HAPPY FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY!!!

‎"In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechari'ah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry,

"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever."

 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home."

 ~Luke 1:39-56

It's That Time! MA[R]Y

He truly is Strong Enough To Save

For all of you, and whatever you're going through.
Just remember, The Lord is protecting you.
"Be not afraid!"

Via the Ironic Catholic

Passing along from a fellow blogger:

"Many of you know my husband and I are adopting a little boy through Reece’s Rainbow, a Christian ministry that advocates for the international adoption of kids with special needs. We anticipate completing that adoption within the next month or two. In the meantime, we’ve been going through a bureaucratic ropes course (so to speak) to move forward on this. Alex is totally worth it, but I admit, it has been grueling. Kind of like doing five years of taxes with PMS while in line at the DMV.

I met Vera (her website) through the support group for those adopting from our hoped-for son’s home country in Eastern Europe (we can’t name the country online, sorry!). Vera and her husband Joey were trying to adopt another little boy, same age…but towards the end of their paper trail, found out the child was suddenly not be available for international adoption after all. After a few months of trying to find clarity on what was a complicated family court situation in his country, they were advised to give up hope on adopting this particular child they had loved and prayed for. Not knowing what else to do, they grieved, and just tread water for a few weeks.

But that desire to adopt, that sense someone was out there and meant to be in their family, caused them to look again. And they saw 4 ½ yr old pig-tailed Harper (not her real name).

...and knew. She’s the one. They made quick inquiries—truly? She’s available when she’s 5? Actually, they were told, she’s available NOW. Because she has HIV and HepC…two diagnoses that are manageable on their own, but together, require very savvy medical care to keep in check. They’ve been told Harper is a sick little girl and needs better medical care asap. Vera and family are almost entirely ready to go paper-wise--the dossier is being sent this week--and they have paid thousands out of pocket for nearly all costs to this point. But they had expected to have a few months to fundraise and gather resources for travel and facilitation fees. To get Harper the medical care she needs as quickly as possible, they need to raise about $15,500 in...two months.

Like most families adopting kids with special needs, the problem is not really how to afford to care for the kids once home: decent medical insurance helps a lot with this, and there are federal rules for what people need to earn to be able to adopt. People who choose this kind of adoption think it to death, trust me! Vera and family are ready to love Harper and provide good care for her. But the costs of international adoption—well, no one I know has that kind of money lying around. We are able to complete our adoption through the incredible generosity of friends and family. Look, God can do this. But He needs His people’s help. Another woman who has just adopted through RR (Jennifer Doloski) and I schemed to run a fundraising giveaway for Harper. Everyone, the situation is serious, but this part of it is going to be fun—as it should be, because we all get to be part of saving a little girl’s life. We’re celebrating, people!"

*Read more here: http://www.ironiccatholic.com/2012/04/great-big-giveaway-for-new-life-for.html
Great way to help out someone in need. And some cool prizes to win too. 

Catholic Mom & Blogger - & Her Conversion from Atheism

Holy Father will turn 85 on Monday April 16th

Alleluia! He is Risen!!

The Sacred Triduum...

We are about to begin the Holiest time of the year, what we Catholics know as the Sacred Triduum - The three sacred days before Easter, also known as Holy Thursday, Good Friday of Our Lord's Passion, and Holy Saturday.

It is a time to enter in...to walk with Christ - by remembering the events of these three days, and more importantly their significance to us. Each one of us, was saved by this Man over 2,000 years ago...because He loved each one of us.

Ask Jesus to take you with Him through Holy Thursday - to the Last Supper that He shared with His friends...watch as He bent to wash their feet, and see the love with which He did it. See Him breaking the bread - His Body, which will institute the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, for us, until the end of the world.

Then to Good Friday, to the scenes of His Passion...in the Garden, betrayed by His friend...with the mocking crowd and the soldiers who scourged Him mercilessly and placed thorns on His head. See Him being condemned, traded for a murderer. Watch as He passes by carrying the heavy cross...and then was brutally nailed upon it. With courage, stay with Him as he hung for you in bitter agony for hours upon that cross...bloodied, spent of everything, until He breathed His last.

Behold Mary's sorrow...as the soldier pierces Jesus's heart with the lance. After which she holds the body of her lifeless Son...and then lays Him in the tomb.

Stay with the apostles as they wait in fear through Holy Saturday. Wondering...waiting....afraid...keeping vigil. See Jesus entering death - and raising up those who where asleep. And then...go with Mary Magdalene to the empty tomb.

I pray that you let Jesus open your heart...to what He wants to reveal to you about His Passion during this holy time. What awaits us is a chance to come closer to the suffering of our Lord. He wants us with Him...especially in these days. Do not be afraid to accompany Him.

*The best way to experience the Sacred Triduum, is in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

**Here is another helpful and good explanation of the Sacred Triduum.

Remembering Blessed John Paul II

In honor of Bl. John Paul II who died on this day in 2005.

“Confidently open your most intimate aspirations to the love of Christ who waits for you in the Eucharist. You will receive the answer to all your worries and you will see with joy that the consistency of your life which he asks of you is the door to fulfill the noblest dreams of your youth.”

“I make this personal appeal: I ask you to open your hearts generously to Him; do not delay your response. The Lord will help you to know His Will; He will help you to follow your vocation courageously.”

"Holiness is not perfection according to human criteria; it is not reserved for a small number of exceptional persons. It is for everyone; it is the Lord who brings us to holiness, when we are willing to collaborate in the salvation of the world for the glory of God, despite our sin and our sometimes rebellious temperament."
(at the beatification of St. Damien of Molokai)

"It is unbecoming for a cardinal to ski badly."

"God loves you. If you are loved, what is there to be frightened of?"

"Don't waste your suffering!"

"Is Jesus perhaps repeating to some of you today: "There is one thing you lack"? Is he perhaps asking for even more love, more generosity, more sacrifice? Yes, the love of Christ involves generosity and sacrifice. To follow Christ and to serve the world in His name requires courage and strength. There is no place for selfishness - and no place for fear! Do not be afraid, then, when love makes demands. Do not be afraid when love requires sacrifice."

"I want to reaffirm strongly the eminently apostolic role of cloistered nuns. To leave th world to devote oneself in solitude to deeper and constant prayer is none other than a special way of being an apostle. It would be an error to consider cloistered nuns as creatures separated from their contemporaries, isolated and seemingly cut off from the world and the Church. Rather, they are present to them, and in a deeper way, with the same tenderness as that of Christ."

"Vocation is, therefore, a mystery that man accepts and lives in the depths of his being. A gift and a grace, it depends on supreme divine freedom and, in its total reality, it escapes our understanding. We cannot demand explanations from the Giver of all goods - "Why have you made me thus?" (Rom 9:20) because He who calls is also "He who is" (cf. Ex 3:14). Therefore, in the presence of a vocation we adore the mystery, we respond lovingly to the initiative of love, we say yes to the call."

"One can say with conviction about Thérèse of Lisieux that the Spirit of God allowed her heart to reveal directly to the people of our time the fundamental mystery, the reality of the Gospel...Her "Little Way" is the way of "holy childhood". There is something unique in this way, the genius of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. At the same time there is the confirmation and renewal of the most basic and most universal truth. What truth of the Godspel message is really more basic and more universal than this: God is our Father and we are His children?"

“May you experience a look like that! May you experience the truth that he, Christ, looks upon you with love!”
(Letter to Young People, No. 7)

"In the countenance of Jesus, the "image of the invisible God" (Col 1:15) and the reflection of the Father's glory (cf. Heb 1:3), we glimpse the depths of an eternal and infinite love which is at the very root of our being. Those who let themselves be seized by this love cannot help abandoning everything to follow Him..."
(Vita Consecrata)

"The experience of this gracious love of God is so deep and so powerful that the person called senses the need to respond by unconditionally dedicating his or her life to God, consecrating to him all things present and future, and placing them in his hands."
(Vita Consecrata)

"[God] has assigned as a duty to every man the dignity of every woman."

Freedom and the Cross

"Just as the Lamb had to be killed to be raised upon the throne of glory, so the path to glory leads through suffering and the cross for everyone chosen to attend the marriage supper of the Lamb. All who want to be married to the Lamb must allow themselves to be fastened to the cross with Him. Everyone marked by the blood of the Lamb is called to this, and that means all the baptized. But not everyone understands the call and follows it...

Children of this world say they are free when they are not subject to another's will, when no one stops them from satisfying their wishes and inclinations. For this dream of freedom, they engage in bloody battles and sacrifice life and limb. The children of God see freedom as something else. They want to be unhindered in following the Spirit of God; and they know that the greatest hindrances do not come from without, but lie within us ourselves."

 ~St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

Happy Solemnity of St. Joseph!

"Though you have recourse to many saints as your intercessors, go especially to St. Joseph, for he has great power." ~St. Teresa of Avila

Archbishop Fulton Sheen on St. Therese

Part I:

“How are we going to live in these troubled times? There’s really only one answer. We have to become saints…so here we have the dilemma, that we have to become saints to be happy, and yet how be one? Well, the Church has given us a saint for our times, and that is, the picture of this young nun, St. Therese, who gave us a way, first of all, that is very simple…she really had two rules. One was never to seek the satisfaction of the self, and secondly, to do everything, to bear everything, out of love for our Lord…the method of the little flower was to integrate sanctity with what we are doing….a saint is one who makes Christ loveable…it does not require much time to make a saint, it requires only, much love.”
~Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Part II: