Desires of the Heart

I read something today that I thought worth sharing...

At times God gives us desires he never intends to fulfill. There is only one desire he will always fulfill and that is the desire to be with him in eternity if we obey his commandments. Temporal desires are not always fulfilled even if they come from God. Many young men want to be priests and they are unsuitable or lack the opportunity. Many woman want to be mothers but are sterile. These frustrated desires are meant to make us humble and more trusting in God. Ultimately being with him in eternity is all that matters. Maybe it is the unfulfilled desires that require a tremendous amount of faith that will be the very thing that ushers us into eternity with God.

A tough but beautiful truth.

Book Reccomendation

I just finished reading the book Rediscovering Catholicism by Matthew Kelly. If you are looking for a book to help inspire you to more fully live out your Catholic faith in today's world I recommend this book. Maybe make a new years resolution to more fully embrace your faith and start by picking up this great book.

To All Brave Mothers

"We would like to pay homage to all brave mothers who dedicate themselves to their own family without reserve, who suffer in giving birth to their children and who are ready to make any effort, to face any sacrifice, in order to pass on to them the best of themselves... How hard they have to fight against difficulties and danger!  How frequently they are called to face genuine 'wolves' determined to snatch and scatter the flock!  And these heroic mothers do not always find support in their surroundings.  On the contrary, the cultural models frequently promoted and broadcast by the media do not encourage motherhood.  In the name of progress and modernity, the values of fidelity, chastity, sacrifice, in which a host of Christian wives and mothers have distinguished themselves, are presented as obsolete.  As a result, a woman who is determined to be consistent in her principles often feels deeply alone, alone in her love which she cannot betray, and to which she must remain faithful.  Her guiding principle is Christ, who has revealed the love which the Father bestows on us.  A woman who believes in Christ finds a powerful support precisely in this love that bears everything..."

-Pope John Paul II

On the beautification of St. Gianna Beretta Molla

The Cure for Writer's Block

In the past several weeks  I have occasionally sat down to "blog", but felt a strong case of writer's block.  I stare at my screen, blank-faced and defeated.  I feel annoyed for my lack of creativity and frustrated that the Holy Spirit is not inspiring me!  I love Defining Beauty, and I have been disappointed for feeling like I have nothing to say...

I am not a writer, though I obviously enjoy pretending.  I do remember however, some writing advice from a past English class.  "If you have writer's block, just start writing".  My teacher told us to start with a thought, a journal entry, or anything to help us get started.  If that still did not work, she suggested we start copying the line "I do not know what to write..." until something came up.  And most often, something eventually came up and I started to write.

Another area in life where I often get "writer's block" is prayer.  Sometimes I feel discouraged that God is not listening, or I simply get so busy that I do not make time for prayer.  I get in the habit of not praying, and suddenly, it is like I do not know where to start, and do not know what to pray about.  It is like meeting an old acquaintance for coffee, and falling into an awkward silence because we just realized that we hardly know each other anymore.  I fall into the trap of wondering whether God even wants to hear from me anymore!

I think that in this case, the best advice one could give would be to "just start praying".  Turn off the distractions and close the door.  Go to adoration.  Don't know what to say?  Use a prayer written by a saint, or somebody else.  Go to mass.  Say a rosary.  Read a spiritual book.  Just start praying!  It may feel as though you are starting small, but it is a starting point, and most often, we eventually start to pray...

Now, hopefully this post will be just the muse I need to help me fight my case of writer's block.

Merry Christmas

It has been quite some time since I have hit the blog screen. A bit of writers block and a lot of studying for grad school finals took control. A thought occurred to me on this beautiful Christmas morning that I thought I would share if anyone out there is still reading...

I love Advent! I love Christmas too of course but for some reason I really love advent. During some great spiritual direction on Christmas Eve I realized that I love Advent because it is a beautiful parallel for my own life. In my life God asks me to have a lot of patience. Patience seems to be a reoccurring theme in our relationship. I don't know about the rest of you but for me patience it not easy. We live in a culture of fast food and cell phones; a culture of convenience and instant gratification. If we want it we can usually get it with the click of a button or the plastic of a credit card. When it comes to the bigger things in life though, the things that are really important, we can't just order them up. If we want temporary happiness we can get it instantly but if we want lasting happiness we have to wait on the one who is the author and source of that joy. On the first Christmas, joy came to the world and from one little baby the rest of our fulfillment flowed. I long to be fulfilled and happy, not temporarily but forever. There are big questions in my life that remained unanswered. During Advent I am reminded that I can put those questions aside and fill my life with fading joy or I can embrace those questions and wait for the answers from the one who is the author of my soul and all its longings.

I love Advent because it calls me into deeper prayer and faith. In order to endure patiently we must pray for deep faith. Like the prophets of the Old Testament I must wait on the Lord. What joy they all must have felt at the moment of Christ's birth when all they had waited for had finally come!

JMJ

New Traditions

My husband and I are very fond of traditions, given our Catholic faith, which is so rich in them. We applied it to our courtship with weekly rituals, (Monday gift days, Wednesday communication, Friday date nights), and now are growing with family traditions. The holidays are such a beautiful opportunity to create family traditions, and with each year, we're building more and more.

I thought this article was great food for thought for every Catholic family. I think we'll be adding this tradition this year. Other new ones we're taking on this Advent is celebrating the feast days during this time. We are celebrating St. Nicholas's feast and had our little girl set out one of her boots outside her bedroom last night, and this morning, she had a little gift of some new hair clips inside. It wasn't anything pricy or opulent, but her face lit up with surprise and excitement when she saw that her boot had been filled while she slept.

Another neat tradition we've started is a Jesse tree. I drew the stump and our 2 year old made leaves by fingerpainting green leaves, and each day, we add some magazine clipping or draw something signifying a moment or person in salvation history. For example, Creation- stars and moon, Noah- a picture of a ship, Passover- a lamb, David-a harp, The Visitation-an angel, The Nativity- a picture of a newborn baby, etc... It's a great way to teach little ones the various stories that lead to Jesus birth, and the salvation of the world.

Just a few ideas to keep the focus on the real reason for the season!

May God bless you and your families this advent. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!