Happy Birthday Papa!

Today is Pope Benedict XVI's 83rd birthday!

Looking forward to many more birthdays to come.

Pax Christi

Interesting Thoughts

Father Larry's homily this past Sunday was a discussion on the doubting of Saint Thomas. I found his point that he hopes all doubters continue to doubt because they will eventually swing around and doubt their doubt and thus find faith. Very pivotal for many people, I'm sure.

During a daily Mass Father Larry mentioned that we have two things in life that we must have to survive. The Word and the Eucharist. The Word makes us hungry for the Eucharist. Refreshing!

Today the things Jesus said to the Pharisee, Nicodemus, were thought-provoking (From the Gospel of John, Ch 3):

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

“‘You must be born from above.’
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
‘How can this happen?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?

What do you want in a Pastor?

Have you every thought about this question?

I can't say that I have thought too much about it, although I imagine all of us frequent church-goers have an idea of what makes a good one and what does not. We all can list traits that we wouldn't want, right?

Hmm, I'm going to have to think about this and keep adding or making changes to this list.

1. I want him to love the liturgy and express that by making each Mass sacred and full of the mystery that should be there. I want him to respect rubrics and not to reshape the liturgy.
2. In loving the liturgy, he'd have to love music and care about the music ministry and making it as reverent as possible with lots of Latin and Gregorian Chant and no contemporary music or inappropriate instruments like the tambourine or drum set.
3. I would love a priest who suggests confession to his parishioners more than once a year and made if available several times a week. I want to hear it from the pulpit and I want to hear him advising it to people when they speak to him about their concerns in general.
4. I want a priest who stresses that big families are good that they should bring them to church. I want him to encourage NFP.
5. I want him to be strict during Mass and expect nothing but the utmost respect and reverence from parishioners. I want him to reprimand those that need it.
6. I want him to respect sacramentals and the prayers in the Ritual. To have holy water and blessed salt available to parishioners and be willing and ready to bless sacramentals with the appropriate prayers that are said for different items.
7. I want him to ignore a bit of crying from babies but at some point expect the parents to take the child(ren) out when they are disrupting the service.
8. I want him to tell parishioners to leave their cell phones out of the sanctuary. God is calling them for 1 hour (or 80 minutes) and they either make the commitment or they don't.
9. I want him to be available to visit with families to attend dinners and host them at the rectory for the elderly, families, and young adults.
10. I want him to read everything the popes have written and to encourage others to do the same. I want him to recommend good books that every catholic should read.
11. I want him to catechize! To host seminars for the diocese and to make sure we know why we are catholic.
12. I want him to offer a Traditional Latin Mass at least once a month or maybe each week or find a priest who would come to do it for him.
13. I would love for him to be a good homilist. It doesn't have to be long, just make a point and evolve from it! Respect for the readings and honing in on them would be prevalent. I detest it when priests give a homily that has nothing to do with the readings. Even current events can be brought into a homily properly with many of the readings. I would want him to do the homilies 3 out of 4 weeks each month and not expect the deacons to do most of the homilies.
14. I want loads of (reverent, liturgy-loving, respectful) deacons and acolytes and lots of servers. I prefer all boys but Pope JPII made it okay for girls so I'm not offended when I see them. But I do yearn for the aspect of the server as a introduction to the priesthood.
15. I would want him to have a strong prayer life and be an example to his parish by praying with them not only at Mass but in their homes, in the chapel and so forth.
16. I do not have a problem with a priest stressing the importance of tithing and I encourage it. Many people don't even know what is expected of them and good catechesis would solve this. But when the parish is in need, the priest should speak and ask for more from his flock.
17. More than one would be a blessing and a benefit to all. It would be nice to have a retired priest on hand to rotate through daily Mass, help out with confessions and overall be a part of pastoral care.

Whew, that is a long list. Maybe I am asking too much from a single man but one can dream, right?

Most of those who know me know that one or two priests already fit most of these tickets. I have been blessed to know many good priests who have set an example for me to expect.

Why am I Catholic?

With all of the horrible things being said in the media about the Pope, sex abuse scandals and corruption it is difficult as a Catholic to defend my Church when someone asks me what I think about such things.

For one thing, these people aren't Catholic and most of them aren't exactly God-fearing Christians either so they really don't understand. And just saying something like, "You can't believe everything you read," just doesn't seem to cut it. Although it is true, you get that look of, "Yeah, right."

There is a war going on. A war against Catholicism. And most catholics don't even know it is going on or even choose to acknowledge it. Acknowledging it is like..... believing that the devil really does exist. I think most people wouldn't deny that Satan exists, they just don't think he is truly present around us. It is much easier to think about him far away in a land called Hell than to think he is among us and is putting thoughts in our heads and encouraging us to be selfish and uncharitable towards one another. It is much easier to scoff than it is to think that my angry thoughts towards someone is being encouraged.

So why be a Catholic? Why not be some other religion that isn't being crushed by the popular vote? We live in a society where being religious is not cool. And what isn't cool gets stomped on. Of course, religion isn't cool. It is a way of life. It is striving to be virtuous and good. Who could be cool and good?

It is hard to be Catholic! No one ever quit being Catholic because it was just too easy. It is a trial. You bear a cross. You suffer. You pray and pray and often prayers go unanswered. You are tested to see if you truly believe! I actually feel uneasy a lot of the time because I have many blessings. I wonder what cross I will be asked to carry next. I want to ask God to give me a cross but at the same time I am scared of the cross he will give. I imagine crosses that I may have some day and how I would carry them.

• Will I be infertile? Maybe so, but I have nothing against adoption. That isn't an easy process but I think I can handle it.
• Will I be poor? Sure, why not? I'd rather be poor than wealthy, actually. Being rich seems stressful in a different way that I wouldn't want. I'm savvy enough to maintain a budget and a household on a low income (I hope).
• Will I lose a family member? That would be very hard and I would suffer and grieve very much but I totally think I could suffer under it and still have my faith.
• Will I die young? I would be sad for those who would grieve for me but I hope that I would find my resting place with Our Lord once and for all.

I'm feeling guilty because I know he wouldn't give me something I couldn't handle so I feel like I am admitting sin by writing this down. *sigh* We're all sinners right? The Church is not for the righteous, it is for the sinners. We want absolution from our sins.

Why am I Catholic?

Because I believe in the Truth. I believe that the Catholic Church is the One True Church, One Holy, One Catholic and One Apostolic. I believe that Jesus is true God and true man. That He died for our sins and was resurrected to show us the way, the truth and the life. I believe Jesus founded the Church with Peter and that means something. I believe in His Body and His Blood and that I need it to survive. I believe in the Sacraments that the holy waters of baptism washed away my original sin, that I received the gifts of the Holy Spirit upon Confirmation, that I receive absolution when I go to Confession. I look forward to the sacrament of Matrimony because being married in the Church is not the same thing as being married legally. I believe in eternal life and the resurrection of the body. I believe in the intercessions of Mary, the Mother of God and of the Saints. I believe in the power of prayer, particularly in the rosary. I believe in Christ's mercy for me and He shows me how to have mercy for others. I believe what the Church teaches and although I fail day by day I will continue to persevere in hopes of His love and by loving Him that He gives me His Most Sacred Heart.

Did Christ say that he founded a perfect Church? Hardly. When you draw sinners together you are bound to have a few that will lose face, will sin again, will not trust God to keep them. It is a simple message but a very hard one to follow. The Church shall prevail against the gates of Hell. So I encourage him, bring it.

My heart is restless until it rests in Him.

So, am I Catholic? Damn straight!

Have Faith

This gorgeous picture is being sent around the internet and I find myself awestruck. You never know when God is going to throw something right at you that you won't want to miss!

Genesis Humor

Today I read this over on the Musings of a Pertinacious Papist and must share:

There are a whopping nine faithful Catholics in Congress who oppose the public funding of abortion. That's really good news. Faithful, shining witnesses to the truth of the Gospel.Nine. Out of 136 Catholics in Congress. The rest of whom support the public funding of abortion.

Let me see ... When Abraham was negotiating with God on the number of righteous men in Sodom for the sake of which God would not destroy it, how many was the minimum, do you remember?

Genesis 18:32 --

Then [Abraham] said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" And [the Lord] answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."

Oh, crap.

Fred McNair

We were astonished to find out on Sunday that a good and pious man at our parish had suddenly passed away. He was 64 and seemed to be in good health, we were caught by surprise at this news. Matthew and I did not know Fred McNair very well but we saw him every day at Mass. Fred and his wife, Evelyn, are Knight and Lady in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, which is dedicated to supporting Holy Places, particularly in Jerusalem. They told us about the Order during one of the seminars on the Crusades last year.

The last few days daily Mass has been tearful because Fred was known to pray for vocations during the Intercessions. Now, someone different every day has said Fred's prayer for him. I'm sure many of us will add his prayer to our daily intercessions.

"For an increase in the response to God's call to the priesthood and consecrated religious life. And for the perseverance in all vocations. We pray to the Lord."

The Seven Storey Mountain

During the season of Lent I've been reading The Seven Storey Mountain which is Thomas Merton's autobiography. He was a Trappist Monk at Gethsemane which is located in Kentucky. Matthew and I paid it a visit in September of last year and found it remarkably full of peace and beauty. The brothers make cheese, fruit cake and bourbon fudge (yum!). Nothing was overblown, it was just beautiful in its simplicity. I can't wait to return for a weekend stay.

I'm not that far in the book, Thomas has just reached 17 and he is not Catholic (yet).

I read this passage this morning and it spoke to me. Something I think all of us can understand yet fall victim to from time to time.

People who are immersed in sensual appetites and desires are not very well prepared to handle abstract ideas.

This is why I think we Catholics pursue acts of penance, fasting and abstinence. When we starve our cravings and temptations then we truly can think clearly and think things through.

I am left wondering how we are to teach these ideas to our children. Is it that they must come to these conclusions by themselves? I suppose the best I can do is plant the seeds of these fruits multiple times.

Project Gabriel

My friend, Maria, is the new Gabriel Project coordinator at my parish and she has been hungrily searching for more volunteers and doing a great job! She has me signed up. :)

I am called to help those who are in crisis pregnancies because I feel that I can be as pro-life as I like but until I help those out there who are willing to go through the struggle of adding a pregnancy to their already complicated lives then I am just a bystander. I know Matthew will be willing to help me and be involved. I haven't been trained yet and I will go to a training session next weekend. I know that I will encounter frustrations and distress but I am going into this not seeking rewards or even believing in seeing the fruits of my efforts. I hope this will lead us to more fervent prayer and less restlessness.

I want to do as my friends, Sharon and Adam, do. They live their faith. They live a Christ-life life and set an example to their children. I wish I could have found a faith-filled life sooner. Late have I loved Thee, O Beauty, so ancient and so new. Late have I loved Thee. ~Saint Augustine.

I know my parents have volunteered in the past. My mother and her friend cleaned the church every week when I was small. I recall smelling the pledge and other cleaning solution as they wiped down the pews and polished the brass. But when we moved to Kentucky she no longer did that. I am grateful to have those faint but surfacing memories of crawling around the pews quietly in the sanctuary and talking to Christ with my child-like prayers. She has been the one who cleans and irons the purificators for Mass for longer than I can remember and that is a beautiful way to serve the Lord. I think they are scared to do anything more outside of their comfort zone and thus gave me a sheltered life. There are many blessings in that so I do not complain (too much).

It is very easy to get me to do something at church. It is where I want to be.

Marriage Prep Day 3: NFP and other stuff

Our last marriage prep meeting was great! Amy and her husband, Adam, gave the talk about NFP. All the couples said they wanted children so that cleared the way for more discussion. It was interesting to hear Adam talk about what it was like to not be Catholic and go through marriage prep and NFP classes with Amy and that it was okay. We didn't get much else out of it besides witnessing to the wonders which is the Creighton Model System and encouraging the other couples to look into it. The two couples there who we know practice NFP are into the Couple to Couple League which teaches the symptothermal method.

A poem in Bishop Sheen's autobiography which is germane to the discussion:

Some moralists claim that the Pill

May be used even though you're not ill.

It gives the ability

To banish fertility

But I can't really think it's God's Will.

Another thing about Bishop Sheen that you see throughout his writings is the concept of freedom of choice. God gave us the freedom to love and accept him or to deny him. We h

ave the freedom to do as we please but God's Will is not the freedom to do what we want but the freedom to do as we ought.

This past week I was able, with Matthew's help, to get quite a bit of wedding planning done. I ordered the cardstock for the programs (yay!); I found a great price on Saint Michael medals and ordered those; and the brown wooden beads were ordered. So when these arrive we'll have much more work to do. We went to Hobby Lobby this weekend to get some pricing ideas on a frame and matte for what I want in our home. And we worked on the invitations and are close to checking those off of our list.

A few of the girls from church wanted to start a book club so we met on Friday and picked

out a selection of books. We are first going to read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. It his a

biblical historical fiction novel written about what it was like to be a woman during those times, specifically from the point of view of Jacob's daughter, Dinah. I read it many moons ago and I look forward to reading it again and discussing it with the other women. Our second book

for Lent will be The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. So exciting!

Such a beautiful poem by Father Leonard Feeney.*

Whenever the bright blue nails would drop

Down on the floor of his carpenter's shop,

St. Joseph, prince of carpenter men,

Would stoop to gather them up again;

For he feared for two little sandals sweet

And very easy to pierce they were

As they pattered over the lumber there

And rode on two little Sacred Feet.

But alas on a hill between earth and heaven

One day--two nails into a cross were driven

And fastened it firm to the Sacred Feet

Where once rode two little sandals sweet.

And Christ and His Mother looked off in death

Afar--to the valley of Nazareth

Where the carpenter shop was spread with dust

And the little blue nails all packed in rust

Slept in a box on the window sill;

And Joseph lay sleeping under the hill.

What a tear-jerker for me. I have always been very fond of Saint Joseph and admired what an amazing man he was for marrying Mary and being the adopted father to Jesus. I sometimes yearn to know more about him and I wish our Gospel writers had been inspired to write more. Especially, since we model our own families after the Holy Family.

How often do we think about Jesus as a toddler? I don't have children, yet, but I imagine when I do I will think about Jesus has a small child more. Right now, though, I think of him usually as an adult. When I do contemplate him so small it makes me thankful that our Lord became man for us to grasp him more.

*Please note, reader, that I am aware of the history of Fr. Feeney and I do not agree with his teachings but that does not mean he did not love God and was incapable of art. I am not his fan but I do appreciate this one act of love that came out of him.

Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

I don't believe I can express enough how much I enjoy reading anything by Bishop Sheen. I recently read a biography about him by Thomas Reeves before reading his autobiography, Treasures in Clay. You may wonder what the title of his book means and I won't tell! You should read it to find out, it is a wonderful symbol.

The biography was very honest and the writer, although clearly a fan of Sheen, made a point to emphasize facts about who he spoke to, the letters and newspapers he read. Bishop Sheen lived a most extraordinary life and had his fair share of grief.

I recommend reading the biography before the autobiography. I find that

upon reading the second his sorrow melts down each page as lays down events with humor. It is amazing to understand that while you feel his hurt, he expresses it so well with just the right words. He says only the nicest things about people who have hurt him and if you haven't read the biography you won't notice his forgiveness and desire to love and be loved.

In fact, I feel like I am reading him for the last time. I slowly chew on each word and mourn that I never will meet him on this earth.

I realize that I haven't read everything of his but this is truly his last published work and so he writes it as a

goodbye to his beloved flock.

He may be gone but he is certainly not forgotten.

Marriage Prep Day 2: Intimacy

Last night was day two of marriage prep class. The topic was intimacy. It went smoothly, we didn't really learn anything new. Just a reminder to think things through about each other since we are so different.

The couple leading the discussion, Martha and Javier, were really great! I enjoyed hearing about their marriage and they worked well together on the presentation. I found it interesting that they were married at ages 18 and 19 and that a priest wouldn't marry them because he didn't believe they would make it. So they were civilly married for a few years before having their marriage blessed. They discussed how hard it was to go to Mass and not receive communion. I was very impressed. They have been married for 32 years! It is a shame that someone in authority did not trust that they heard His Voice and listened to it.

We have a homework assignment for next week but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I hope this weekend we can get a lot of wedding plans accomplished. Although most of Saturday is taken for a Young Adult Advisory Board meeting and the Rally for Life at the capital. Today is the day in history that Roe vs Wade was passed. I keep praying for the respect for Life in our nation and around the world.

It fills me with sorrow the way our world is today. Those of us who are devoted to God have trouble understanding because it seems so simple. To me, the answer is that we trust God completely and when we don't trust Him that is when we suffer the most. Realizing this and focusing our trust in Him strengthens our relationship with Him. I don't remember my first grasp of my trust in Him because I was a child and that doesn't mean I didn't continue to sin. Every time I sin it is because I stop trusting Him. I can imagine that for someone who has no trust in Him at all that it would be hard to take that first step because God doesn't want just a little bit of your soul, he wants all of it. It seems that to some people that He is asking too much. They are missing out on much joy.

Anyway, I have been suffering from allergies because I don't always take my medication (I don't want to be pumped full of drugs if it isn't necessary and the doctor told me that was fine). I have been trying to check on the allergen counts and it wasn't very accurate about this past weekend so I am coping as best as I can. I had to leave during part of Mass this morning so I could cough without disturbing everyone else. It looks like most of January, February and March have high expectations of mold and pollen so I guess I will be taking my pill every day.

So today I pray for abortionists, those who are thinking about having one, and those that have had one. May they find God and comfort in Him. And I pray for the other couples in our marriage prep class. I hope that they are getting as much out of it as we are.

Abstaining

Matthew and I have decided to abstain from meat on Fridays and so far it has worked out okay. I tend to eat a lot of tuna. :)

One problem I have been having is what to do as a penance on the Fridays that we do eat meat. Our friends, Sharon and Adam, pray all the decades of the Rosary as penance. I think this is beautiful and a wonderful penance but it doesn't seem like the right fit for us. So I will continue to pray for guidance and to discern what our best option will be. Any suggestions would be welcome!

So it is Friday and my lunch box has tuna in it. Yum! My preferred method is to mix in a few tablespoons of Miracle Whip and eat it on Pringles. Put on toasted bread is good as well but not as yummy as chips.

Marriage Prep

Last night was our first marriage prep class and it was about communication and our love languages. I think we had already covered much of that material on our own, which is good and we gained some new insights into understanding our backgrounds.

One major point that I felt was stressed was that we are taught how to communicate at a very young age by our families. Keeping this in mind we then analyzed how we communicate with others and predicting how our fiance then must primarily communicate. It was very informative since Matthew and I were obviously raised differently. A Catholic household does not identical make.

Also the topic of the Sacrament of Marriage was covered. I wish more time could have been spent on this but, alas, no. I'm sure some more information will be covered down the road. The more interesting topics broached was why are we getting married in an age where 48% of people get divorced? And that the sacrament of marriage is a covenant of three vows: permanence, fidelity and procreation.

I believe there are 8 couples in our program, which is cool! Last night everyone stood up and said how they met, what their occupation is and their wedding date. We have two friends with us, J. C. and Rebecca so it is fun to talk to them and share this experience with them. I do hope to get to know the other couples a bit better. It would be neat to know that they are there for the same reasons we are and not just to fill a requirement or make their families happy.

I forgot to add in my 2009 Year in Review that I found Father Zuhlsdorf (Father Z) on What Does The Prayer Really Say and fell in love with my Catholic Faith and have learned so much about our religion's history, present and future from this amazing blog. His blog tends to earn awards in the religion categories and I don't know how many followers he has but it is at least a couple thousand worldwide.

Oh, and some have asked about what kind of cakes we will have at our wedding. So here is the list:

Raspberry buttercream

Almond

Hazelnut

Spumoni

Cannoli

The cannoli and hazelnut are my favorite but all taste good! If you desire something specific and it isn't at your table then turn around and trade a piece with another table. Matthew and I will be having cannoli at our table, yum!

Tonight is our first marriage prep meeting and I am really looking forward to meeting all the people and learning a few new things.

What's happening

I've been very busy lately, as well has been Matthew. Thanksgiving was great and relaxing here in Austin. We had dinner with Dick and Karol and our friends, Seyma and Tayfun, came over to eat and play dominoes with us. Food was great, company was great! God is good!

On black Friday we did go shopping but not until the afternoon. We went to Macy's. Matthew needs to throw away some clothing that he has had for too long and replace some things! So we've been slowly updating his clothes with things more comfortable, better quality and fashionable. I'm very excited about his new clothes. We had to leave our items there because we purchased them on a sale price that wasn't going to happen on that day. I am going to stop by Macy's tonight to pick them up. I bought three pretty dresses and I might take one back but it was worth it to buy it at the discount price and decide later to return.

We have been busy thinking about our Christmas plans and I have been working on my Christmas gift-list. I am happy that I have something in mind for all who I am shopping for and I will be able to stay within my budget.

Our engagement party is just around the corner so I am making my checklist for that! We are very excited to be engaged and are happy that so many friends and loved ones want to celebrate with us. I have the cutest dress to wear!

We are going to be gone for awhile over Christmas. We are leaving Monday, December 21st and won't return until Saturday, January 9th. A lot of wedding planning will be done while we are at home. We need to meet with Msgr. Neuhaus, Father Ed, Fred the photographer, Marylin the baker, the caterer, musicians, and a host of other things. I'm looking forward to visiting with family and friends. I look forward to the cold weather but I hope travel is easy.

We watched Therese, Fulton and Gianna last night and had a fabulous time. The kids love to be read to and play games. Putting them to bed is always the end of the fun, children never like to brush their teeth or say goodnight but we managed without too much difficulty. I can't imagine what it would be like to watch other children who don't have the charitable hearts and innocence that the Gretencord clan have. The worst we get when a child is angry is, "I don't like you," "I wish you weren't here," or "No, I won't put my pajamas on." I would be horrified to hear them say anything harsh. Sharon and Adam are marvelous mentors on raising children. We have learned so much.

Matthew has decided on his game plan for graduate school and it coincides pretty nicely with my education. I'm really happy that he is happy and that it so far seems like a challenge but within reach. The more we learn about homeschooling the more desirable it is to us. Since I will be the one in charge of the education then it is important for Matthew's career goals to take precedence. My own goals include working for us to have the extra income to save for the future and buy a house. We might decide later that some schooling outside the home is a better idea than us doing all of it so it is important that I complete my degree so that I can return to work later and be qualified.

Anyway, that's what's been going on with us lately. I hope to have some time to write more later.

I've added the daily readings to the blog more for my benefit than for others. We have been going to daily Mass together every day and it would be nice if I read the readings the day before. Sometimes I have trouble following by just listening. I know we are supposed to "listen" to the Word of the Lord and I try but following along helps me focus and retain. If I was asked what I just heard I would, more often than not, not have an answer. I know that I am a bad listener, I have spent years working on it and I do care about what people say.

Anyway, Peace in Christ be with you all!

I came across a website today (of course, through Father Z's blog: http://wdtprs.com/blog/) that offers help for priests who are in crisis and gives suggestions that the laity can do for them. It struck me that I very well could know a priest who has no family living or family in the area who are available to help them in need. We all have either known a priest who went through a hard time with either his parish, his diocese, his family or other matters. If you haven't then you might not even be aware that a priest you know may experience times of loneliness. Think of the times in your life when you have been sad or depressed and who have you turned to? Not all priests have those options available to them.

It is a good thing when parishioners go out of their way to extend invitations to dinner and give gifts to their pastor. Even if they are not able to accept a dinner invitation they at least know that people love them and want their company.

Anyway, here is the website take a look when you can: www.priestsincrisis.com/blog/

I don't know how successful they are in helping out priests but even if they have been there for just one then they have made a difference.

If we are unhappy with our Catholic identity and desire for more unity within our own Church what better way than for it to start with our priests? This is the Year for Priests so we should be more diligent about offering up prayers for priests in our daily prayer then ever before. I'm going to make time today to pray the Rosary for priests. What are you going to do?

Happenings

So what has been going on lately:

1. Matthew and I looked at wedding bands and have narrowed down to two choices for each of us. Mine is going to be simple (yay!) and his is more ornate. We are thinking of getting him a tungsten carbide band that has a Catholic cross design on it. I think it is exquisite!

2. We bought his suit for the wedding, it is very stylish!

3. Greg has a girlfriend.

4. School has been frustrating.

5. Church has had loads of activities going on.

6. We switched our Adoration day and time to Friday at 7pm. I was struggling so much with the Tuesday 11pm time. If anyone is interested... I'm sure that spot will be hard to fill. We gave it our best shot.

7. We've had some fiascos that we can only thank God for His humor.

8. I finished Life of Christ and now I am reading The World's First Love. I can't get enough of Bishop Sheen's writings!

9. The economy is in bad shape.

10. America is trying to institute health care reform. But the USCCB is not endorsing anything that would imply funding abortions.

11. The Church is opening Its doors to conservative Anglicans.

Texas Alliance for Life Benefit Dinner

Last Thursday, Sharon and Adam invited us to be their guests at the Texas Alliance for Life dinner (pictured below). I didn't know the executive director is a member of my parish! Pretty cool, it was wonderful to see so many people we knew there. The guest speaker was absolutely amazing. Gianna Jessen survived an abortion and lives to tell about it! She is an amazing orator and her talk was well honed. It was a wonderful benefit dinner and I hope that TAL receives the funds they are asking for.

Sharon and Adam also asked three Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist to attend the event and pictured below is one holding Cecilia (I think that is Sister Mary Jacinta).

I feel honored to have been asked to attend such an event and I hope that we will be able to be able to afford to donate more money as we advance in our careers to the charities that mean the most to us. TAL is certainly one of them. It was fascinating to hear of the progress and advancements they have made with shutting down illegal abortion clinics and helping pro-life advocates obtain election in certain offices. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to know so many people who are full of love and speak openly about the right to life.

_____________________

O, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy. Amen.

God bless Sharon and Adam for their dedication and hard work for respecting life and teaching others to do the same.