..::Praised Be Jesus Christ::..

+JMJ
Praised be Jesus Christ! Greetings to you and your companion! All is well here and I hope the same where you are at! I will be leaving to visit the Poor Clares this week! I was hoping to be able to stay through the weekend, but it looks like my mother will need me at home on Friday night. I am a little dismayed, but hopefully the 2 (closer to 3) days that I will spend there will be joyful and peaceful. I want to stay the entire time, but I can't with my grandpa in the hospital and the fact that I need to clean and also visit with my family at home.

The Mother and Mistress of Wisdom speaks few words, but each is filled with great depth of meaning. We read that the Mother of Christ spoke seven times, seven words filled with wisdom!
-St. Bernardine of Siena

I don't know if I have made a formal announcement, but I have decided that I am going to drop out of college and work for a year, or until my debts (college loans, icky!) are paid off. I haven't told my mom and I pray that things will go well when I do. I think I will make a novena to St. Jude or St. Rita, or maybe both. I can make a short pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Jude in Chicago, so that may also be part of the prep plan. Pray for me friends.

Every Cross that we see in the world becomes a silent reminder for us. The true victory that overcomes hatred in the world is ultimately self-sacrifice, in constant fidelity flowing from the power of love.
-Pope John Paul II

Now the following is the homily from Fr. Dominic Mary, MFVA on modesty. I thought it was an interesting read and would share it with you all:

Homily Given by Fr. Dominic Mary, MFVA on EWTN’s Televised Mass – 6.14.05

2 Cor 8:1-9 OLAM Chapel - 7am TV Mass

Psalm 146:2, 5-9 Tues week 11-Year I

St. Matthew 5:43-48 June 14, 2005

Today is Tuesday of the 11^th week of Ordinary Time. In today’s gospel we see the Lord Jesus continuing His Sermon on the Mount in St. Matthew’s Gospel. He tells the people, and us through this holy Gospel, that they and we are to no longer hate our enemies, but rather, we are to love them. Furthermore, we are to pray for those who persecute us. We are to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. We are called to holiness - and holiness includes loving and praying for those who do us wrong.

But you know, one of the things that comes to mind, especially with summer well under way in this part of the world, is the lack of love shown by so many people to their neighbor in the poor and immodest way in which they dress, especially while attending Holy Mass. And this immodesty is very much tied to the widespread impurity in our culture and society today. Immodesty is one of the biggest problems we have to face in dealing with purity in the West. The Ninth Commandment says that thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife. As the Catechism tells us, the struggle against carnal covetousness entails purifying the heart and practicing temperance (CCC, no. 2517). And purity requires modesty, which is an integral part of temperance (CCC, no. 2521). Modesty

protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons. (CCC, no. 2521)

Modesty protects the mystery of the person. It encourages patience and moderation in loving relationships. Modesty is decency. It inspires one's choice of clothing. It keeps silence or reserve where there is evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. (CCC, no. 2522)

And so modesty is a virtue. Included in the virtue of modesty is not only humility, but also in how one externally dresses (cf. John Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary, p. 356). But many today have rejected to practice this virtue so desperately needed in our current culture. Even to the most casual observer, immodesty in dress is seen as common place in our Churches. We have got to do all we can to help people to wake up and realize they are dressing way to immodestly, especially when it comes to entering a Church to worship God. We must be like the Vatican - just one example (cf. www. cathnews.com) - when there are heat waves in Rome the Vatican dress police, neatly dressed in pants, shirts and ties, turn back all tourists in shorts and bare shoulders trying to get into St. Peter’s Basilica. I’ve seen them do with my own eyes. These immodestly dressed people have to go and buy paper pants and shirts from vendors eagerly waiting outside.

Many people come to Church dressed like they are ready to go to the beach. You should not come to Church dressed in shorts, miniskirts, swimsuits, bikinis, tank-tops, dresses above the knees, bare shoulders, bare arms, low cut dresses, sleeveless shirts, very tight fitting clothing, etc. If you come to EWTN or the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, AL and you are not dressed properly don’t expect to get out of your car because we have a dress code here. And don’t even dare to come into the Chapel before our Lord. If you do, hopefully you will be caught by our security guards and asked to put on more clothing. We must return to having a holy fear for God and for His true Presence in the Eucharist and for being in His house. How can we expect to grow in the spiritual life if we are dressed like we don’t care? How dare we approach the Holy Eucharist dressed like we are going to the beach.

When a person dresses immodestly he or she can become an occasion of sin for other people. And this is the fashion for today. Each year it seems that the latest fashion is to see how little clothing one can wear and how much of one’s body can be shown. And what flesh is not shown is revealed by extremely tight clothing. To knowingly and intentionally dress like this is sinful, and can be even seriously sinful, because one become a temptation to sin for other people. We are all weak and can easily fall into many sins of impurity by someone else’s immodesty.

Before we go out or buy new clothes we should do a modesty check. Ladies, remember some simple guidelines in buying and wearing an outfit, which are modeled here after a well known modesty promoter (cf. Collen Hammond, Dressing with Dignity, www.valoramedia.com):

1. First of all, one guideline which can prove to very helpful (developed by either the Sacred Congregation of the Council under Pope Pius XI or from a Cardinal from Pope Pius XII=s office in 1956): A dress cannot be called decent which is cut deeper than two fingers breadth under the pit of the throat, which does not cover the arms at least to the elbows, and scarcely reaches a bit beyond the knees. Furthermore, dresses of transparent material are improper.

2. Does my back, belly or shoulders show? Does my back or belly show when I am bending or stretching? When bending over does my blouse hang down and open for all to see through?

3. Is my blouse or top to tight? Is it more loose fitting or is it too tight and revealing? Can one see the outline of my underwear through my tight-fitting clothing? Blouses and tops that are too tight are very immodest and say a lot about the woman who wears such a blouse or top.

4. Lastly, we are concerned about how much flesh is showing, but as one well known modesty promoter put it, modesty is not just about how much of our skin is showing, but how much of our feminine shape is showing (cf. Collen Hammond, Dressing with Dignity, www.valoramedia.com).

The way one dresses is a big determinant in what kind of person one will attract. Ladies, if you dress immodestly, what do you think you will attract? If you dress like a woman of the night you attract men of the night - men who want to use you, not to love you for who you are. Women want to be loved for who they are, not for the pleasure they can give to a man. Yet many dress so immodestly that all they attract is men who wish to love them for their body. If you want to attract a decent man, who will truly love you, then start by dressing like a woman who respects herself and her dignity as a woman. What you wear says a lot about you. By how you dress sends many messages to those who see you.

Let us love our neighbor, even our enemies: first, in relation to today’s Gospel, by dressing properly and modestly. Second, let us love, with a Christian love, those who do dress immodestly. Let us pray for them and try to gently help them. Let us dress properly. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).

That is all dear friends! May God continue to bless you abundantly this lenten season!

Some quotes for you all:

When tempted, invoke your angel. He is more eager to help you than you are to be helped! Ignore the devil and do not be afraid of him: He trembles and flees at the sight of your guardian angel.
St. John Bosco

The Church is a faithful and ever watchful guardian of the dogmas that have been entrusted to her charge. In this sacred deposit, she changes nothing, she takes nothing away, she adds nothing to it.
St. Vincent of Lerins

O happy confidence! O perfect refuge! The Mother of God is my Mother. What firm trust we should have, then, since our salvation depends on the judgments of a good Brother and a tender Mother!
St. Anselm of Canterbury

I ask you to pray for those who cannot pray and also for those who do not know how to pray. Pray too for all who have lost faith in God and in His mercy.
Pope John Paul II

There is no sin nor wrong that gives a man such a foretaste of hell in this life as anger and impatience.
St. Catherine of Siena

God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.
St. Augustine of Hippo

..::Blessed Be God::..

+JMJ

I know this may be behind by quite a bit, but I wanted to have it posted here :)

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
BENEDICT XVI
FOR LENT 2006

“Jesus, at the sight of the crowds, was moved with pity” (Mt 9:36)

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Him Who is the fount of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which He Himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty, sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter. Even in the “valley of darkness” of which the Psalmist speaks (Ps 23:4), while the tempter prompts us to despair or to place a vain hope in the work of our own hands, God is there to guard us and sustain us. Yes, even today the Lord hears the cry of the multitudes longing for joy, peace, and love. As in every age, they feel abandoned. Yet, even in the desolation of misery, loneliness, violence and hunger that indiscriminately afflict children, adults, and the elderly, God does not allow darkness to prevail. In fact, in the words of my beloved Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, there is a “divine limit imposed upon evil”, namely, mercy (Memory and Identity, pp. 19ff.). It is with these thoughts in mind that I have chosen as my theme for this Message the Gospel text: “Jesus, at the sight of the crowds, was moved with pity” (Mt 9:36).

In this light, I would like to pause and reflect upon an issue much debated today: the question of development. Even now, the compassionate “gaze” of Christ continues to fall upon individuals and peoples. He watches them, knowing that the divine “plan” includes their call to salvation. Jesus knows the perils that put this plan at risk, and He is moved with pity for the crowds. He chooses to defend them from the wolves even at the cost of His own life. The gaze of Jesus embraces individuals and multitudes, and he brings them all before the Father, offering Himself as a sacrifice of expiation.

Enlightened by this Paschal truth, the Church knows that if we are to promote development in its fulness, our own “gaze” upon mankind has to be measured against that of Christ. In fact, it is quite impossible to separate the response to people’s material and social needs from the fulfilment of the profound desires of their hearts. This has to be emphasized all the more in today’s rapidly changing world, in which our responsibility towards the poor emerges with ever greater clarity and urgency. My venerable Predecessor, Pope Paul VI, accurately described the scandal of underdevelopment as an outrage against humanity. In this sense, in the Encyclical Populorum Progressio, he denounced “the lack of material necessities for those who are without the minimum essential for life, the moral deficiencies of those who are mutilated by selfishness” and “oppressive social structures, whether due to the abuses of ownership or to the abuses of power, to the exploitation of workers or to unjust transactions” (ibid., 21). As the antidote to such evil, Paul VI suggested not only “increased esteem for the dignity of others, the turning towards the spirit of poverty, cooperation for the common good, the will and desire for peace”, but also “the acknowledgement by man of supreme values, and of God, their source and their finality” (ibid.). In this vein, the Pope went on to propose that, finally and above all, there is “faith, a gift of God accepted by the good will of man, and unity in the charity of Christ” (ibid.). Thus, the “gaze” of Christ upon the crowd impels us to affirm the true content of this “complete humanism” that, according to Paul VI, consists in the “fully-rounded development of the whole man and of all men” (ibid., 42). For this reason, the primary contribution that the Church offers to the development of mankind and peoples does not consist merely in material means or technical solutions. Rather, it involves the proclamation of the truth of Christ, Who educates consciences and teaches the authentic dignity of the person and of work; it means the promotion of a culture that truly responds to all the questions of humanity.

In the face of the terrible challenge of poverty afflicting so much of the world’s population, indifference and self-centered isolation stand in stark contrast to the “gaze” of Christ. Fasting and almsgiving, which, together with prayer, the Church proposes in a special way during the Lenten Season, are suitable means for us to become conformed to this “gaze”. The examples of the saints and the long history of the Church’s missionary activity provide invaluable indications of the most effective ways to support development. Even in this era of global interdependence, it is clear that no economic, social, or political project can replace that gift of self to another through which charity is expressed. Those who act according to the logic of the Gospel live the faith as friendship with God Incarnate and, like Him, bear the burden of the material and spiritual needs of their neighbours. They see it as an inexhaustible mystery, worthy of infinite care and attention. They know that he who does not give God gives too little; as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta frequently observed, the worst poverty is not to know Christ. Therefore, we must help others to find God in the merciful face of Christ. Without this perspective, civilization lacks a solid foundation.

Thanks to men and women obedient to the Holy Spirit, many forms of charitable work intended to promote development have arisen in the Church: hospitals, universities, professional formation schools, and small businesses. Such initiatives demonstrate the genuine humanitarian concern of those moved by the Gospel message, far in advance of other forms of social welfare. These charitable activities point out the way to achieve a globalization that is focused upon the true good of mankind and, hence, the path towards authentic peace. Moved like Jesus with compassion for the crowds, the Church today considers it her duty to ask political leaders and those with economic and financial power to promote development based on respect for the dignity of every man and woman. An important litmus test for the success of their efforts is religious liberty, understood not simply as the freedom to proclaim and celebrate Christ, but also the opportunity to contribute to the building of a world enlivened by charity. These efforts have to include a recognition of the central role of authentic religious values in responding to man’s deepest concerns, and in supplying the ethical motivation for his personal and social responsibilities. These are the criteria by which Christians should assess the political programmes of their leaders.

We cannot ignore the fact that many mistakes have been made in the course of history by those who claimed to be disciples of Jesus. Very often, when having to address grave problems, they have thought that they should first improve this world and only afterwards turn their minds to the next. The temptation was to believe that, in the face of urgent needs, the first imperative was to change external structures. The consequence, for some, was that Christianity became a kind of moralism, ‘believing’ was replaced with ‘doing’. Rightly, therefore, my Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, of blessed memory, observed: “The temptation today is to reduce Christianity to merely human wisdom, a pseudo-science of well-being. In our heavily secularized world, a ‘gradual secularization of salvation’ has taken place, so that people strive for the good of man, but man who is truncated…We know, however, that Jesus came to bring integral salvation” (Redemptoris Missio, 11).

It is this integral salvation that Lent puts before us, pointing towards the victory of Christ over every evil that oppresses us. In turning to the Divine Master, in being converted to Him, in experiencing His mercy through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we will discover a “gaze” that searches us profoundly and gives new life to the crowds and to each one of us. It restores trust to those who do not succumb to scepticism, opening up before them the perspective of eternal beatitude. Throughout history, even when hate seems to prevail, the luminous testimony of His love is never lacking. To Mary, “the living fount of hope” (Dante Alighieri, Paradiso, XXXIII, 12), we entrust our Lenten journey, so that she may lead us to her Son. I commend to her in particular the multitudes who suffer poverty and cry out for help, support, and understanding. With these sentiments, I cordially impart to all of you a special Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 29 September, 2005.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

..::Praised Be Jesus Christ::..

+JMJ

I keep realing how cool the parish I go to when I am at school is. Awesome parish. Confession: at least 3+ times a week. They even do it before Stations of the Cross so you can get your plenary indulgence! They also do Benediction after Stations too! WHOA! I don't know if that is the norm, but I just LOVE it! Not only this, but they have booklets with meditations compsed by Benedict XVI in the bookracks! Also, every Tuesday morning from 10 until 12pm, they have an Opus Dei priest hear confessions. All year round. Oh yeah! This parish also has a beautiful Perpetual Adoration Chapel! I just love this parish! If you want to surf around their website, check it out here. I suggest if you are ever in town, go to Mass here. There are two other parishes, but this one I highly recommend. HIGHLY.


Did I mention they have some very awesome and holy priests as well? AWESOME! Even though the architecture is remenant of the 60's/70's, it still retains the true spirit of Vatican II. The above picture is the sanctuary from the homepage. It kind of gives some idea of what I am talking about.

Lord, Thy Will Be Done!

..::Blessed Be God::..

Pope loves his iPod

The Pope likes to unwind by listening to his iPod.

Pope Benedict XVI was given an iPod Nano as a present by staff at Vatican Radio.

Officials have loaded it with religious music, plus pieces by Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin.

He has been spotted around the Vatican using his iPod and distinctive white earphones.

According to The Sun a spokesman said: "He is very pleased with the iPod. The Holy Father likes to unwind listening to it and is of the opinion that this sort of technology is the future."

The Queen, President Bush and Tony Blair all own an iPod.

It is now official. EVERYONE but me has an iPod. But I think I am better for it. Instead of private listening pleasure, I have more silence in life and more time for talking with others. I don't need no stinkin' iPod!

Also, I heard back from Mother Abbess! They have been busy busy little bees! I guess there was little time and she did not have a chance to write back and I thought the letter had got lost in the mail or something! But I sent another letter and she wrote back a quick response and I hopefully will be visiting during spring break(March 22 to the maybe the 27th)! Yay! I am so excited! I hope that I will be able to help the Sisters to help them with their work that has kept them so busy! I am so excited! Also, I don't know if I mentioned this before, but it seems like there may be a book written about the Monastery and what makes someone want to enter, and well, I've kinda been being interviewed for it, even though it was going to start out as a newspaper article. I kinda don't know what to think about it all, but I think I am just going to try not to be so nervous about it. I always get so nervous with someone writing your every word or recording it!

Anyways, that is all for now! Also, you may want to look through the blogroll on the sidebar because I have been updating and revamping and adding some cool new blogs. Check them out! I'll let you do the mystery work to figure out which ones! God bless you abundantly this lent!

Lord, Thy Will Be Done!

..::Praised Be Jesus Christ::..

+JMJ

To An Altar Boy
By Saint John Berchmans

To be Christ's page at the altar,
To serve Him freely there.
Where even the Angels falter,
Bowed low in reverent prayer.

To touch the throne most holy,
To hand the gifts for the feast,
To see Him meekly, lowly,
Descend at the word of the priest.

To hear man's poor petition,
To sound the silver bell,
When He in sweet submission,
Comes down with us to dwell.

No grander mission surely
Could Saints or men enjoy;
No heart should love more purely,
Than yours my altar boy.

God bless you, lad, forever,
And keep you in His care,
And Guard you that you never
Belie the robes you wear.

For white bespeaks untainted
A heart both tried and true;
And red tolls love the sainted
The holy martyrs knew.

Throughout life, then, endeavor
God's graces to employ;
And be in heart forever
A holy altar boy.

Lord, Thy Will Be Done!

..::Blessed Be God::..

+JMJ

Praised be Jesus Christ! Greetings to you and your Holy Angels! Well, it is that exciting time of year again! It's LENT! I feel like I should have something insightful or interesting for you to read, but perhaps I will ask you to think about something instead.

I invite you to think, and often about the Angelic presence around you always. You have a guardian angel that the Lord has blessed you with and is with you always. They are always ready to help you.

Think often about the Holy Angels. Make friends with the angels and they will be there for you always.

Be Holy!
Lord, Thy Will Be Done!