Baptism

I thought I would share these photo of this year's Easter Vigil. This collection includes photos of myself being baptized, as well as my 5 year old daughter, Nataylie, confirmation, and my first communion! Alleluia!

Happy Birthday Holy Father!

Today is Pope Benedict XVI's 82nd birthday. Wishing him a wonderful and blessed day!

Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday celebrates the waiting at the Tomb of Jesus and meditation on his death. The Easter Vigil is on Holy Saturday and is the last day of Lent.

This Holy Saturday was particularly special for me because my five (5) year old daughter, Nataylie, and I were baptized at the Easter Vigil. It was a beautiful ceremony and a wondrous day and what I believe to be the most important day of my life. I can already notice the Holy Spirit filling my soul. I hope all had a fabulous Easter.

Good Friday

Once again, this is my first Good Friday as a Catholic (although I am not officially a Catholic, I am one in my heart). As such, I have done a little research on this special day.

Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion, passion, and death of Jesus. It is a day of fasting in the Catholic Church. It is the second day of the Paschal Triduum.

There are scriptural references at Matthew 26-27; Mark 14-15; Luke 23; and John 17-19.

Wishing all a Happy Good Friday!

What If She Had Said "No"?

I found this article on the Universalis website today. It is entitled "What if she had said no?", (click on this article to read it) referring to Mary of course. It raises an interesting question that I had never considered before. It had never occurred to me that she had a choice, but if you think about it, she did, just as all of us have a choice. God gave us freewill.

This article really puts into perspective why we place Mary on such a high pedestal.

I wish that I would have found this prior to March 25th, which is the Feast of the Annunciation. It's neat to be able to celebrate these important events that took place so long ago. An understanding of the events makes them so much more special. To think that before I converted I never thought of these things or celebrated these events makes me sad and grateful at the same time. I am so grateful to have been enlightened and yet very sad at the same time that I had been so ignorant.

Holy Thursday

Because this is my first Holy Thursday as a Catholic, I decided to do a little research to find out what this special day is really about.

I have learned that this day celebrates the institution of the Eucharist and the sacrament of Ordination and begins the Paschal Triduum, a 3 day celebration of Christ's death and resurrection.

Jesus shared the last supper with his disciples on the night before he was crucified. In addition, Holy Thursday also celebrates the agony in the garden and the betrayal by Judus, both of these events also occurred the night before the crucifixion.

Traditions that are generally associated with Holy Thursday include:

-Reciting of the creed by Catechumens (the unbaptized elect) from memory;
-Washing of feet; and
-Reconciliation of penitents and the consecration of holy oil.

There are numerous references to Holy Thursday in the Holy Bible including: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13; 1 Corinthians 11:22-34. Holy Thursday traditions are derived from all four of the above gospels.

St. Benedict for Busy Parents

This article/booklet is wonderful for parents. It teaches how we, as parents, can use St. Benedict's Rule as a structure in our own homes. It teaches us how we can truly accomplish a more Christ-like life through prayer, work and study and shows how to integrate the Lord into our busy 21st century lives. It can be done....truly inspiring!

St. Benedict for Busy Parents

By clicking on the link above you can read "St. Benedict for Busy Parents" in pdf format.

Butler's Lives of the Saints

I have just completed reading this wonderful and inspiring book. The version that I read is the "Concise, Modernized Edition" by Bernard Bangley (2005). It was easy to read and is broken down into days so that you may read about one saint's life each day. I couldn't wait to read more so I made it through within about two months.

It is important to have role models and who better than the saints that came before us? I would suggest that everyone read this book for inspiration. I initially picked up this book on my search for my saint that I will be taking the name of at my baptism. I related the very most to St. Margaret of Cortona and have chosen her as my baptismal saint.

Morning Prayer

The past few months, I have started waking up earlier to make time for Morning Prayer. Every morning after I get dressed and ready for work and before I wake my daughter, I say a morning prayer and read my daily bible readings. I have personally found this task is a delight and a time I truly look forward to. It helps me start my day in a positive way and I immediately feel as if I have accomplished something worthwhile.

The prayer that I have grown fond of and have used nearly every morning is a prayer that I learned from reading St. Francis De Sales’ "Philothea, or Introduction to the Devout Life". I have modified the language so that it is easier for me to pray. It is as follows

MORNING PRAYER:

"Lord, I lay before you my weak heart, which you have filled with good desires. You know that I am unable to bring the same to good effect, unless you bless and prosper them, and therefore, O Loving Father, I beg you to help me by the virtues and passion of your Dear Son, to whose honor I would devote this day and my whole life."

Then I say a second prayer with my daughter when she wakes up. This prayer is briefer and simpler to understand for my daughter's sake.

I would suggest that everyone begin their morning with a prayer and/or daily bible readings. It is quite refreshing and helps to focus your day towards doing God’s work.

Introduction

I am a recent convert to Catholicism and will be baptized and join the Body of Christ during this year's Easter Vigil on April 11, 2009 at the Holy Cross Catholic Church in Hutchinson, Kansas. My spiritual journey began last summer when I started my relationship with my current boyfriend and best friend. He is a Cradle-Catholic and I expressed to him an interest in his religion and he so kindly offered to take me as a guest to his church. We have been attending Mass regularly since that time. He has been so gracious to sponsor me in RCIA.

In my journey I have been educating myself on my new found religion by reading everything I can get my hands on to equip myself with knowledge on the subject. Religion is something that I don't want to take lightly. If I am going to call myself a Catholic I want to know exactly what that means.

This is my collection of thoughts and drops of knowledge that I have taken with me from my readings...my spiritual bouquet, as St. Francis De Sales would say.