Come Lord Jesus

So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. - Matthew 24:44

Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming."

During Advent we await and prepare for the celebration of Christmas, the anniversary of the Nativity of Jesus.

We also await and prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus.

And we also hope and pray and wait for the coming of Jesus into our hearts.

Which all pretty much sums up Advent for us: Hope. Pray. Wait.

This Advent I plan on keeping things simple. Very simple. Instead of doing too many things that I can never stick to, I am concentrating on just one thing - keeping a daily prayer journal.

And so today my prayer is simple: Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

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Sunday Snippets - November 28

This is the weekly Catholic Carnival! Be sure to visit RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing and check out some posts from other bloggers participating in Sunday Snippets this week. Why not join us and share a blog post or two from last week?

Here are my contributions for this week:
The King of My Life
Thankful for Blessings

Sabbath Moments - Giving Thanks

Sabbath moments are the moments we rest in God, when we take time to just Be with God rather than Do. Sabbath moments are those times when we live in the moment and find the holy in the ordinary. I invite you to share your Sabbath moment(s) here on Saturdays. Be sure to sign into Mr. Linky below. If you don't have a blog, please share about it in a comment!
One of my sabbath moments this week:
Thanksgiving night - I sat with my 5 month old grandson in my lap, watching the fish in my son's huge fish tank. The beautiful colors, the bubbling water, the motion of the fish back and forth, was so peaceful and relaxing for both of us.
I said a prayer, thanked God for the moment  - the moment of silence and peace and joy with my grandson - and thanked God for the beautiful day of giving thanks.

I wish you all a blessed and happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful for Blessings - Thanksgiving!

This meme is so perfect for this week, isn't it? Thanksgiving week!
Judy is a special blogging friend of mine and she helps to make every week Thanksgiving week for all of us by reminding us of the need to be thankful!
Judy hosts this great meme every Wednesday at her inspiring blog, A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings. In this meme we give thanks for the five things we are most thankful for this past week and then link to Judy's blog. Why don't you join us? Thank you, Judy!
Some of my blessings this week:
1. My website - I am thankful for my Catholic Prayer Life website and for Judy's help along the way. I am thankful for how I can use it to share my blessings and my faith with others.
2. Can we ever say thank you enough? This week of Thanksgiving is a week of family time. My HUGE family gets together every year. This includes stepchildren and grandchildren and just a huge gang! Thank you for my family, Lord!
3. I am grateful for cranberry sauce - the plain kind in the can. I don't like fancy ways of serving cranberry sauce. I just like the plain kind. I have loved it since I was a little girl. I cannot wait to have some!
4. My hubby is feeling better. We are waiting for new tests to be done and I am not good with waiting but it is the season of waiting or almost! (Advent). I am just grateful he is feeling better and looks better.
5. FIVE days off! I am very grateful for this long weekend. A time of family and food and rest (I hope). Yay!
(Speaking of thankful, I started a Gratitude Journal at my website. Please visit me there. You can keep a running list of your reasons to be grateful!)

The King of My Life

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. - Luke 23:42

If we do not know that God is Mercy after reading the story of the Prodigal Son, we should know it after reading today's gospel.

Christ the King, as he hangs dying on a cross, gives pardon to one of the criminals being crucified with him. He tells him he will be in heaven that day with Jesus.

The criminal (we call him the "Good Thief") is dying, too. We do not know if he really had a change of heart or if he was just plain scared. 

What we do know is that, Jesus forgave him and shattered any thought we may have about earning our way into heaven.

Mercy is not about what we deserve. It is more about love.

Pope John Paul II wrote that "Mercy is love's second name."

Love. Mercy. Christ the King.

Jesus, help me to remember you are the King of my life. Help me to trust in your love and mercy. Bring me, Lord, into your kingdom. Amen.

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Sunday Snippets - November 21

This is the weekly Catholic Carnival! Be sure to visit RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing and check out some posts from other bloggers participating in Sunday Snippets this week. Why not join us and share a blog post or two from last week?

Here are my contributions for this week:
Flames of Hope Burning
I Love this Quote

Sabbath Moments: God & Nature

Sabbath moments are the moments we rest in God, when we take time to just Be with God rather than Do. Sabbath moments are those times when we live in the moment and find the holy in the ordinary. I invite you to share your Sabbath moment(s) here on Saturdays. Be sure to sign into Mr. Linky below. If you don't have a blog, please share about it in a comment!
Some of my sabbath moments this week:
1. Drove to work one morning and sat in my car for a few minutes just to get myself together and take a few deep breaths. There was a bird - not sure of what kind - that was walking around the grassy area. It then meandered to the pavement near my car and just stood there. Almost looked like it was watching me to see what I was doing.
I love to watch birds walk - doesn't look natural to them really - and this one bird reminded me of the need to slow down and take a minute to contemplate God and His gifts. I would have missed this moment if I had hurried out of the car.
2. Oh, gosh, another beautiful sunset on my drive home from work. The sky turned pink and as I drove over the bridge that crosses the river near my home, I saw the color reflected on one side of the bridge. One side had pink water and the other side gray/blue. I so wanted to take a picture but decided I should keep my eyes on the road instead! Thank you Lord!
3. I have already posted about my grandson's baptism. (If you missed it, you can see it here and here!). But that day, and especially that moment of baptism, was one long beautiful sabbath moment for me! Thank you Lord!
:)

My Examiner Column

I am now a columnist at Examiner.com. I am an independent contractor and write as the Fort Myers Catholicism Examiner.

My column is now live so check out the few articles I have posted already. Please consider subscribing and tell your friends! The more subscribers, the more traffic to my column, the more I get paid! Really! I actually get paid!

If you wish to write for Examiner.com, be sure and tell them I referred you on your application as I get a commission for that!

Thank you to Judy at Benmakesten. She is an examiner, too and I learned about it from her. She has a homeschooling column and a Catholic column.
Thanks for your support! God bless!

Saint Rose

St. Rose Philippine Duchesne (1769-1852) was born in France. She joined the Visitation nuns at age 19, but the convent was closed during the French Revolution. She later joined the Religious of the Sacred Heart and volunteered to come to the United States where she helped to open the first free school west of the Mississippi. She later founded the first Catholic Indian school.
Rose Philippine Duchesne was beatified on May 12, 1940. She was canonized on July 3, 1988. November 18 is her feast day.
St. Rose was known for her habit of frequent prayer, especially before the Blessed Sacrament. St. Rose once worked with Native Americans who gave her an Indian name meaning "Woman-Who-Prays-Always."
I would love to be given that name. I would love to be seen as a woman who prays always, a woman who gives witness to the power of prayer, the need for prayer.
St. Rose is quoted to have said - “He who has Jesus has everything.”
Amen to that.

First published at Examiner.com

I am now a Fort Myers Catholicism Examiner at Examiner.com. Check it out!

More Laughing

A blogging friend, Anne, who blogs at Imprisoned by My Bones, told me about this talk given by Fr. James Martin. If you are unfamiliar with him, he is a Jesuit priest who has authored quite a few books. I have read some of them, including My Life with the Saints, which is excellent!

So this talk is called Laughing with the Saints. Considering my recent post on Jesus Laughing, I thought it would be good to let you know about his talk. It is on YouTube and I have the first part here. There are 3 parts to it and you can go here to find the other two.

I enjoyed this tremendously. Hope you do, too! Thanks Anne!

Therese - A Movie Review

Therese: Original Motion Picture is a dvd that tells the true story of St. Therese of Lisieux, often known as the Little Flower. The DVD cover says: Therese - Ordinary Girl. Extraordinary soul. I agree!

St. Therese is my favorite saint. As a Catholic convert, it took me quite a while to warm up to the idea of having a relationship with saints. Therese is my first saintly friend!

I have read her book, Story of a Soul, about three times and still refer to certain sections of it from time to time. I was thrilled when I heard the movie was being made. I could not wait to see it but yet, I was praying it would not disappoint me.
It didn't.
The movie stayed faithful to St. Therese's book. The story of trying to get into a convent at a young age, her relationship with her father and her sisters, her discovery and practice of the Little Way - all stayed true to her Story of a Soul.
Her Christmas conversion story was included in the movie as well as her trip to speak to the pope to get permission to enter the Carmelite convent.
The acting was very good, especially the portrayals of Therese and her father. The production aspects of the movie were all well done. As you can see, I have no negative comments to make. And I have watched it twice!

Whether viewers know St Therese well, or they wish to learn more, they will find this movie not only enjoyable but a learning and inspirational experience. I highly recommend the movie and be sure to have your children watch with you! They will learn about this great saint who is also a Doctor of the Church.

Therese - Ordinary Girl. Extraordinary soul. I agree! 

You can purchase this DVD here.

I wrote this review of Thérèse DVD: Original Motion Picture Edition for the Tiber River Blogger Review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods, your source for Oplatki and Advent Calendars. For more information and to purchase, please visit Aquinas and More Catholic Goods.

Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases.

I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.

Thankful for Blessings - Baptized with Joy

Judy is a special blogging friend of mine and she hosts this great meme every Wednesday at her inspiring blog, A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings. In this meme we give thanks for the five things we are most thankful for this past week and then link to Judy's blog. Why don't you join us? Thank you, Judy for helping me to stay more aware of the blessings God gives me every day!
Some of my blessings this week:
1. My grandson's baptism! Such a joyful day! Words cannot describe it so instead I am posting a couple of pictures (see below)! Just a wonderful, wonderful day.
2. My grandson - he was awake for hours on his baptism day and never fussed. After the baptism, he watched us eat lunch in the restaurant from the viewpoint of his stroller and never cried. Not once. In fact he enjoyed watching his father so much that every time my son took a bite of food or said anything, my grandbaby just laughed and laughed!! I think he is probably the cutest, the most adorable, the most easy-going 5 month old grandson in the whole world! (I am a little prejudiced. lol)
3. My husband - felt better this week. Still waiting to do more tests. He was thrilled doing the baptism of course. And we celebrated his birthday this week. Quite a week for the Sunshine of my life!
4. My website - Catholic Prayer life now has 40 Facebook fans! Woo hoo! Just added a page where people can write in and name their favorite saint! I am enjoying working on it and grateful for all who have supported me and helped me along the way, including the host of this meme! (Thanks, Judy)
5. My faith - I feel like I have been on a roller coaster ride these past 2 weeks. High up and pretty low. But Faith helps even things out. Faith and hope. Thank you, Lord.
Now for pictures!!

Hanging out with my cool uncle-godfather

Daddy and mommy fussing over me with godmother looking on

Having fun with daddy and grammy

Grammy! Look! Grandpa's blessing me!!

I Love This Quote

“If the heart wanders or is distracted, bring it back to the point quite gently and replace it tenderly in its Master's presence. And even if you did nothing during the whole of your hour but bring your heart back and place it again in Our Lord's presence, though it went away every time you brought it back, your hour would be very well employed.” - St Francis de Sales

I love this quote. I found it recently on my blogging friend's blog. Karinann at Daughter of the King likes to put different quotes under the title of her blog and I enjoy reading them.

I love this quote because I love the way it describes prayer and encourages people who are often worried and upset with distractions.

I love this quote because it is a reminder to me of something my spiritual director always said about praying - 90% of prayer is just showing up.

I love this quote because it describes in a nutshell the way to do centering prayer which is the way I have prayed for years. Centering Prayer has recently been the subject of some controversy and criticism. I posted about it a year ago. This quote, from a canonized saint who lived in the 1500's, only helps to support my feelings and thoughts on centering prayer. I mean, if it is good enough for St. Francis, it is good enough for me.

AND I love this quote because Karinann recently chose St. Francis de Sales to be my patron saint for the new liturgical year starting in a couple of weeks. And I could not be happier.

Lately I have felt drawn to reading more of St. Francis de Sales. He has such a beautiful and simple way of writing about prayer and the spiritual life. He was also a spiritual director and I am hoping to get his guidance in my own ministry of spiritual direction.

So I share with you this quote and another one of these God-incidences that just touches my heart.

And I give thanks to God for His love and His friends, both those in heaven and on earth!

Flames of Hope Burning

"Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. (Luke 21:12-13)

You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives. (Luke 21:17-19)

It seems like whenever there is a disaster or tragedy of some kind, people ask why God would do such a thing or if he even exists.

For many years now I have not thought like that. I no longer ask "Where is God?"

Instead I ask "Where can I see God bringing good out of bad? Comfort out of pain? Love out of hatred?"

I have had my share of suffering. I have had my share of fear and of thinking that God was absent. But I have also been comforted. I have been given strength to withstand trials. I have known love.

And hope. Boy, have I known hope.

And because I have known these things, because I have experienced the love of God deep in the depths of my heart and soul, I pray to keep that hope alive and I choose to find God in all things.

Not through any effort of my own, but through grace. It is all grace.

I do not pretend to know why suffering happens. But what I do know, because I have experienced it, is that God loves us with a love we can not fathom. That God loved us into being and God knows us, when we sit and when we stand, how we were wondrously made. And God wants us with Him for all eternity.

So while the end times can really sound scary, I choose to keep my eye on the prize and give my testimony and persevere through the hard times.

I choose to believe in hope.

Lord, please keep the flames of hope burning in my heart. Amen.

Sunday Snippets - November 14

This is the weekly Catholic Carnival! Be sure to visit RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing and check out some posts from other bloggers participating in Sunday Snippets this week. Why not join us and share a blog post or two from last week?

Here are my contributions for this week:
Spark of Life
Music to My Ears

O Happy Day!

Sabbath Moments - Peace & Joy

Sabbath moments are the moments we rest in God, when we take time to just Be with God rather than Do. Sabbath moments are those times when we live in the moment and find the holy in the ordinary. I invite you to share your Sabbath moment(s) here on Saturdays. Be sure to sign into Mr. Linky below. If you don't have a blog, please share about it in a comment!
Some of my sabbath moments this week:
1. Early in the morning, a cool gulf breeze gently blowing through the living room and the rest of the house, reminding me of the Holy Spirit. I have felt out of sync but at this moment I feel at peace.
2. Watching the video my daughter-in-law sent me, listening to my grandson laugh, a baby's belly laugh that fills my heart with joy!
3. Driving home from work, the sky ahead of me had two layers of clouds, one pink and one pastel blue like a baby blanket! No kidding! God paints such beautiful pictures!

Music to My Ears

Thankful for Blessings - Prayers & Support

Judy is a special blogging friend of mine and she hosts this great meme every Wednesday at her inspiring blog, A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings. In this meme we give thanks for the five things we are most thankful for this past week and then link to Judy's blog. Thank you, Judy for helping me to stay more aware of the blessings God gives me every day!
Some of my blessings this week:
1. Thank you, Lord, for nurses and doctors who have been kind and caring toward my hubby and me. He has been undergoing tests and we are still not sure what is wrong with him. I am so thankful that he is feeling a little better this week.
2. Thank you for my blogging friends  - they have been praying for us even though most do not even know any of the specifics. Please keep praying!
3. Thank you, Lord, for my grandson who is being baptized this weekend (by his own deacon grandfather!) What a joyous day that will be!!
4. Thank you, Lord, for the cooler weather. We were finally able to turn off the air conditioner for the first time since about April or May. Our house smells so fresh!
5. Thank you, Lord, for my job at a Catholic Church where everyone prayed and were so supportive as they dealt with me coming and going at different hours all last week. I was able to just focus on helping my husband.

Spark of Life

“… he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." (Lk 20:38)

I was drawn to this verse in today's Gospel and yet, I was not sure of what I wanted to say about it or how to put into words what I was feeling.

Then Etty Hillesum kept popping into my head.

Etty Hillesum was a Jewish woman who died in Auschwitz in 1943 at the age of 29. She kept a diary that has been made into a book called An Interrupted Life. What inspired me most about this powerful book was Etty's attitude about life.

Here are just 2 of her quotes:

I feel as if I were the guardian of a precious slice of life with all the responsibility that entails. There are moments when I feel like giving up or giving in but I soon rally again and do my duty as I see it: to keep the spark of life inside me ablaze.

It still all comes down to the same thing. Life is beautiful and I believe in God. And I want to be there right in the thick of what people call "horror" and still be able to say: Life is beautiful.

Seems to me that Etty knew better than many of us that life is a gift from God. What is remarkable is that she was able to see that life was beautiful, even in the middle of so much fear and suffering. And she trusted in the Lord to be with her, right up to the end.

Lord, help me to see life is beautiful no matter what is going on in my life. Help me to keep that spark of life within me ablaze!

Sunday Snippets - November 7

This is the weekly Catholic Carnival! Be sure to visit RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing and check out some posts from other bloggers participating in Sunday Snippets this week. Why not join us and share a blog post or two from last week?

Here are my contributions for this week:
Questions I Need to Ask Myself
Sometimes Something Happens

Sabbath Moments - Ebb and Flow

Sabbath moments are the moments we rest in God, when we take time to just Be with God rather than Do. Sabbath moments are those times when we live in the moment and find the holy in the ordinary. I invite you to share your Sabbath moment(s) here on Saturdays. Be sure to sign into Mr. Linky below. If you don't have a blog, please share about it in a comment!
Some of my sabbath moments this week:
1. I reached out to some friends for prayers and they answered the call right away. (cannot get too specific right now but prayers are still needed!)
2. Spent some time alone this week in a hospital lobby. Watched people come and go and said a prayer for them. Some people from church stopped and said hello. Seems like God was directing the traffic in and out. Ebb and flow of care and prayers.
3. Weather here suddenly very cool! Some natives would say it was cold. Snowbirds (visitors from the north) laugh at us Floridians. I sat in my chair, sweater on and blanket covering my lap. I felt warm and comforted and thanked the Lord.

Sometimes Something Happens

Sometimes something happens... and I feel like I have that "deer caught in the headlights" look. I am surprised by the sudden crisis upon me and I am not sure how to act or think. I am almost frozen in place.

Sometimes something happens...  and I look to Jesus because there is nowhere else to look and I look for strength and miracles and answers and hope to hang onto. I can only stay in the present moment. To go anywhere else would be a mistake because there is no God there. God is only here. In the eternal "Now."

Sometimes something happens... and I might be afraid but I sense such a strong presence within me and I begin to notice that presence everywhere in everything and everyone. It is then I know Jesus is carrying me and I can only thank him.

Place your hope in God alone - (Rule of St Benedict 4:41)

Thankful for Blessings - The Gift of Today

Here we are again, taking this special time to thank the Lord for our many blessings. Judy is a special blogging friend of mine and she hosts this great meme every Wednesday at her inspiring blog, A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings. In this meme we give thanks for the five things we are most thankful for this past week and then link to Judy's blog. Thank you, Judy!
Thank you, Lord for your goodness, your faithfulness, your love and mercy.
Thank you, Lord, for carrying my burdens when I don't think I can carry them myself any more.
Thank you, Lord, for giving me the attitude that there are blessings everywhere and in everything, I just need to take the time to look.
Thank you, Lord, for my husband, who is the sunshine of my life.
Thank you, Lord, for the gift of today. For the gift of this very moment.