Patron Saints 2013

At the start of every new Church year is the time to get a patron saint!

This is a beautiful Catholic devotion. The idea is that I put together saints names in a basket, and draw one for anyone who wants one, after praying over the basket with your name and intentions in mind. Please, pass this onto anyone who you think would like a saint picked for them. Here's a little more on this devotion:

Religious orders, both male and female, particularly in the 1800's and early 1900's got into the habit of drawing a saint's name at the close of each year, and that saint would be their "patron" for the coming year. St. Faustina writes about this in her diary, but it was not an unusual practice at all. The saying is, "you don't choose the saint, the saint chooses you - that in the realm of the Eternal, they know better than you what your needs for the coming year will be, and so they "choose" to be with you, through it. But the point is to not simply pull the saint but then develop a bit of a relationship with him/her -ie, learn about them, include them in your prayers, ask them to pray for you, and (when praying) to join you in prayer -that sort of thing.

“There is a custom among us of drawing by lot, on New Year's Day, special Patrons for ourselves for the whole year. In the morning during meditation, there arose within me a secret desire that the Eucharistic Jesus be my special Patron for this year also, as in the past. But, hiding this desire from my Beloved, I spoke to Him about everything else but that. When we came to refectory for breakfast, we blessed ourselves and began drawing our patrons. When I approached the holy cards on which the names of the patrons were written, without hesitation I took one, but I didn't read the name immediately as I wanted to mortify myself for a few minutes. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my soul: ‘I am your patron. Read.’ I looked at once at the inscription and read, ‘Patron for the Year 1935 - the Most Blessed Eucharist.’ My heart leapt with joy, and I slipped quietly away from the sisters and went for a short visit before the Blessed Sacrament, where I poured out my heart. But Jesus sweetly admonished me that I should be at that moment together with the sisters. I went immediately in obedience to the rule.” (Excerpt from Divine Mercy in My Soul, the Diary of St. Faustina)

If you would like a saint, email me or if you are comfortable, comment here. Please tell me a little of yourself (if i don't already know you): Student? Discerning? Any worries about the coming year? etc.... or if you'd rather not, you don't have to tell me anything. This post will remain at the top of the page for awhile.

Saints have been drawn

For anyone who has left a comment on the Patron Saints post, all those who left comments have now had their patrons drawn.

I apologize for the lack of posting. I've been incredibly busy and tired, which doesn't leave much time for writing or reflecting on the Scriptures and Catechism. I hope you are all well, and pray for those who leave comments.

I've been trying to lose weight, my doctor told me that losing at least 30 pounds would help in getting pregnant again. Please pray for me as I continue this journey, and pray for my husband who expressed a desire to have another baby.

Whip my heart into shape

their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12

Each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17

Jesus said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."
John 2:13-22

Isaac's blindness thus signifies faith through which we see dimly God's wise ways that aren't ours.
Fr. Michael L. Gaudoin-Parker


CCC 203-209 God revealed himself to his people Israel by making his name known to them. A name expresses a person's essence and identity and the meaning of this person's life. God has a name; he is not an anonymous force. To disclose one's name is to make oneself known to others; in a way it is to hand oneself over by becoming accessible, capable of being known more intimately and addressed personally. CCC 203

One time when I went to confession, and was particularly dreading it, the priest told me to think of my heart as the Father's house - and that I had made it a marketplace. That of course when Jesus whipped my heart, it would be painful, and I would not like the feeling, but that it was necessary if I wanted to live a more Christian life.

This image is helpful to me, as I've had someone draw me a virtue to work on for the coming year (click through to phatmass if you'd like one drawn for you) - and that virtue is purity of heart, something I particularly struggle with. But to me, to be pure of heart is that I am fed by the sanctuary of God, and that I allow the Holy Spirit to flow through me.

To trust, even though I do not see the plan clearly, is to be fed. 

Building Up the Church

But whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ.
Philippians 3:3-8a

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain.
Luke 15:1-10

That is why Mary is created sinless, of the purest materials, from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception. She is created in this fashion for the benefit of the entire "building" of the Church.
Fr. James M. Sullivan

CCC 198-202 Through the prophets, God calls Israel and all nations to turn to him, the one and only God: "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other...to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. 'Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength.'" CCC 201

When I focus on the gains I have achieved by myself, I stop listening to Jesus, stop drawing near to him, and begin to bitterly complain about his presence, his "intrusion" in my life.

But when I realize my own sinfulness and turn to God, I participate in the building up of the Church - helping myself in the process and building up others in the Church.

Keep the Love

For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in youth both to desire and to work.
Philippian 2:12-18

Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:25-33

When he suddenly jumps out of his ambush and grips at your heart with one of his famous handholds, and your heart goes wild with throbbing, then you must quickly cast yourselves down and say with all humility: "Lord, go away from me. I am a sinful man!"
Fr. Hans Urs von Balthasar

CCC 192-197 To say the Credo with faith is to enter into communion with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and also with the whole Church which transmits the faith to us and in whose midst we believe: This Creed is the spiritual seal, our hearts's meditation and an ever-present guardian; it is, unquestionably, the treasure of our soul. CCC 197

To desire the cross I've been given by God is a constant struggle. I hate my crosses in life and sometimes would do anything to give them up. So I sin, and make myself miserable by my sins. But when my heart is inflamed with love of God, then I will want to do anything I can to stay close to Him - even embrace my hated cross. But how can I sustain love for my cross, even after my heart stops burning with love for Him? How can I keep up carrying my crosses when the consolations stop and the temptations are allowed? What do you do to persevere?

Living Down

he humbled himself,/becoming obedient to death,/even death on a cross./Because of this, God greatly exalted him.
Philippians 2:5-11

The lowly shall eat their fill.
Psalm 22

One by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
Luke 14:15-24

To pray faithfully is like knocking untiringly at God's door. ... The infallible gift of praying with perseverant faith, in contrast, is simply the grace to know who God truly is and thus what he is always sure to give - even if we must stand awhile and knock.
Fr. J. Anthony Giambrone

CCC 185-191 Whoever says "I believe" says "I pledge myself to what we believe." Communion in faith needs a common language of faith, normative for all and uniting all in the same confession of faith. CCC 185

Humility is...praying faithfully.
                  ...submitting to authority.
                  ...eating my fill.
                  ...believing the Church knows more than I do.
                  ...not giving God excuses.
                  ...owning up to my sins.
                  ...knowing who God is.
                  ...knowing that I am not God.

No wonder so many in our society don't believe in God or don't follow being a Christian - because these statements are all counter-cultural. How can I impact society for the better by being humbled by God?

We are the Lowly

Rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.
Philippians 2:1-4

Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted, ... so is my soul within me.
Psalm 131

Blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
Luke 14:12-14

We are given crosses that seem impossible to bear. But we are never alone. The Lord gives heed to our affliction.
Heather King

CCC 176-184 Faith is a supernatural gift from God. In order to believe, man needs the interior helps of the Holy Spirit. CCC179

Being tied to love of neighbor & God is finding the right place for yourself. I struggle with this because the world tells us to have healthy self-esteem and to not put ourselves down; yet we are told by the Bible to humble ourselves, to put ourselves last, and others first - especially the lowly, the poor.

I think it is easy to recognize when someone else is the lowly, but hard when it means recognizing our own lowliness before God and sometimes our worldly lowliness; to allow another to humble themselves before us because we are the lowly, and to do so without submitting to the temptation of pride.

This, I believe, is also tied to love of neighbor - we have to be willing to humble ourselves before each other, without sin getting in the way. Easier said than done, but that is why we must be open to receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as an interior help.

A'Traveling We Go

I was traveling this weekend, and now am dealing with sick kids. Consequently I'll be laying low until the household is back on track.

Pray for us, pray for our country and the elections.

Stunted Growth

be careful to observe (his statutes and commandments), that you may grow and prosper the more, in keeping with the promise of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 6:2-6

He is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:23-28

...is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Mark 12:28b-24

Real faith, faith which...abolishes the notion of 'impossible' and empties the words 'anxiety', 'danger', and 'fear' of their meaning.
Bl. Charles de Foucauld

CCC 172-175 "We guard with care the faith that we have received from the Church, for without ceasing, under the action of God's Spirit, this deposit of great price, as if in an excellent vessel, is constantly being renewed and causes the very vessel that contains it to be renewed." St. Irenaeus (CCC 175)

Sometimes, I really dislike my "neighbors". The people driving down the street, the people who are careless with their pets, the quirks of people that make me want to tear my hair out. Yet I claim to love and want to serve God. But loving God and loving annoying people (okay, okay, all people) are intimately tied together.
     Otherwise, your growth in your spiritual life is stunted, and keeps you distracted by this world and all the irritations of it. You are kept bound by fears and anxieties instead of bound by love.

Maturing in Faith

General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI on October 31, 2012. 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In our series of catecheses for the Year of Faith, we have seen that faith is something intensely personal: a gift of God which transforms and enriches our life. At the same time, the gift of faith is given in and through the community of the Church. In Baptism I receive and appropriate the faith of the Church; my personal faith finds expression in the recitation of the Creed and in the communal celebration of the sacraments. The new life I live in Christ through the gift of his Spirit is received and nourished within the Church’s communion. In this sense, the Church is our Mother. As Saint Cyprian says, “No one can have God as Father who does not have the Church as Mother”. Dwelling in the Church’s living Tradition, may we mature in the faith we have received and, by putting it into practice, become beacons of Christ’s light and peace in our world.

Offering my Pagan Heart

Indeed I shall continue to rejoice, for I know that this will result in deliverance for me through your prayers and support from the spirit of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:18b-26

On a Sabbath, Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.
Luke 14:1, 7-11

Melchizedek points to the heathen in our own hearts who is foreign to Christ, ... Melchizedek beckons us to track the mysterious pagan in our own souls, bring it to the altar of faith, and apportion it to Christ.
Fr. Lawrence Donohoo

CCC 166-171 Faith is a personal act - the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself. But faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone...I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith. CCC 166

How often do I invite God into my heart, to breathe life into me, yet then jealously guard parts of my heart from Him? I say to Him - "You may have this part or that, but not the precious part that I treasure"; when those parts especially I need to give Him, because without God breathing life into me, I am dull and lifeless. And the more I hoard parts of myself, the more I stay away from my community of faith, because I don't want to be called on the carpet for not offering all of myself to God.

They are in peace

They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destructions.
But they are in peace.
Wisdom 3:1-9

Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Romans 5:5-11

Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me.
John 6:37-40

This is the source of a profound freedom, a knowledge of God's unrepentant love; he sees through all our errors and remains well disposed to us.
Pope Benedict XVI

CCC 160-165 Faith makes us taste in advance the light of the beatific vision, the goal of our journey here below. Then we shall see God "face to face", "as he is". So faith is already the beginning of eternal life. CCC 163

Another day of hopefulness, except this time instead of hope for myself, it's hope for those who have died and gone before me.

I know that after my last miscarriage and after my mom's death, it was so easy to be hopeless that they were gone forever, that I was foolish to believe I'd see them again. But these readings say to me: Take courage! They have been given to the Father!
     I don't mean to say I believe that automatically my mom went straight to heaven and there isn't a need to pray for her, but rather, I know that my prayers are not being wasted.

Two things to get your blood boiling this afternoon

Court OKs warrantless use of hidden surveillance cameras

Police are allowed in some circumstances to install hidden surveillance cameras on private property without obtaining a search warrant, a federal judge said yesterday. 
CNET has learned that U.S. District Judge William Griesbach ruled that it was reasonable for Drug Enforcement Administration agents to enter rural property without permission -- and without a warrant -- to install multiple "covert digital surveillance cameras" in hopes of uncovering evidence that 30 to 40 marijuana plants were being grown.

This is the latest case to highlight how advances in technology are causing the legal system to rethink how Americans' privacy rights are protected by law. In January, the Supreme Court rejected warrantless GPS tracking after previously rejecting warrantless thermal imaging, but it has not yet ruled on warrantless cell phone tracking or warrantless use of surveillance cameras placed on private property without permission.

Yesterday Griesbach adopted a recommendation by U.S. Magistrate Judge William Callahan dated October 9. That recommendation said that the DEA's warrantless surveillance did not violate the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and requires that warrants describe the place that's being searched.
"The Supreme Court has upheld the use of technology as a substitute for ordinary police surveillance," Callahan wrote.

Callahan based his reasoning on a 1984 Supreme Court case called Oliver v. United States, in which a majority of the justices said that "open fields" could be searched without warrants because they're not covered by the Fourth Amendment. What lawyers call "curtilage," on the other hand, meaning the land immediately surrounding a residence, still has greater privacy protections.

"Placing a video camera in a location that allows law enforcement to record activities outside of a home and beyond protected curtilage does not violate the Fourth Amendment," Justice Department prosecutors James Santelle and William Lipscomb told Callahan.

New Obamacare Tax Form Mandates Americans Report Personal Health ID info to IRS

When Obamacare’s individual mandate takes effect in 2014, all Americans who file income tax returns must complete an additional IRS tax form. The new form will require disclosure of a taxpayer’s personal identifying health information in order to determine compliance with the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. 

As confirmed by IRS testimony to the tax-writing House Committee on Ways and Means, “taxpayers will file their tax returns reporting their health insurance coverage, and/or making a payment”. 

So why will the Obama IRS require your personal identifying health information?
Simply put, there is no way for the IRS to enforce Obamacare’s individual mandate without such an invasive reporting scheme.  Every January, health insurance companies across America will send out tax documents to each insured individual.  This tax document—a copy of which will be furnished to the IRS—must contain sufficient information for taxpayers to prove that they purchased qualifying health insurance under Obamacare.

This new tax information document must, at a minimum, contain: the name and health insurance identification number of the taxpayer; the name and tax identification number of the health insurance company; the number of months the taxpayer was covered by this insurance plan; and whether or not the plan was purchased in one of Obamacare’s “exchanges.”

This will involve millions of new tax documents landing in mailboxes across America every January, along with the usual raft of W-2s, 1099s, and 1098s.  At tax time, the 140 million families who file a tax return will have to get acquainted with a brand new tax filing form.  Six million of these families will end up paying Obamacare’s individual mandate non-compliance tax penalty.

As a service to the public, Americans for Tax Reform has released a projected version of this tax form to help families and tax specialists prepare for this additional filing requirement. Taxpayers may view the projected IRS form at www.ObamacareTaxForm.com or see below.  On the form, lines 3-4 show where taxpayers will disclose their personal identifying health information.

Are you feeling free yet? 

The Passage of Souls

The Passage of Souls is from the series of paintings and drawings The Poem of the Soul by Louis Janmot. From the October Magnificat:

This is the second in a series of thirty-four illustrations composed by the Catholic activist and artist Louis Janmot between 1835 and 1881. The artwork inspired the development of his accompanying poetic text called The Poem of the Soul that ties together with over two thousand verses the meaning behind the ensemble of eighteen finished paintings and sixteen charcoal drawings. The mystical epic is unique in its viewer-reader presentation, showing the human soul generated by God and watched over by an angelic guardian as it passes through the joys and trials of life, through sin and redemption, to final resolution in the happiness of heaven.

Read more at Magnificat.com. 

Blazing Love

After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, ... "These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress"
Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14

See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God.
1 John 3:1-3

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
Matthew 5:1-12a

How blessed
are the poor,
the meek,
the pure.
This earth will be theirs;
their eyes will see.
Rita A. Simmonds

CCC 150-159 "Faith seeks understanding": it is intrinsic to faith that a believer desires to know better the One in whom he has put his faith, and to understand better what He has revealed; a more penetrating knowledge will in turn call forth a greater faith, increasingly set fire by love. CCC 158

I love this day, these readings. There is such a warmth to them, such love that says it is possible to live a life of faith and still be joyful. The readings don't promise us sunshine & rainbows in this life, but they do promise us a blazing love.

Readings like these make me want, make me yearn for more than the shitty life I've been trudging through lately. Maybe if I keep reflecting on these readings, I will actually want to go to confession.

November: The Holy Souls in Purgatory

The Holy Souls are those who have died in the state of grace but who are not yet free from all punishment due to their unforgiven venial sins and all other sins already forgiven for which satisfaction is still to be made. They are certain of entering Heaven, but first they must suffer in Purgatory. The Holy Soul cannot help themselves because for them the night has come, when no man can work (John 9:4). It is our great privilege of brotherhood that we can shorten their time of separation from God by our prayers, good works, and especially, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Invocation
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. 

For the Souls in Purgatory
My Jesus, by the sorrow Thou didst suffer in Thine agony in the Garden, in Thy scourging and crowning with thorns, in the way to Calvary, in Thy crucifixion and death, have mercy on the souls in purgatory, and especially on those that are most forsaken; do Thou deliver them from the dire torments they endure; call them and admit them to Thy most sweet embrace in paradise.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Eternal rest

For all the deceased
By Thy resurrection from the dead, O Christ, death no longer hath dominion over those who die in holiness. So, we beseech Thee, give rest to Thy servants in Thy sanctuary and in Abraham's bosom. Grant it to those, who from Adam until now have adored Thee with purity, to our fathers and brothers, to our kinsmen and friends, to all men who have lived by faith and passed on their road to Thee, by a thousand ways, and in all conditions, and make them worthy of the heavenly kingdom.

Byzantine Liturgy