Prayer
Prayers for May 2023
I will be honest and say this is the first month where I want to do too many novenas! I want to do one for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, for St. Joan of Arc, and for Corpus Christi. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. What are you going to do?
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worship
Who or What Do You Worship?
Quick Old Testament back story, King Ahaz of Judah did evil and so "This occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had worshiped other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of I…
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Faith
Fruits of the Holy Spirit
The 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity. Here are some hard truths to consider: Which one are you most gifted in? Thank God for this gift. Why has God give you this gift? How can you strengthen and share this gift with others? Which one are …
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Faith
Defending the Faith
I am working through The Early Church study from Ascension Press and wanted to share something that I love: "Defending the Faith Just as the early Church grappled with those who had departed from the Faith, so we must be ready to reach out to inactive or 'lapsed' Catholics who need to experience God's healing and reconciliation. Ultimately, it is …
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Faith
Shirt of Flame - Book Review
"Therese didn't so much want all for herself as to give all of hreself to God: 'I don't want to be a halfway waint . It doesn't scare me to suffer for You; I'm afraid of only one thing, and that is to hold onto my will . Take it, because " I choose all ," all that You want!'" page 5. I choose all. All of God's will! …
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Faith
Love Alone Is Credible
This was highly recommended to me. And I am sure it is sublime, but I am not as well read or learned as I sometimes present myself. I am not super familiar with the church fathers which I am working on to fix. This book relies heavily on the readers experience with the church fathers so I look forward to reading this again in a few years and grasping much more tha…
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Faith
Carmelites - Book Review
This book was on a list of required books to read for joining a particular Carmelite group. My heart yearns to join the Carmelites and as I await God's direction I am seeking to learn what I can about Oblates, Saint Benedict, and the Carmelites. On this particular book, I would only recommend it if you are thinking about joining the Carmelites in a secular/th…
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St. Benedict
St. Benedict Studies
I will admit that at first I find St. Benedict's rule to be just rules. I can't see how this brings you closer to God. But I know that smarter, more saintly people have found deep spiritual fulfilment in it and so I trust that I am missing something. And the more I dig in, the more I see that I missing something. I'm still not there. This was my fi…
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Faith
33 Days to Merciful Love
I have a deep respect for Fr. Gaitley. I believe he is attempting to make deep spiritual truths available to everyone in what I loving call baby steps. Baby steps are the key to what I believe true change comes in our normal lives. Not talking about extraordinary, supernatural events and changes. I am currently reading through 33 Days to Greater Glory so I wil…
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Faith
Uniformity with God's Will
This is one of the most powerful booklets I have read in my 47 years of experience. Seriously. Read it! Here are some highlights: "...perfect love of God means the complete union of our will with God's..." page 6 "...the more one unites his will with the divine will, the greater will be his love of God." page 6 "'I direct all my pr…
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The Lazy Way
The Weight of Sin
St. Therese's little way is that we come to Christ as small children. If we lean on him and allow him to carry us, we will be closer to him than if we try to get to him under our own strength. I have jokingly said that I am going to call my approach the lazy way. Let's see how this goes as in my head it makes sense, hopefully it translates well into writt…
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Faith
Your Testimony
I was recently challenged to write my testimony in one hundred words, with gentleness & reverence. Here goes: I struggled to know who God is until I learned the Old Testament is a love story of a mighty Redeemer constantly calling us to return to him. I always had a yearning for God and that was because he was calling me. If you have a yearning for God, it…
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Faith
lamb party
Imagine this, a field full of lambs. It's night. There are strobing lights throughout the field pulsing in a array of colors. Huge speakers are set up and the air is throbbing with bass as house music plays almost painfully loud. untz untz untz It's a lamb party. All of a sudden you see the Shepherd return carrying a lost lamb. A roar goes up in c…
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Praise
You Have One Job
Worship. In your pain, worship the Lord. In your joy, worship the Lord. or as Daniel 3:52-90 says: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our ancestors, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages. Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory, praiseworthy and…
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Faith
My Will Be Done
Are you praying to God to bless your will? or Are you praying to God thy will be done?
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Faith
God's Temple
Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may appear in my glory, says the Lord. ~Haggai 1:8 Where is God's temple in your every day? God lives among us. He will only show up in the ways that you have allowed him to though. So is God's temple in your mornings? In your goings? In your... media consu…
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Faith
Liturgy of the Hours
The Catholic church highly recommends that all the faithful say the Morning and Evening prayers from the Liturgy of the Hours. You can downloads apps for this, such as iBreviary, or use some shortened forms such as from Magnificat . "This rhythmic prayer of the psalms was seen as a fulfillment of the biblical injunction to pray constantly. Jesus taught His di…
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Faith
Worship
What does worship look like: Singing praise to the Lord Working diligently in the place God has placed me Reading the bible Spending quality time with my family Prayer Being kind to a stranger Church service I think we make worship more difficult than what it is. Worship is a state of being. Not a state of doing. This is a profound thought for me as I have really…
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Faith
Top Eight for 2022
Good morning y'all! You know that most of what I write is for me with the hopes it also helps you. Sometimes I find myself having only written this down. That's the only action I take on it. I'd like to change that pattern so periodically, maybe once a quarter, I would like to pull out my top 10 items to reflect on and possibly set down to take actio…
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Faith
The One Thing from How To Be Holy
"Only in the present can you meet God. Only in the present can you be holy. Planning to be holy is not holy. Fantasizing about being holy is not being holy. People with active mind and imaginations can deceive themselves into subconsciously thinking they are holy...This is a malady that affects mainly 'thinkers' and 'dreamers'...just give yours…
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