To blog or not to blog . . . . . . .

I didn't want to write.

I didn't want to share.

I didn't want to blog ever again.

I was done with social media and ALL of the  . . . . . well. . . . . stuff.

God decided that I didn't have a choice.

Life has been really trying.  

THAT IS A REAL UNDERSTATEMENT TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I thought to myself, "Self, what are you not doing that you were and are not doing now?"

HUMMMMMMMMMM . . . . 

Well, many things came to mind, but this past Sunday one in  particularly came to mind.

As I left the house, my eyes scanned across my vast collection of beneficial religious books.  I had always stopped and asked God which one I should take with me and tell me what I He wants me learn or glean from my time, etc.

I stopped and said, "I know I have not asked you in a long time what I should be reading but I am asking and trusting in you again.  Please put my hands on the right book/s that I should read out of today."

I found my hands reaching for 2 different books.

1.  Perfect Contrition:  A Golden Key to Heaven  by Rev. J. Von Den Dreisch

2.  How to Profit from Your Faults  by Joseph Tissot

There I was at Mass with my missal and these two books.  I read the first as it is a short but excellent book.  I started in to the next (#2) with a ferocious appetite.

Yes.  God is very good and faithful.

There it was and I will share with you:

"If I were In your place, this is how I would console myself.  I would say to my God with confidence: 'Lord, here is a soul who is in the world to benefit from your admirable mercy, and to make it shine before heaven and earth.  Others glorify you by the force of your race, by their faithfulness and constancy.  How gentle and generous you are toward those who are faithful to you.  I, however, glorify you in making you goodness known to sinners.  Mercy is above all malice.  Nothing can exhaust it.  No mistake, no matter how shameful or criminal it be, even if repeated again and again, should make a sinner despair of pardon.  I have offended you gravely, O My lovable Redeemer!  But it would be worse if I committed the horrible outrage of thinking that you are not good enough to pardon me.  It is in vain that your enemy and mine sets new traps for me all the time.  He can make the fallen a hundred times, had my crimes were a hundred times more horrible than they are, I would still hope in you.

It seems to me that nothing that I could do to make reparation for my fault or the scandal that it would cause, would pain me.  Then I would begin to serve God with greater fervor than before, and with the same tranquility as if I had never offended him." 

Words from dear St. Francis de Sales

 

And allow me to share from the same book from St. Margaret Mary (my patron saint).

 

The heart of Jesus is the throne of mercy.  Where the most miserable are the best received, provided they possess love in the depths of their misery.  When  you have made mistakes, do not trouble yourself, because trouble and anxiety and too much impatience distance us from God and banish Jesus Christ from our hearts.  But in asking him for pardon, let us pray to his Sacred Heart to make satisfaction to restore us to grace with his divine majesty.  In complete confidence, then, say to the most lovable heart of Jesus: 'O my only love, pay for your poor slave and repair the arm that I have just done.  Make me return to your glory; make me an example for my neighbor, and grant salvation to my soul.'  In this manner, our failings sometimes serve to humiliate us and to make us realize what we are, and to what extent it is useful for us to be hidden in the depths of our nothingness.

After humbling yourself, begin again to be faithful, because the Sacred Heart loves this way  of acting which preserves the soul in peace."

 

 God bless us all.

St. Francis de Sales pray for us.

St. Margaret Mary, pray for us.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

I hope someone can also benefit from these words, which is why I shared them.

 

To be or not to be?

This morning I woke up.

That's always a good start, right?

Many things have been happening in my life.

I have had several nasty outbursts lately.

Mainly directed at the very person or people who are trying to help me.

 

Ironic, I felt like a kid.  

A teenager crying out for help and knowing that ultimately I must help myself.    

Last night, I lashed out in a most unbecoming way.

I slept poorly wondering what was really eating at me.

As I bumbled about the house today, I pondered many things.

parenting issues

finances

religion

school

relationships

friendships

and most of all this final outburst

Why?  Why had I been so nasty?  

This dear person was trying to help me and has much bigger issues than mine to deal with at this time.

The truth is the hardest pill to swallow.

Today, I wrote down my thoughts and feelings as they came along.

THEN like a ton of bricks and a breath of fresh air, it hit me.

I have been living my life being re-active as opposed to being pro-active. 

I have trained myself to re-act.

My children have been trained to merely re-act because of me.

I have been wanting them to help themselves and "Be more PRO-ACTIVE!!!" with their life, yet I am the WORST at merely re-acting to things as they come along.

So this morning, I signed up for "parenting classes."  

I love my children but I have some real issues at home that MUST be addressed and I need help.

I know I can do it.  I need an outside source for help because I am just not cutting it.

I love my children.

I want them to be pro-active and responsible adults.

I kept hearing the words this person would say, "Your children act just like you."

I didn't like hearing it but completely see what he meant.

They have learned to re-act in a passive-aggressive manner. . . . . because I have not been pro-active.

Almost every problem I have in life is because I was not pro-active.
The things that are merely accidents and unpreventable NEVER get me upset.
Only the things I could have prevented by being pro-active.

I am pro-active.

My children will become pro-active.

Thank you dear friend of mine.  

I hope that you can forgive me for being so nasty someday.

It was me at the end of my rope.

That is a scary spot.

Isn't it funny, as I grasped for dear life at the end of this rope, that I have been hanging onto, I opened my eyes only to realize I was standing on solid footing and just had to walk in the right direction to get the tools I need.

If you are angry about something, look deep within yourself.  

You need to make a change.

Make it.  It isn't anybody else's responsibility.

Not even God's.  He gives you everything you need to be successful but He has also given you free-will.

To be or not to be, that is the question!

BE PRO-ACTIVE!!!!

Only a boy would say this part 32349380928029829

"The new pope was elected while everyone was in school today." 

Young boy immediately responds, "I sure hope he is Catholic."

Me too.

St. Joseph Novena

Please pray this St. Joseph Novena

with my family and me!! 

 

(Oh, and we are 2 days late in starting.  St. Joseph has certainly gotten used to me!  However, we can all still pray it!)

I would like to share my lovely story with you about this statue.

Last summer, Abbe Walter visited our home with Canon Talarico.

It had been a difficult and trying time for the family and we were grateful for their company.

After Mass, the Sunday before Abbe Walter returned to the Seminary in Italy,  he met me and asked if he give (well on loan until he returns and ordained priest) me something.

I went into the rectory and he emerged with this statue.

His devotion had led him to the priesthood and several friends had given him this statue as he embarked on his priestly vocation.

He said he was always afraid it would get broken in transport and asked if I could keep it at my home with the solemn promise that he would be praying for us and we were to pray for him as well.

I was speechless.

I am sure anyone who knows me would be SHOCKED to find out that just about the only thing that I could do was burst into tears at his generosity and  St. Joseph's prayers already being answered.

You see, I had not told Abbe Walter that I had consecrated my family to St. Joseph and asked him to be the head of the household and guide it.  I had been wanting to get a statue but had not yet gotten one.

I carefully transported it home and threatened death to any child that so much as touched it.  I placed my real needs and worries on s few sticky notes under the statue and left them in St. Joseph's hands.

I will share just a couple:  What to do about schooling, if I should move or stay where I am for a bit more and others.  I was speaking to a friend last night about a concern of mine.  She said place it at St. Joseph's feet.

I ran in and looked at all that I had written down in August.  Many of them had been resolved.  Not as I had wished when I wrote them but in God's good way.  I had trusted that they would have God's answers, not mine and they had.  What a renewed sense of peace fill my soul.

I would invite you all to join me in praying this novena for thanksgiving and help.

I invite you to join me praying this novena for one very special family in-particular.  

I will not mention names but it is one VERY dear and beautiful family at church.

May they, too, find comfort in knowing that St. Joseph can provide, protect and guide.

Trust in St. Joseph and please pray with me for them.

Oh and please say an extra prayer for Abbe Walter too.  He is so wonderful!           

Novena to
St. Joseph

*NOVENA PRAYER
*(prayer to be said at the end of each day's devotion)

Saint Joseph, I, your unworthy child, greet you. You are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have special confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I place all my hope of salvation in you, for you are especially powerful with God and will never abandon your faithful servants. Therefore I humbly invoke you and commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.

Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, obtain for me a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may merit to die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.

Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:

(Mention your request).

Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers in my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.

Day One FOSTER-FATHER OF JESUS Saint Joseph, you were privileged to share in the mystery of the Incarnation as the foster-father of Jesus. Mary alone was directly connected with the fulfillment of the mystery, in that she gave her consent to Christ's conception and allowed the Holy Spirit to form the sacred humanity of Jesus from her blood. You had a part in this mystery in an indirect manner, by fulfilling the condition necessary for the Incarnation -- the protection of Mary's virginity before and during your married life with her. You made the virginal marriage possible, and this was a part of God's plan, foreseen, willed, and decreed from all eternity. In a more direct manner you shared in the support, upbringing, and protection of the Divine Child as His foster-father. For this purpose the Heavenly Father gave you a genuine heart of a father -- a heart full of love and self-sacrifice. With the toil of your hands you were obliged to offer protection to the Divine Child, to procure for Him food, clothing, and a home. You were truly the saint of the holy childhood of Jesus -- the living created providence which watched over the Christ-Child. When Herod sought the Child to put Him to death, the Heavenly Father sent an angel but only as a messenger, giving orders for the flight; the rest He left entirely in your hands. It was that fatherly love which was the only refuge that received and protected the Divine Child. Your fatherly love carried Him through the desert into Egypt until all enemies were removed. Then on your arms the Child returned to Nazareth to be nourished and provided for during many years by the labor of your hands. Whatever a human son owes to a human father for all the benefits of his up-bringing and support, Jesus owed to you, because you were to Him a foster-father, teacher, and protector. You served the Divine Child with a singular love. God gave you a heart filled with heavenly, supernatural love -- a love far deeper and more powerful than any natural father's love could be. You served the Divine Child with great unselfishness, without any regard to self-interest, but not without sacrifices. You did not toil for yourself, but you seemed to be an instrument intended for the benefit of others, to be put aside as soon as it had done its word, for you disappeared from the scene once the childhood of Jesus had passed. You were the shadow of the Heavenly Father not only as the earthly representative of the authority of the Father, but also by means of your fatherhood -- which only appeared to be natural -- you were to hide for a while the divinity of Jesus. What a wonderfully sublime and divine vocation was yours -- the loving Child which you carried in your arms, and loved and served so faithfully, had God in Heaven as Father and was Himself God! Yours is a very special rank among the saints of the Kingdom of God, because you were so much a part of the very life of the Word of God made Man. In your house at Nazareth and under your care the redemption of mankind was prepared. What you accomplished, you did for us. You are not only a powerful and great saint in the Kingdom of God, but a benefactor of the whole of Christendom and mankind. Your rank in the Kingdom of God, surpassing far in dignity and honor of all the angels, deserves our very special veneration, love, and gratitude. Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of having been chosen by God to be the foster-father of His Divine Son. As a token of your own gratitude to God for this your greatest privilege, obtain for me the grace of a very devoted love for Jesus Christ, my God and my Savior. Help me to serve Him with some of the self-sacrificing love and devotion which you had while on this earth with Him. Grant that through your intercession with Jesus, your foster-Son, I may reach the degree of holiness God has destined for me, and save my soul. *NOVENA PRAYER
Second Day VIRGINAL HUSBAND OF MARY Saint Joseph, I honor you as the true husband of Mary. Scripture says: "Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, and of her was born Jesus who is called Christ" (Matt. 1:16). Your marriage to Mary was a sacred contract by which you and Mary gave yourselves to each other. Mary really belonged to you with all she was and had. You had a right to her love and obedience; and no other person so won her esteem, obedience, and love. You were also the protector and witness of Mary's virginity. By your marriage you gave to each other your virginity, and also the mutual right over it -- a right to safeguard the other's virtue. This mutual virginity also belonged to the divine plan of the Incarnation, for God sent His angel to assure you that motherhood and virginity in Mary could be united. This union of marriage not only brought you into daily familiar association with Mary, the loveliest of God's creatures, but also enabled you to share with her a mutual exchange of spiritual goods. And Mary found her edification in your calm, humble, and deep virtue, purity, and sanctity. What a great honor comes to you from this close union with her whom the Son of God calls Mother and whom He declared the Queen of heaven and earth! Whatever Mary had belonged by right to you also, and this included her Son, even though He had been given to her by God in a wonderful way. Jesus belonged to you as His legal father. Your marriage was the way which God chose to have Jesus introduced into the world, a great divine mystery from which all benefits have come to us. God the Son confided the guardianship and the support of His Immaculate Mother to your care. Mary's life was that of the Mother of the Savior, who did not come upon earth to enjoy honors and pleasures, but to redeem the world by hard work, suffering, and the cross. You were the faithful companion, support, and comforter of the Mother of Sorrows. How loyal you were to her in poverty, journeying, work, and pain. Your love for Mary was based upon your esteem for her as Mother of God. After God and the Divine Child, you loved no one as much as her. Mary responded to this love. She submitted to your guidance with naturalness and easy grace and childlike confidence. The Holy Spirit Himself was the bond of the great love which united your hearts. Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being the virginal husband of Mary. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to love Jesus with all my heart, as you did, and  love Mary with some of the tenderness and loyalty with which you loved her. *NOVENA PRAYER
Third Day MAN CHOSEN BY THE BLESSED TRINITY Saint Joseph, you were the man chosen by God the Father. He selected you to be His representative on earth, hence He granted you all the graces and blessings you needed to be His worthy representative. You were the man chosen by God the Son. Desirous of a worthy foster-father, He added His own riches and gifts, and above all, His love. The true measure of your sanctity is to be judged by your imitation of Jesus. You were entirely consecrated to Jesus, working always near Him, offering Him your virtues, your work, your sufferings, your very life. Jesus lived in you perfectly so that you were transformed into Him. In this lies your special glory, and the keynote of your sanctity. Hence, after Mary, you are the holiest of the saints. You were chosen by the Holy Spirit. He is the mutual Love of the Father and the Son -- the heart of the Holy Trinity. In His wisdom He draws forth all creatures from nothing, guides them to their end in showing them their destiny and giving them the means to reach it. Every vocation and every fulfillment of a vocation proceeds from the Holy Spirit. As a foster-father of Jesus and head of the Holy Family, you had an exalted and most responsible vocation -- to open the way for the redemption of the world and to prepare for it by the education and guidance of the youth of the God-Man. In this work you cooperated as the instrument of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the guide; you obeyed and carried out the works. How perfectly you obeyed the guidance of the God of Love! The words of the Old Testament which Pharaoh spoke concerning Joseph of Egypt can well be applied to you: "Can we find such another man, that is full of the spirit of God, or a wise man like to him?" (Gen. 41:38). No less is your share in the divine work of God than was that of Egypt. You now reign with your foster-Son and see reflected in the mirror of God's Wisdom the Divine Will and what is of benefit to our souls. Saint Joseph, I thank God for having made you the man specially chosen by Him. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to imitate your virtues so that I too may be pleasing to the Heart of God. Help me to give myself entirely to His service and to the accomplishment of His Holy Will, that one day I may reach heaven and be eternally united to God as you are. *NOVENA PRAYER
Fourth Day FAITHFUL SERVANT Saint Joseph, you lived for one purpose -- to be the personal servant of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. Your noble birth and ancestry, the graces and gifts, so generously poured out on you by God -- all this was yours to serve our Lord better. Every thought, word, and action of yours was a homage to the love and glory of the Incarnate Word. You fulfilled most faithfully the role of a good and faithful servant who cared for the House of God. How perfect was your obedience! Your position in the Holy Family obliged you to command, but besides being the foster-father of Jesus, you were also His disciple. For almost thirty years, you watched the God-Man display a simple and prompt obedience, and you grew to love and practice it very perfectly yourself. Without exception you submitted to God, to the civil rulers, and to the voice of your conscience. When God sent an angel to tell you to care for Mary, you obeyed in spite of the mystery which surrounded her motherhood. When you were told to flee into Egypt under painful conditions, you obeyed without the slightest word of complaint. When God advised you in a dream to return to Nazareth, you obeyed. In every situation your obedience was as simple as your faith, as humble as your heart, as prompt as your love. It neglected nothing; it took in every command. You had the virtue of perfect devotedness, which marks a good servant. Every moment of your life was consecrated to the service of our Lord: sleep, rest, work, pain. Faithful to your duties, you sacrificed everything unselfishly, even cheerfully. You would have sacrificed even the happiness of being with Mary. The rest and quiet of Nazareth was sacrificed at the call of duty. Your entire life was one generous giving, even to the point of being ready to die in proof of your love for Jesus and Mary. With true unselfish devotedness you worked without praise or reward. But God wanted you to be in a certain sense a cooperator in the Redemption of the world. He confided to you the care of nourishing and defending the Divine Child. He wanted you to be poor and to suffer because He destined you to be the foster-father of His Son, who came into the world to save men by His sufferings and death, and you were to share in His suffering. In all of these important tasks, the Heavenly Father always found you a faithful servant! Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being God's faithful servant. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to be a faithful servant of God as you were. Help me to share, as you did, the perfect obedience of Jesus, who came not to do His Will, but the Will of His Father; to trust in the Providence of God, knowing that if I do His Will, He will provide for all my needs of soul and body; to be calm in my trials and to leave it to our Lord to free me from them when it pleases Him to do so. And help me to imitate your generosity, for there can be no greater reward here on earth than the joy and honor of being a faithful servant of God. *NOVENA PRAYER
Fifth Day PATRON OF THE CHURCH Saint Joseph, God has appointed you patron of the Catholic Church because you were the head of the Holy Family, the starting-point of the Church. You were the father, protector, guide and support of the Holy Family. For that reason you belong in a particular way to the Church, which was the purpose of the Holy Family's existence. I believe that the Church is the family of God on earth. Its government is represented in priestly authority which consists above all in its power over the true Body of Christ, really present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, thus continuing Christ's life in the Church. From this power, too, comes authority over the Mystical Body of Christ, the members of the Church -- the power to teach and govern souls, to reconcile them with God, to bless them, and to pray for them. You have a special relationship to the priesthood because you possessed a wonderful power over our Savior Himself. Your life and office were of a priestly function and are especially connected with the Blessed Sacrament. To some extent you were the means of bringing the Redeemer to us -- as it is the priest's function to bring Him to us in the Mass -- for you reared Jesus, supported, nourished, protected and sheltered Him. You were prefigured by the patriarch Joseph, who kept supplies of wheat for his people. But how much greater than he were you! Joseph of old gave the Egyptians mere bread for their bodies. You nourished, and with the most tender care, preserved for the Church Him who is the Bread of Heaven and who gives eternal life in Holy Communion. God has appointed you patron of the Church because the glorious title of patriarch also falls by special right to you. The patriarchs were the heads of families of the Chosen People, and theirs was the honor to prepare for the Savior's incarnation. You belonged to this line of patriarchs, for you were one of the last descendants of the family of David and one of the nearest forebears of Christ according to the flesh. As husband of Mary, the Mother of God, and as the foster-father of the Savior, you were directly connected with Christ. Your vocation was especially concerned with the Person of Jesus; your entire activity centered about Him. You are, therefore, the closing of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New, which took its rise with the Holy Family of Nazareth. Because the New Testament surpasses the Old in every respect, you are the patriarch of patriarchs, the most venerable, exalted, and amiable of all the patriarchs. Through Mary, the Church received Christ, and therefore the Church is indebted to her. But the Church owes her debt of gratitude and veneration to you also, for you were the chosen one who enabled Christ to enter into the world according to the laws of order and fitness. It was by you that the patriarchs and the prophets and the faithful reaped the fruit of God's promise. Alone among them all, you saw with your own eyes and possessed the Redeemer promised to the rest of men. Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being the Patron of the Church. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to live always as a worthy member of this Church, so that through it I may save my soul. Bless the priests, the religious, and the laity of the Catholic Church, that they may ever grow in God's love and faithfulness in His service. Protect the Church from the evils of our day and from the persecution of her enemies. Through your powerful intercession may the church successfully accomplish its mission in this world -- the glory of God and the salvation of souls! *NOVENA PRAYER
Sixth Day PATRON OF FAMILIES Saint Joseph, I venerate you as the gentle head of the Holy Family. The Holy Family was the scene of your life's work in its origin, in its guidance, in its protection, in your labor for Jesus and Mary, and even in your death in their arms. You lived, moved, and acted in the loving company of Jesus and Mary. The inspired writer describes your life at Nazareth in only a few words: "And (Jesus) went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them" (Luke, 2:51). Yet these words tell of your high vocation here on earth, and the abundance of graces which filled your soul during those years spent in Nazareth. Your family life at Nazareth was all radiant with the light of divine charity. There was an intimate union of heart and mind among the members of your Holy Family. There could not have been a closer bond than that uniting you to Jesus, your foster-Son and to Mary, your most loving wife. Jesus chose to fulfill toward you, His foster-father, all the duties of a faithful son, showing you every mark of honor and affection due to a parent. And Mary showed you all the signs of respect and love of a devoted wife. You responded to this love and veneration from Jesus and Mary  with feelings of deepest love and respect. You had for Jesus a true fatherly love, enkindled and kept aglow in your heart by the Holy Spirit. And you could not cease to admire the workings of grace in Mary's soul, and this admiration caused the holy love which you had consecrated to her on the day of your wedding grow stronger every day. God has made you a heavenly patron of family life because you sanctified yourself as head of the Holy Family and thus by your beautiful example sanctified family life. How peacefully and happily the Holy Family rested under the care of your fatherly rule, even in the midst of trials. You were the protector, counselor, and consolation of the Holy Family in every need. And just as you were the model of piety, so you gave us by your zeal, your earnestness and devout trust in God's providence, and especially by your love, the example of labor according to the Will of God. You cherished all the experiences common to family life and the sacred memories of the life, sufferings, and joys in the company of Jesus and Mary. Therefore the family is dear to you as the work of God, and it is of the highest importance in your eyes to promote the honor of God and the well-being of man. In your loving fatherliness and unfailing intercession you are the patron and intercessor of families, and you deserve a place in every home. Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of living in the Holy Family and being its head. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain God's blessing upon my own family. Make our home the kingdom of Jesus and Mary -- a kingdom of peace, of joy, and love. I also pray for all Christian families. Your help is needed in our day when God's enemy has directed his attack against the family in order to desecrate and destroy it. In the face of these evils, as patron of families, be pleased to help; and as of old, you arose to save the Child and His Mother, so today arise to protect the sanctity of the home. Make our homes sanctuaries of prayer, of love, of patient sacrifice, and of work. May they be modeled after your own at Nazareth. Remain with us with Jesus and Mary, so that by your help we may obey the commandments of God and of the Church; receive the holy sacraments of God and of the Church; live a life of prayer; and foster religious instruction in our homes. Grant that we may be reunited in God's Kingdom and eternally live in the company of the Holy Family in heaven. *NOVENA PRAYER
Seventh Day PATRON OF WORKERS Saint Joseph, you devoted your time at Nazareth to the work of a carpenter. It was the Will of God that you and your foster-Son should spend your days together in manual labor. What a beautiful example you set for the working classes! It was especially for the poor, who compose the greater part of mankind, that Jesus came upon earth, for in the synagogue of Nazareth, He read the words of Isaiah and referred them to Himself:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor..." (Luke 4:18). It was God's Will that you should be occupied with work common to poor people, that in this way Jesus Himself might ennoble it by inheriting it from you, His foster-father, and by freely embracing it. Thus our Lord teaches us that for the humbler class of workmen, He has in store His richest graces, provided they live content in the place God's Providence has assigned them, and remain poor in spirit for He said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). The kind of work to which you devoted your time in the workshop of Nazareth offered you many occasions of practicing humility. You were privileged to see each day the example of humility which Jesus practiced -- a virtue most pleasing to Him. He chose for His earthly surroundings not the courts of princes nor the halls of the learned, but a little workshop of Nazareth. Here you shared for many years the humble and hidden toiling of the God-Man. What a touching example for the worker of today! While your hands were occupied with manual work, your mind was turned to God in prayer. From the Divine Master, who worked along with you, you learned to work in the presence of God in the spirit of prayer, for as He worked He adored His Father and recommended the welfare of the world to Him, Jesus also instructed you in the wonderful truths of grace and virtue, for you were in close contact with Him who said of Himself, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life." As you were working at your trade, you were reminded of the greatness and majesty of God, who, as a most wise Architect, formed this vast universe with wonderful skill and limitless power. The light of divine faith that filled your mind, did not grow dim when you saw Jesus working as a carpenter. You firmly believed that the saintly Youth working beside you was truly God's own Son. Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being able to work side by side with Jesus in the carpenter shop of Nazareth. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to respect the dignity of labor and ever to be content with the position in life, however lowly, in which it may please Divine Providence to place me. Teach me to work for God and with God in the spirit of humility and prayer, as you did, so that I may offer my toil in union with the sacrifice of Jesus in the Mass as a reparation for my sins, and gain rich merit for heaven. *NOVENA PRAYER
Eighth Day FRIEND IN SUFFERING Saint Joseph, your share of suffering was very great because of your close union with the Divine Savior. All the mysteries of His life were more or less mysteries of suffering. Poverty pressed upon you, and the cross of labor followed you everywhere. Nor were you spared domestic crosses, owing to misunderstandings in regard to the holiest and most cherished of all beings, Jesus and Mary, who were all to you. Keen must have been the suffering caused by the uncertainty regarding Mary's virginity; by the bestowal of the name of Jesus, which pointed to future misfortune. Deeply painful must have been the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the disappearance of Jesus at the Paschal feast. To these sufferings were surely added interior sorrow at the sight of the sins of your own people. You bore all this suffering in a truly Christ-like manner, and in this you are our example. No sound of complaint or impatience escaped you -- you were, indeed, the silent saint! You submitted to all in the spirit of faith, humility, confidence, and love. You cheerfully bore all in union with and for the Savior and His Mother, knowing well that true love is a crucified love. But God never forsook you in your trials. The trials, too, disappeared and were changed at last into consolation and joy. It seems that God had purposely intended your life to be filled with suffering as well as consolation to keep before my eyes the truth that my life on earth is but a succession of joys and sorrows, and that I must gratefully accept whatever God sends me, and during the time of consolation prepare for suffering. Teach me to bear my cross in the spirit of faith, of confidence, and of gratitude toward God. In a happy eternity, I shall thank God fervently for the sufferings which He deigned to send me during my pilgrimage on earth, and which after your example I endured with patience and heartfelt love for Jesus and Mary. You were truly the martyr of the hidden life. This was God's Will, for the holier a person is, the more he is tried for the love and glory of God. If suffering is the flowering of God's grace in a soul and the triumph of the soul's love for God, being the greatest of saints after Mary, you suffered more than any of the martyrs. Because you have experienced the sufferings of this valley of tears, you are most kind and sympathetic toward those in need. Down through the ages souls have turned to you in distress and have always found you a faithful friend in suffering. You have graciously heard their prayers in their needs even though it demanded a miracle. Having been so intimately united with Jesus and Mary in life, your intercession with Them is most powerful. Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being able to suffer for Jesus and Mary. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to bear my suffering patiently for love of Jesus and Mary. Grant that I may unite the sufferings, works and disappointments of life with the sacrifice of Jesus in the Mass, and share like you in Mary's spirit of sacrifice. *NOVENA PRAYER
Ninth Day PATRON OF A HAPPY DEATH Saint Joseph, how fitting it was that at the hour of your death Jesus should stand at your bedside with Mary, the sweetness and hope of all mankind. You gave your entire life to the service of Jesus and Mary; at death you enjoyed the consolation of dying in Their loving arms. You accepted death in the spirit of loving submission to the Will of God, and this acceptance crowned your hidden life of virtue. Yours was a merciful judgment, for your foster-Son, for whom you had cared so lovingly, was your Judge, and Mary was your advocate. The verdict of the Judge was a word of encouragement to wait for His coming to Limbo, where He would shower you with the choicest fruits of the Redemption, and an embrace of grateful affection before you breathed forth your soul into eternity. You looked into eternity and to your everlasting reward with confidence. If our Savior blessed the shepherds, the Magi, Simeon, John the Baptist, and others, because they greeted His presence with devoted hearts for a brief passing hour, how much more did He bless you who have sanctified yourself for so many years in His company and that of His Mother? If Jesus regards every corporal and spiritual work of mercy, performed in behalf of our fellow men out of love for Him, as done to Himself, and promises heaven as a reward, what must have been the extent of His gratitude to you who in the truest sense of the word have received Him, given Him shelter, clothed, nourished, and consoled Him at the sacrifice of your strength and rest, and even your life, with a love which surpassed the love of all fathers. God really and personally made Himself your debtor. Our Divine Savior paid that debt of gratitude by granting you many graces in your lifetime, especially the grace of growing in love, which is the best and most perfect of all gifts. Thus at the end of your life your heart became filled with love, the fervor and longing of which your frail body could not resist. Your soul followed the triumphant impulse of your love and winged its flight from earth to bear the prophets and patriarchs in Limbo the glad tidings of the advent of the Redeemer. Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being able to die in the arms of Jesus and Mary. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace of a happy death. Help me to spend each day in preparation for death. May I, too, accept death in the spirit of resignation to God's Holy Will, and die, as you did, in the arms of Jesus, strengthened by Holy Viaticum, and in the arms of Mary, with her rosary in my hand and her name on my lips!
*NOVENA PRAYER

 

BE HONEST!

I have had an amazing week.

I have had an amazing life . . . . and it is only gonna get better.

God is amazing the way He blesses us all.

A few years ago, I spoke to a very dear priest friend about several personal things.

I expected to hear, "Good job.  How charitable."  Blah.  Blah.  Blah. 

That was the "humble" prideful side of me.

I have nothing but complete admiration for this priest, but his words back to me drove deeper than any surgical knife ever could.  It cut.  It hurt badly.

His words:  "You are living a lie."

A LIE!!!!!!!!!!!

I have always tried to be honest and tell the truth.  Be fair and turn the other cheek.

YOU ARE TELLING ME IN ESSENCE THAT I AM A LIAR!!!

Hummmmmmmm . . . . . 

Many a night I sat up thinking, pondering, and contemplating those words.

I would say out loud, "I am NOT a LIAR.  I am NOT a LIAR!!!!"

They ate at my conscience and at my very soul.

They gnawed and tore at me like a wild animal would.

At first, I wouldn't believe it.  

I love and trust this dear soul and knew it was said in love.  Genuine, charitable love.

I believe all things happen for a reason, and God does not allow anything to happen that is not for our benefit.

I knew there was something for me to learn from these words.
They dug too deep.  They meant too much to ignore.  

Finally, I accepted them but very bitterly.  Very arrogantly and in supreme defiance, I said, "Fine.  I am a liar and living a lie!"

There was no peace in accepting the words.  They still ate at me. 

Pride prevented my hearing.  Pride prevented my healing.

We all have feelings that we feel and experiences, we do not want to talk about.
They may be big.  They may be small.

 It doesn't matter what they are.

As Catholics, we feel that if we offer up EVERYTHING in charity without complaining, it will be the supreme sacrifice.  

This is very true.  Too a point.

There comes a point when being humbled enough to be honest about who and where you are is what you need to do.  Accepting everything.

We all will stand before the throne of Almighty God one day and give an account of each second of our lives in front of EVERYONE!!  

I learned you might as well get it out now!

That doesn't mean be a big blabber mouth, but there is a time and place for everything.

Through my hurt and pain, so many people have been honest about themselves and their mistakes in life that in listening to them, all of it has brought healing to mine.

The sins of the parents are passed on to the children.

This was the FINAL slap in the face for me.

My children had adopted my mindset of not asking for help, pretending everything was okay when it wasn't, and not truly assessing where they were to bring themselves closer to God through work, school, and other social events.

That is living a lie.

I have always taken my problems and sins to the confessional.  I found peace there.

Yesterday, I was talking to several friends over lunch.  We spoke of many personal issues.  We shared.

HONESTY.  TOTAL HONESTY.

There was a beauty in seeing everyone comforted in knowing that they were not alone in the struggles that they have.  Some have gone through the same issues.  Others were just entering into the abyss.  While others had insight from friends to share.

The beauty of my friends. . . .  ALL OF THEM!!!!  . . . . is that they do not nag or complain but are honest and have Heaven as their goal for all parties involved in their plight.  They are asking for help.  Help to get everyone closer to Heaven.

That is charity.  

That is my faith.  

Honesty.  

Honesty in a very raw and most personal form.

People sharing their most personal experiences to help heal others.

CHARITY

True charity is honest and loving.  

This brings me back to the very first point of this post.

Honesty verses Lying

I share these things very delicately and know that my readers will understand.

One of my sons stole something from a friend of mine. 

My friend was so gracious and talked to him about it.  

The next day, the father said to me.   "I hope you are not offended that I spar theologically with you."  

I said, "Absolutely not!"  

Never a truer and more astute comment came back at me, "Your view of perfection has set your son and children up for failure.  It is unattainable."

 There, standing in the street, it all came full circle.

We are the examples we set for our children.  They learn by who and what we are and the standards we set for ourselves.  I would forgive everybody else but me.  I was UNFORGIVABLE.  I COULD DO NO RIGHT.  I. I. I. I.

I won't ask for help.  I will take care of this myself. I will not let ANYONE else know.

Lies.

We all need help.

We all fall down.  We all need help getting back up.

Perfection is not in this life.  It is to strive for in the next. It is about being honest when we fail, not complaining or minimizing our falls but being honest.

I am sorry to those of you to whom that I have misrepresented me and my life.

I have failed several times.

 

My toilet is dirty half the time.

My house projects are not finished.

I don't always get my rosary prayed with my family.

Sometimes, my children go to bed without brushing their teeth.

I ran out of propane last week because I turned up the wrong thermostat and haven't been able to cook food in my kitchen (because my kitchen stove runs on propane).

 I don't ask for help when I need it most.

I could care less if my car is clean.

I cut my own hair because I never like the way someone else cuts it.

I HATE things that are not level and plumb.  It drives me CRAZY.

I am unforgiving about how my towels are folded.

Many years ago, I smoked.

I don't like getting rid of things that people I love have used.

I would love to have ALL OF MY LABELS IN MY CABINETS facing in perfection.

I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE CAN NOT STACK TUPPERWARE CORRECTLY!!!!  IT IS SO LOGICAL!!!!!!

I laughed at my mother when I was 11 and still feel bad about it.

I yelled and said some hurtful things to my sister a few months ago.

My children get the brunt of my frustrations and it is not fair to them.

As a child, I loved to bite the tips off of new crayons.. . . which really HONKED off my older brother and sister!!

I miss playing cards.  Especially Euchre and Gin.

I am a terrible speller and not so hot with punctuation at times.

I was done homeschooling and so happy to see how my children are flourishing at school.

I wish I had more children because the ones I have are so amazing.  I wish I had a hundred more of them.

I speed sometimes, okay regularly.

I cry more than I would like to but less than I used to do.

I have a fetish with sweeping.  Everything must be swept.  EVERYTHING!

I suffer from depression occasionally and wintertime is very hard.

I love to cut wood.

I once weighed 210 pounds.  Maybe more.  I stopped weighing myself.

I miss Fanny May Carmel Bon Bons.  They were so tasty.

I cried only once to get out of a really bad speeding ticket and it worked.

I only read Catholic books and periodicals.  Everything else is a waste of my time.

I only wanted to be a nun but there were no traditional orders when I was younger.

I have found peace at St. Francis de Sales Church and with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.  There is the embodiment of my Catholic faith. 

I drank beer for breakfast a time or two or three.

I love to sew baptismal gowns and blue cassocks.  The work speaks to my soul.

I haven't had people at my house because I am afraid they will think I am an idiot because I am not totally organized.

We will NEVER be perfect here on earth but being honest will help us obtain perfection with God in Heaven.

God bless you all.
Find a friend to share.
They feel the same way.
They are God's gift in this life of ours.

HONESTY.

The hardest and most freeing thing.

I hope people understand what I am saying here.  Honestly.  :)

\

 

 

HOPE; is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops at all. And sweetest in the Gale is heard And sore must be the storm That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm. I've heard it in the chillest land And on the strangest Sea Yet never in Extremity, It asked a crumb of me. --Emily Dickinson

GRINCHIN (my other handle)

Lent is always an interesting and reflective time.

Some lenten seasons in the past would be what I would consider "very fruitful". 

Other lenten seasons, shamefully, the temptation and weakness of human nature seemed abundant.

Now my post is not to glean any sympathy or anything else but to share a meditation that Our dear Lord has provided for me to ponder upon.

THE HUMAN HEART

Many years ago . . . . . . . . .  Okay, MANY, MANY years ago when I lived out in Washington D.C.,

 personalized license plates where really new.  In a completely cold and impersonal part of the world, I did something silly to make me feel like I was not just another car on the beltway.

Yep.  I had a personalized plate.

That was long before I became Hootiecootie.

And my plate read? 

GRINCHIN     

I was in the hospital getting an ecocardiogram today.

As I entered the darkened room, I looked back at the technicians and said, "You can tell by my name that you will find that the only thing wrong with me is my heart is just several sizes too small.  I need a trip to Whoville."

One laughed and said, "Yes, I thought about that when I saw your name."

The procedure got underway and I crooned my head behind me to witness what a human heart, my human heart, looks like - ultrasound style.

As I watched the flaps of my heart beat, I remembered back to the ultrasounds of each of my children.
Watching the technician measuring everything and watching that very tiny human life inside of my body.
I knew them before I saw them and loved them but somehow when you see them on the screen, it adds a WHOLE new dimension and anticipation.

I pondered the irony of my own heart now being measured and monitored.
I knew it was there but somehow seeing it brought it to life.

I know that I am an emotional person but as many of us feel (especially with youth) that our bodies can handle EVERYTHING we throw at it.  I am sure that God is kindly correcting the sin of pride for me.

I had gone in for a check up in December after NEVER having to go to the doctor for ANYTHING. Almost every test they can think of came to follow.  EKGs, blood work, last week a biopsy and now this.  

As they measured and recorded every millimeter of my heart, I was amazed at how it looked and worked.

At one point it looked like a distorted person with a very loud mouth with a very large uvula.  The uvula part being one of my flapping heart valves.

I said, "Wow, that is what I must look like to my children when I am not happy."

I thought of Christ's own Sacred Heart.
His beating, undying love for us sinners.
The weight and strain on His Heart at our indifference.
The pain in the Blessed Mother's heart watching her Son being crucified.

The pain that their human hearts must have felt was excruciating and considering their purity would have compounded this crushing weight.

My current condition is most likely brought on by my own choices:  stress, lack of sleep, not eating right . . .
I don't know.  I am sure it will be nothing and I will learn to run at half throttle at least part of the time.

But Our Dear Lord's Heart full of love and mercy is aching and waiting for us poor pathetic sinners.
Aching with compassion and grace, wanting to heal and sooth our own hearts and souls.

The irony of this procedure being done during lent.

The testing of the heart:  It's physical health.
The testing of the heart:  It's spiritual health.

Now is the time my dear fellows, to examine closely the inner workings of our hearts.

Lent is the time to perform your own personal ultrasound on your heart.

What is it that you are to let go of?  Fix?  Forgive?  Strengthen? 

Go to the Divine Physician and ask Him, "What do you wish of me dear Lord?  Do with me what you will.  I have only my heart and I give it totally and completely to you.  It is yours.  Do with it what you will.  Remove any malice and selfishness and cut out all iniquities.  Heal my broken heart for you alone know the cure.  In your love will I only find peace and health of heart."

After the procedure, I went down to another area of the hospital where I was given a heart monitor with several electrodes attached to me to monitor my heart for several days.

I was taking it all in stride until after I was hooked up the nurse said, "You may not shower until the test is over."

WHAT?!?!?!?!?  I love my shower.  It is my own personal sanctuary!

Breathing deeply, I said, "It is lent, I can take bird baths."

Yes, our Lord even loves and provides for the birds.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is life not more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your lifespan? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which is grown today and thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil."

- Matthew 6: 25-34

Yes, Lord.  I will take my bird bath and like it.

I leave you with the Christmas story of the Grinch.
Like it or not.

We all have our own Grinch-like qualities that we are to eradicate during lent.

Every Who Down In Who-Ville Like Christmas a lot... But The Grinch, Who lived just North of Who-ville, Did NOT! The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season! Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason. It could be that his head wasn't screwed on quite right. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. But I think that the most likely reason of all May have been that his heart was two sizes too small. But, Whatever the reason, His heart or his shoes, He stood there on Christmas Eve, hating the Whos, Staring down from his cave with a sour, Grinchy frown At the warm lighted windows below in their town. For he knew every Who down in Who-ville beneath Was busy now, hanging a mistleoe wreath. "And they're hanging their stockings!" he snarled with a sneer. "Tomorrow is Christmas! It's practically here!" Then he growled, with his grinch fingers nervously drumming, "I MUST find a way to keep Christmas from coming!" For, tomorrow, he knew... ...All the Who girls and boys Would wake up bright and early. They'd rush for their toys! And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the noise! Noise! Noise! Noise! That's one thing he hated! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! Then the Whos, young and old, would sit down to a feast. And they'd feast! And they'd feast! And they'd FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! They would start on Who-pudding, and rare Who-roast-beast Which was something the Grinch couldn't stand in the least! And THEN They'd do something he liked least of all! Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small, Would stand close together, with Christmas bells ringing. They'd stand hand-in-hand. And the Whos would start singing! They'd sing! And they'd sing! AND they'd SING! SING! SING! SING! And the more the Grinch thought of the Who-Christmas-Sing The more the Grinch thought, "I must stop this whole thing! "Why for fifty-three years I've put up with it now! I MUST stop Christmas from coming! ...But HOW?" Then he got an idea! An awful idea! THE GRINCH GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA! "I know just what to do!" The Grinch Laughed in his throat. And he made a quick Santy Claus hat and a coat. And he chuckled, and clucked, "What a great Grinchy trick! "With this coat and this hat, I'll look just like Saint Nick!" "All I need is a reindeer..." The Grinch looked around. But since reindeer are scarce, there was none to be found. Did that stop the old Grinch...? No! The Grinch simply said, "If I can't find a reindeer, I'll make one instead!" So he called his dog Max. Then he took some red thread And he tied a big horn on top of his head. THEN He loaded some bags And some old empty sacks On a ramshakle sleigh And he hitched up old Max. Then the Grinch said, "Giddyap!" And the sleigh started down Toward the homes where the Whos Lay a-snooze in their town. All their windows were dark. Quiet snow filled the air. All the Whos were all dreaming sweet dreams without care When he came to the first house in the square. "This is stop number one," The old Grinchy Claus hissed And he climbed to the roof, empty bags in his fist. Then he slid down the chimney. A rather tight pinch. But if Santa could do it, then so could the Grinch. He got stuck only once, for a moment or two. Then he stuck his head out of the fireplace flue Where the little Who stockings all hung in a row. "These stockings," he grinned, "are the first things to go!" Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant, Around the whole room, and he took every present! Pop guns! And bicycles! Roller skates! Drums! Checkerboards! Tricycles! Popcorn! And plums! And he stuffed them in bags. Then the Grinch, very nimbly, Stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the chimney! Then he slunk to the icebox. He took the Whos' feast! He took the Who-pudding! He took the roast beast! He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash. Why, that Grinch even took their last can of Who-hash! Then he stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee. "And NOW!" grinned the Grinch, "I will stuff up the tree!" And the Grinch grabbed the tree, and he started to shove When he heard a small sound like the coo of a dove. He turned around fast, and he saw a small Who! Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two. The Grinch had been caught by this little Who daughter Who'd got out of bed for a cup of cold water. She stared at the Grinch and said, "Santy Claus, why, "Why are you taking our Christmas tree? WHY?" But, you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick! "Why, my sweet little tot," the fake Santy Claus lied, "There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side. "So I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear. "I'll fix it up there. Then I'll bring it back here." And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head And he got her a drink and he sent he to bed. And when Cindy-Lou Who went to bed with her cup, HE went to the chimney and stuffed the tree up! Then the last thing he took Was the log for their fire. Then he went up the chimney himself, the old liar. On their walls he left nothing but hooks, and some wire. And the one speck of food The he left in the house Was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse. Then He did the same thing To the other Whos' houses Leaving crumbs Much too small For the other Whos' mouses! It was quarter past dawn... All the Whos, still a-bed All the Whos, still a-snooze When he packed up his sled, Packed it up with their presents! The ribbons! The wrappings! The tags! And the tinsel! The trimmings! The trappings! Three thousand feet up! Up the side of Mount Crumpit, He rode to the tiptop to dump it! "Pooh-pooh to the Whos!" he was grinch-ish-ly humming. "They're finding out now that no Christmas is coming! "They're just waking up! I know just what they'll do! "Their mouths will hang open a minute or two "The all the Whos down in Who-ville will all cry BOO-HOO!" "That's a noise," grinned the Grinch, "That I simply must hear!" So he paused. And the Grinch put a hand to his ear. And he did hear a sound rising over the snow. It started in low. Then it started to grow... But the sound wasn't sad! Why, this sound sounded merry! It couldn't be so! But it WAS merry! VERY! He stared down at Who-ville! The Grinch popped his eyes! Then he shook! What he saw was a shocking surprise! Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small, Was singing! Without any presents at all! He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same! And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so? It came without ribbons! It came without tags! "It came without packages, boxes or bags!" And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. "Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!" And what happened then...? Well...in Who-ville they say That the Grinch's small heart Grew three sizes that day! And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight, He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast! And he... ...HE HIMSELF...! The Grinch carved the roast beast!

So, I leave you to ponder for your the health own heart (both spiritual and physical), those around you and most of all Our Dear Lord's Sacred Heart, what reparation and spiritual growth do we have to make in our own Whovilles?

 

 

I pray your own heart grows three sizes or more this lenten season.

God willing!

 

May God bless and guide you this lenten season.  

 

Gratefully in the Sacred Heart,

Grinchin  (aka Hootiecootie)

Make our hearts like unto thine!!!