It's almost Divine Mercy Sundae!

This is just too simple and too cute not to share...

http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2011/04/celebrate-divine-mercy-sunday.html

Hello Spring!

The month of May is approaching quickly, and I have heard a few mentions of whether our bloggers and readers will be challenging each other to another Dress Dare.  Last year's dare was a bit of an experiment, to see whether what we wear encouraged us to embrace our femininity.  We also thought that wearing dresses and skirts would serve as a daily reminder of Christ, similarly to how our lenten observances do.

So...  Any thoughts?  What do you all think?  Should the Dress Dare become an annual event?

Hug your father today

Last year I posted this on the fifth anniversary of my dad's passing from stage-four pancreatic cancer. I won't write it out again, but check it out if you want to read about my selfishly-created holiday, Hug Your Father Day.

Today, on Good Friday, I hope you'll join Catholics around the world in praying the Holy Rosary. I pray for a solemn and hopeful Holy Week for you, and a joyful celebration of Easter on Sunday and thereafter.

But I also want to remind you to celebrate life around you. If possible, give your dad a hug today and tell him you love him.

It would mean a lot to me.

God bless.

St. Augustine of Hippo

St. Augustine of Hippo

The girls will hopefully forgive me for breaking the trend of female saints we’ve explored here so that I can post on one of my favorite saints of all time: St. Augustine. And considering I posted on St. Monica a few weeks ago, I thought it’d be fitting to continue.

I like saints who are writers. As a writer myself, I tend to have a soft spot for other saints who've taken up the craft (St. Paul and St. John, to name a few); and St. Augustine's story is so hopeful to me. To reiterate what I mentioned about St. Monica (his mother), he was born into a position of wealth to a Christian woman and a pagan father (who was also an official). St. Augustine’s youth was anything but holy. He lived a worldly, materialistic life that included adultery, persecution of the Christian faith and a rejection of his mother’s Catholic beliefs. Later, in his writings “The Confessions of St. Augustine”, he would talk about the struggles with purity he’d fought his whole life, even after his conversion in his thirties. We all know one quote associated with St. Augustine: “Give me chastity and continence, but not yet,” which I think is an accurate representation of how a lot of us approach our sins, whether they’re against chastity or anything else we find ourselves repeating again and again in that confessional to the priest who’s heard us sigh and confess to the same sins (sometimes in the same order even).

And that’s why St. Augustine’s such an inspiration to me: he gives me hope. Here’s an extreme sinner that was able to find love and peace through faith. I’ve read “Confessions” a few times (one of my favorite books of all time), and the sense I get from St. Augustine is this: “If I can find peace and commit myself to a life of holiness, there’s hope for anyone.” Not to put him down, but it’s true!

I think we all know someone in our lives who seems to be a St. Augustine figure, someone who’s turned away from the Church, or maybe never was part of the Church at all, but lives a life of unhappiness and self-destruction. I know someone, fitting that description, who’s gone through hell and high water, and every time I hear an update on his life, all I can think of is how there must be a plan or purpose for all this.

St. Augustine, pray for us!

The Wonder-Worker

She is deemed the "wonder-worker" quite appropriately. Although we have few details on St. Philomena's life, we know the Lord worked wonders surrounding her death as a virgin martyr, and that she continues to work wonders to this day. This pretty princess, (she was a Grecian princess known for her beauty and for this reason, the Roman Emperor Diocletian wanted to marry her, but she consecrated herself to Christ as the age of 11) changed my life in more ways than I can count. I seriously can't stress enough how much I love this girl. Seriously. My husband proposed in the Roman catacombs with the ring inside her tomb (a little creepy if you're not Catholic), and we visited her sanctuary on our honeymoon, staying in the room of St. John Vianney, above her relics! Super, super cool. Many have found her to be helpful in the most hopeless of causes. She is the patroness of purity, youth, the imprisoned and much more.

I tend to think that the saints find us, not the other way around. They are our big brothers and sisters in Christ that can mentor us, lead us by their example, and help out when we need it, because they've been a child of the same parent, and they know better than us what to do and not do. I feel that sisterly bond with St. Philomena. Should you ever seek her aid in anything, just know that she is a teenager. She is hopelessly in love with her spouse, Christ. Before she delivers what you've asked, things usually get worse before they get better. It's what happened to her. She was imprisoned for 40 days and on the 37th day, Mary visited her and told her, "I am sending my archangels Raphael and Gabriel to help you, BUT first, 3 days of torture and then, your death." A crown of virgin martyrdom awaited her. She was faithful, and expects the same of her devotees. She also likes to make deals (hence, my daughter's name, Mina). If you keep up your end of the bargain, she'll keep hers. Just don't go back on your word. I've heard stories... And it's rather fitting that she died a virgin martyr at age 13, because I think that is when so many of the teens in our culture die spiritual deaths due to the sins of the flesh. She is the patroness of purity, and there is a tradition of wearing a cord of red and white around one's waist, as a devotion to her, and sort of like a chastity belt. It is a great reminder.

So if you have any prayer requests, don't hesitate to call upon St. Philomena. She definitely has a special place in the heart of Mary and Jesus, because they tend to pay attention to her intercessions. Get to know her...http://www.philomena.us/

Also, if you do ask her for her help, please toss in a prayer for a very sick little girl named Blaise. It is through her that St. Philomena came to me, and many others.

St. Martha

St. Martha is one of those saints that get a bum deal. You know, like "doubting Thomas" and Adam and Eve... saints that are mostly remembered for the dumb things they said (or did) once and not all the rest. Seriously - you complain about your sister ONCE and everyone remembers you as stick-in-the-mud-Martha...

So I thought it was really interesting when I heard once that Martha is a recognized saint, while Mary (her sister who "chose the better part") is not. Sounds weird, right? Well, even though Mary was praised by Jesus, and is, most likely, in Heaven with Him, she never came out and stated her belief in the Gospels. Martha, on the other hand, did proclaim her faith when she went out to meet Jesus when he came to rise Lazarus.

Thinking about these two helps me a couple ways:

1) as a natural invert, I find myself sitting around thinking, thinking, thinking about things (sometimes even holy things!) and never get around to acting on them. It's good to think about Charity, but if I don't get around to actually being charitable, I'm a resounding gong. I need to be more like St. Martha, don't wait around for Jesus, go out and find Him! and

2) Just because I've chosen wrong in the past, doesn't mean that I can't move past it. I mean, Martha could have wallowed in the fact that she chose the worse part and that really could have affected her relationship with Jesus. But, instead, she feels like she can still go to Him, and has confidence in Him, even when she thinks He was recklessly tardy. "If you had been here, my brother would not have died."

St. Martha, faith so strong you can chide Jesus and still end up a saint, pray for us!

St. Joan of Arc

I was reading the March edition of Columbia (the Knights of Columbus magazine) and one of the articles was on 3 saints of war: St. Martin of Tours, St. Joan of Arc and well, I don't remember the third...I found St. Joan of Arc so interesting and brave putting all her trust in God and taking charge of the French army. When deciding on who to write about for the martyrs week she seems like a great choice.... Born in 1412 Joan was a peasant girl from the eastern part of France. When she was about 12 years old she was in a field when she had a vision. St. Michael, St. Catherine and St. Margaret appeared to her several times. At first the visions were general and not personal but then when she was 16 years old the saints appeared to her and told her to go to King Charles and help him reconquer his kingdom. The Hundred Years War was going on at the time and the English were trying to take over France. Joan went to the king and the king granted her permission to go with a small army and fight. Many people opposed the kings' decision of letting a girl into the army but Joan knew she had to fight for her country and for God. She took her army and raised the seige of Orleans on May 8, 1429. Throughout the next year she and her army enjoyed many more victories for France. King Charles was able to go into Rheims and be crowned with Joan by his side. But the war was not over yet and in May of 1430 while trying to recapture Compiegne, she was captured by Burgundians and sold to the English when King Charles and the French didn't come save her. Joan was put on trial and by refusing to retract her statements that it was the saints of God who commanded her to do what she did, she was condemned to death and burned at the stake on May 30, 1431 at the age of nineteen. What a strong, faithful woman she was! Putting all her trust in God to do His Will and to win back her country. I am definitely going to start praying to St. Joan of Arc now for her protection and strength to stand up for Christ in my everyday life. To live for Him as she did and to teach my 3 sons to do the same. I have my own little army-in-training right now! St. Joan of Arc is the patroness of soldiers and of France. Her feast day is May 30th. St. Joan of Arc, pray for us!

St. Gianna

There are many things I love about St. Gianna, but I think more than anything, I am inspired by the fact that she lived such an (extraordinarily) ordinary vocation in today's world.  She is a "girl-next-door" kind of saint, or at least I imagine she was this way.  Of course, I don't doubt that a conversation with her would have exuded great holiness, love and joy, but even through this, she is a woman that might have attended a family wedding, or a parish picnic.  

Gianna Beretta Molla was an Italian, born and raised in a devoutly Catholic family.  She volunteered many hours for young people and the elderly, while also earning her degree in Medicine and Pediatrics.  In her early thirties, she met and married Pietro Molla, and dedicated herself to raising a "truly Christian family".  She soon after had three children, and continued to balance her family life while working in medicine part-time and accepting that her husband travelled abroad frequently for his own career!  

During the early months of her fourth pregnancy, Gianna found out that she had developed a fibroma in her uterus.  Although advised to abort, she continued to trust in God and carry on with her pregnancy.  She prayed for her child's health and for a safe delivery for this little life.  A few days before the child was due, she was ready to give her life in order to save that of her child: “If you must decided between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child - I insist on it. Save him”.  

Despite all efforts and treatments to save both of them, on the morning of April 28, about a week after baby Gianna was born, the Saint died. She was 39 years old.

Being a new wife and mother, I truly feel that St. Gianna can relate to many of my prayers.  In reading some of her letters to her husband, I've learned that she struggled and was likely sanctified through little things such as fatigue, pregnancies, and the everyday crosses of marriage and motherhood.  For this, I feel so grateful that the Church gave us her example to follow.  St. Gianna, pray for us!