Light in the Darkness

 "The most beautiful act of faith is the one made in darkness, in sacrifice, and with extreme effort." St. Padre Pio 

It is in darkness that we seek light.

It is in sacrifice that we surrender.

Effort meaning to hope. 

Hope in our call to holiness.

Hope in the light. 

Jesus is the light.

In a world that can be clouded by darkness, we need hope.

We need Jesus!

Today is the last day of January. 

January is the month of the Holy Name of Jesus.

Let us pray together and call upon His holy name to bring hope and light in the darkness!

"Ultimate hope is accepting what is beyond our control and believing that God will use the circumstances of our lives to help us grow in holiness." Fr. J. Michael Sparough 

Prayers and Thanks

I want to begin by thanking everyone for their prayers for my heart's intentions.

The woman I mentioned in my last post, who scheduled an abortion had to cancel her appointment due to a tooth abscess. 

I am praising God for the miracle of that delay! 

I am asking everyone to continue to pray for this woman. 

Please pray she does not reschedule her appointment.

I pray the Heavenly Father pours out an abundance of grace on his beloved daughter. 

I pray that He heals her inmost being. 

Help her, Holy Spirit, to believe in your love.

Help carry her worries, fears and suffering.

Whisper words of hope. 

Take Heart! 

This morning I watched a video of our friends Emma (who we have been praying for) and Patti who shared their story.

It made me smile and want to cry. 

A beautiful witness and testimony that every life matters. 

Every person matters. 

You matter.

Fr. Mike Schmitz said that at the March for Life last week.  

It's true. 

Each of us matters.

 The mother we are praying for matters. Her baby matters.

How we pray for each other matters. 

 

Prayer Intentions

 This post is a request for prayer. 

"Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God." St. John Damascene

There are so many prayer intentions on my heart. 

For healing and for hope. 

I pray for our friend Emma, for her heart and for her family. 

For healing and for hope. 

I pray for Baby Leo and for his family as they move forward with Leo’s bone marrow transplant. 

For healing and for hope. 

I pray for a young man needing help and prayers.

For healing and for hope. 

Prayer warriors, I ask for your prayers for an urgent intention. 

I have been asked to pray for a woman who is scheduled to have an abortion tomorrow (Thursday). 

I am asking the Holy Spirit to guide this mom away from having an abortion. 

She has suffered a lot in her life and she needs a miracle of grace! 

For healing and for hope! 

Thank you for praying with me. 

Let us close with this prayer:

The Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Amen.

https://unsplash.com/@rubenhutabarat

Greatness

I was going to share this on Martin Luther King Jr. Day; however, I decided my laptop needed an upgrade and that made me unable to blog last week.  

One week later, I still want to share it with you:

"The setting is clear. James and John are making a specific request of Jesus -- "Now when you establish your kingdom, let one of us sit on the right hand and the other on the left hand of your throne." [...] What was the answer that Jesus gave these men? It's very interesting. One would have thought that Jesus would have condemned them. One would have thought that Jesus would have said, "You are out of your place. You are selfish. Why would you raise such a question?"

But that isn't what Jesus did; he did something altogether different. He said in substance, "Oh, I see, you want to be first. You want to be great. You want to be important. You want to be significant. Well, you ought to be. If you're going to be my disciple, you must be." But he reordered priorities. And he said, "Yes, don't give up this instinct. It's a good instinct if you use it right. It's a good instinct if you don't distort it and pervert it. Don't give it up. Keep feeling the need for being important. Keep feeling the need for being first. But I want you to be first in love. I want you to be first in moral excellence. I want you to be first in generosity. That is what I want you to do."

And he transformed the situation by giving a new definition of greatness. And you know how he said it? He said, "Now brethren, I can't give you greatness. And really, I can't make you first." This is what Jesus said to James and John. "You must earn it. True greatness comes not by favoritism, but by fitness. And the right hand and the left are not mine to give, they belong to those who are prepared."

And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important -wonderful. If you want to be recognized -wonderful. If you want to be great -wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness.

And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant."

--Martin Luther King, Jr.

And this is why I am sharing this with you one week after the MLK Jr. holiday.

I read this quotation in my Walking with Purpose Bible Study a couple weeks ago. 

I can't stop rereading it. 

There is a new definition of greatness!

A new norm of greatness! 

Our desires to be great and our desires to be important are good.

An example of greatness is St. Maximilian Kolbe. He said he wanted to not only become a saint but a great saint!

  

He chose greatness by living a life of service and a life of love. 

That is what makes us fit to be disciples of Jesus.

That is what Martin Luther King Jr. is saying too.

Take Heart! 

Desire Greatness!

Image by Clark Tibbs 

Reason to Hope

“If we save one life in years and years of pro-life activity or prayer we have saved the most precious gift that any human being has, the gift of his own life, of her own life.”

- John Cardinal O’Connor, March 23, 1991

The March for Life was in Washington D.C. today. 

People from across our nation gathered together to celebrate life! 

Life is a gift. 

Why do we March for Life? 

We march for the unborn.

We march for the vulnerable, for the babies and their mothers.

We march for the elderly, the sick and the dying. 

We march for all human life, from conception to natural death. 

Each life begins in the womb and each life is sacred. 

Jesus is our Reason to Hope.

Our hope for an end to abortion. 

Jesus is hope for those who have suffered from abortions and trauma. 

With out stretched arms He embraces us when we doubt our purpose in life. 

Jesus, loving each of us as if there was only one of us, would suffer and die again for just one of us. 

Again, Why do we March for Life?

Because each of our lives are precious and Jesus gives us Reason to Hope! 

“We must have hope. We are told that the Word came into the world as light in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it. The darkness of death, the darkness of abortion, will be overcome by hope and by faith – your hope, your faith. And we have reason for hope… look at you – there is our hope. Look at the wonder of you, so many of you, after years and years and years of marching, and praying, and sacrificing, at your own expense, freezing in the cold, walking in the snow, praying the rosary outside clinics…it is you who are the hope of the world, you who are the light of the world in today’s darkness, so we must have hope – you are the reason for the hope.”

- John Cardinal O’Connor at the March for Life, January 21, 1992

- John Cardinal O’Connor, March 23, 1991

Photo from the Sisters of Life 

Wisdom and Courage

 "There is wisdom in the mess. Immerse yourself in the wisdom of the mess with all the courage and consciences you can muster. How? Acknowledge that life is messy. Realize that we are all wounded and broken. Accept some level responsibility for your mess. This acknowledgement, realization, and acceptance are the perquisites for the wisdom of a messy life. Together they give birth to a piercing awareness of how we came to be where we are and what we need to do to continue our journey." Life is Messy, Matthew Kelly 

Take Heart!

Life is messy.

It's how we view the mess around us.

The mess if we let it, will bury us. God doesn't want that. 

There is wisdom and courage by accepting and living in the mess. 

Wisdom in recognizing the mess but not allowing it to overwhelm us.

 Courage in taking responsibility and making a difference in the mess. 

Acknowledging the mess but making the mess beautiful.

Do what you can with the mess around you. 

Let the Holy Spirit do the rest. 

Immerse yourself in the hands of the Holy Spirit! 

Seek the gifts of wisdom and courage! 

We need wisdom to have courage!

We need courage to continue this journey!

It takes courage going to the Sacrament of Confession.

Confession is the best place to be when overwhelmed by the mess.

Give the mess to Jesus! 

Ask Jesus for the gift of wisdom to help recognize the mess of our sins. 

Know that His merciful love is more powerful than the messes we create.

Fr. Mike Schmitz says, "It's not us saying to Jesus "Give me another chance." It's JESUS asking us to give Him another chance!"

Take Courage!

 "Our trust in God gives us the freedom to live life courageously." Walking with Purpose 

Yes, life is messy but if we look past the mess, we will find beauty.  

Alex Shute 

Disney Holiday

Oh, boy! 2022 is off to a great start! 

I enjoyed my Christmas break with my family.

My younger sisters made it home for the holidays and my parents surprised our family with a trip to Disneyland! 

We left for Spokane Monday, January 3rd.

"I can go the distance!" -Hercules 

After we made it to Spokane we found out our flight for the following morning was canceled.   

(It was the week of the big snow storm.) 

We were "Frozen". 

We didn't think we were going to make it to Disneyland. 

We had to "Let it go" and let God. 

Thankfully, by the grace of God, we made it!  

“Hakuna Matata! That means no worries!” - The Lion King  

Thank you to Dad and Mom for working with the airlines and thank you to our guardian angels who made our trip possible. 

"All it takes is a little faith and trust and a little pixie dust!" -Peter Pan 

We stayed at a hotel walking distance from the park. 

They should have welcomed us by singing, "Be our guest!" -Beauty and the Beast 

The warm weather was a nice change from the cold snow.

It was warm enough to "Just keep swimming" in the outdoor pool and hot tub! 

We spent two days in the park. 

 The last time I was in Disneyland I was seven years old. 

"Once I was seven years old"... wait,  that's not a disney song. 

 It was just as magical twenty years later! 

The Disney Castle...

The excitement...

The joy...

The happiest place on earth! 

"A dream is a wish your heart makes." -Cinderella 

The Disney park was still decorated for Christmas! 

Christmas music played and fake snow fell from the sky as we watched the fireworks! 

We loved the fireworks!

"When you wish upon a star..." Pinochio 

My favorite ride was the Pirates of the Caribbean boat ride.

"Yo-ho-yo-ho, a pirate's life for me!" 

I also loved the classic Peter Pan, Dumbo and Little Mermaid rides. 

I am not as adventurous as my siblings and Dad are with roller coasters.

I use to be adventurous but now "I never look back, Darling, it distracts from the now." -Edna Mode, The Incredibles

Thankfully we only had to wear our masks when we were on the rides or inside buildings. 

On our first day, Max located a restaurant for lunch, Gaston’s Tavern. It was themed from Beauty and the Beast and yes, Gaston "uses antlers in all of his decorating!"

 "Ten points for Gaston!" 

I loved the palm trees, the sunshine, the rides, the fun and the happiness around me.

I loved the memories from old and the memories we were making!

"We didn't realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun." -Winnie the Pooh

If you haven't been to Disneyland, put it on your bucket list! 

"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." Walt Disney 

  Happy New Year! 

Year Full of Grace

Happy New Year! 

I told myself that I wasn't going to make a New Year's resolution. 

Instead, I was going to choose to go with the flow. 

That way I wouldn't feel like a loser when I forgot or failed at sticking to my resolutions.

Speaking from past experiences of course. 

"Paul the Apostle observed, "The good that I would, I do not; and the evil that I would not, I do." What was he saying? We don't do what we say we will do. We don't do what we intend to do. We often don't even do the things we most want to do. And worse than that, we often do things we  know are bad for us, things we know will hurt other people, things that we know we will regret. And we do all these things even though deep down we don't want to do them."  Life is Messy, Matthew Kelly

I was looking at the year ahead without any expectations.

I opened an email this morning and found this greeting...

A blessed New Year of God's grace!  

Words of hope! 

Inspiration for this blog!

A reminder to expect good things for the year ahead.    

To hope and to expect grace! 

That is now my New Year's resolution. 

"I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year." Charles Dickens 

May 2022 be a year filled with grace!

Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!