal Holiness – “The call to holiness is rooted in Baptism and proposed anew in the other Sacraments, principally in the Eucharist. Since Christians are reclothed in Christ Jesus and refreshed by his Spirit, they are ‘holy’. They therefore have the ability to manifest this holiness and the responsibility to bear witness to it in all that they do. The apostle Paul never tires of admonishing all Christians to live ‘as is fitting among saints’ (Eph 5:3). (Blessed John Paul II, Christifideles Laici 16)
- Be Joyful! – It is so easy to get lost in our problems and forget to be joyful-it happens to me and just about everyone else I know. But, remember that we are surrounded by people who are watching us. They may be seeking Him and looking for someone, anyone, to show them the way to Christ. They could learn from our good example, be inspired by our joy and be encouraged by our faith journey if we will only remember that we are called to share the Good News. If we are gloomy, frustrated, inward-focused and critical of the Church we will never be able to help anyone and may put our own salvation at risk.
- Pursue Heaven, Reject the World – Heaven is our ultimate destination and not this place called Earth. Will our critics help us get to heaven? Will they stand up for us during tough times? No, they will pull us into a secular way of life which has little room for God and where materialism and popularity are the fashionable idols of the day. Doing what is right is not always easy, but in the long run it is clearly the most beneficial. Why would we not choose Heaven?
(from Randy Hain @ http://www.integratedcatholiclife.org/2012/06/randy-hain-so-you-want-to-be-a-catholic-rebel/)
Lost Sheep
I’ve met at least three people lately who’ve literally told me that they’ve either fallen away from the Catholic Church or feel that their prayers aren’t heard.
Mother Mary, I see what your Son is doing. Showing me who He’s lost. And how much work there is for me to do with His help to get them back. Give me the grace, patience, and strength to bring them back to your arms the way your faithful Son would want me to.
