Saint Joan of Arc, patron for May 30

Prayer to St. Joan of Arc

For Faith

In the face of your enemies, in the face of harassment, ridicule, and doubt, you held firm in your faith. Even in your abandonment, alone and without friends, you held firm in your faith. Even as you faced your own mortality, you held firm in your faith. I pray that I may be as bold in my beliefs as you, St. Joan. I ask that you ride alongside me in my own battles. Help me be mindful that what is worthwhile can be won when I persist. Help me hold firm in my faith. Help me believe in my ability to act well and wisely. Amen.

Article from LifeSiteNews.com

As we follow God's will as faithful believers we are brought joys and sorrows, our hearts must always remember the words of Christ from the sermon on the mount - 

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." 

We must be courageous in our faith and keep looking to the Lord for His holy will.  

Please pray for this young mom as we remember each of you tonight in our prayers.

Hello,

Hannah's Tears (Hannahs.Tears@gmail.com) has recommended the following news to you from LifeSiteNews.com:

Baby Faith Dies at 93 Days – Doctors Had Pressured Mother to Abort Anencephalic Daughter

By Hilary White MONCTON, May 27, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com); Myah Walker has described the time from her daughters birth up until this past Saturday, May 23, as the; best 93 days of my life.   Faith Hope Walker, the baby about whom LifeSiteNews had previously reported, passed away peacefully this weekend in the arms of her mother, a 23 year-old student living in Moncton, New Brunswick...

The full text of the story is available at: 

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052705.html

This page was sent using our send-to-friend service. Your email address has not been added to any list and has not been recorded at our site.

Fwd: Please try this little hearts

"I am God's pencil, a tiny bit of pencil with which He writes what he likes; He writes through us, and however imperfect we may be, He writes beautifully." -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

Dearest Little hearts,

There is a need within each one of us to be creative, to share somehow in the work of God our Father and Creator....It is a path of conception, nurturing and ultimately giving birth.  We may like to express ourselves in words in prose , poetry, limericks or songs!!!  But there is always something of a thrill and satisfaction when we have finished the work, albeit touched with a sense maybe it could be better!!! there is wisdom in knowing when to stop or declare the work, finished!!

Yes, we can all be a pencil in Gods hand, but the pencil has another very valuable and creative use.... drawing!!! There grows a kind of intimacy between an artist and the pencil/pen, a familiarity, an enjoying being together!!! .......  Anyone who can hold a pen can draw, man drew thousands of years before he ever wrote a word....man is visual as well as conceptual...the problem is that we are influenced far too much by the opinions and expertise of others, we observe something we regard as a good painting and when we cannot measure up we think... no I cant do that ! No you cant but you can do something else....  Try and express yourself on a piece of paper, as Paul Klee said, take the line for a walk !!! just doodle over the paper and feel relaxed... like anything creative it improves with practise. Be humble in your choice of subject when trying to draw, if you have never seen a camel don't draw one! familiar objects.... or draw symbols that represent some Truth.... A Cross, a heart etc.  etc.

Don't be too critical of your efforts look at the paper through the eye of a child....

Even if you draw match stick men its  a beginning and even there you can express ideas, so much of our faith can come alive to us if we express it visually.... try and see what happens, be a pencil in Gods hand too...

The aim is not to be another Van Gogh, but to allow the child within to be, all children like to draw.....if you cannot draw something you can see try to express on paper that which is in your heart....

My favourite drawing medium is a plain lead pencil....experiment.... quite recently we were given a picture of Blessed Seelos which I have found fascinating,  it is such an endearing picture, so simple.... a child could have done it or someone with the heart of a child.

Bless you all and please try!!!! 

with love,

Your Poor Clare Colettine Sister

community@poorclarestmd.org 

 

Our Lords Ascension

"For My Flesh is meat indeed: and My Blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, abideth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me, the same also shall live by Me."  http://www.fisheaters.com/customseastertide6.html

Most of us have just celebrated Our Lord's Ascension yesterday.  Thursday which was the usual day of remembrance has now been changed to Sunday in many areas of the world.  Although the days change and things are moved about, Our Lord is never changing.  He will send the Paraclete , our comfortor, intercessor and teacher, He is the Holy Spirit.  We are not alone as He remains hidden with us, body, blood, soul and divinity in the Holy Eucharist, and He comes in the stillness of our hearts when we speak to Him with love. 

If you are feeling alone in your journey today, try visiting Our Lord, hidden in the tabernacle at you closest Catholic Church and sit with Him.  He is waiting for you!

Please let us hear from you if you need a prayer!!!

Novena to the Holy Spirit begins today...

Pentecost is on it's way, let's prepare our hearts for the coming of the Holy Spirit.  EWTN has a beautiful site for your consecration to the Holy Spirit and the novena, let's get our hearts ready!!!

Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts

FW: NOVENA For Parents and Loved Ones

Dear  Apostolate of Hannah's Tears,

Remember your Parents and Loved Ones, Living and
Deceased with a gift of prayer

Simply click on the link to submit the names of your loved ones to be included in this special spiritual opportunity.

April 2009

Greetings in the peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ!

In Sacred Scripture we read, "With all your heart honor your father, and do not forget the birth pangs of your mother. Remember that through your parents you were born; what can you give back to them that equals their gift to you?" (Sirach 7:27-28).

Though Mother's Day and Father's Day are not religious holidays, they remind us of the gift of life given to us through our parents by God the Father. Above all others, we as Catholics should honor our parents, because by their generosity in giving us life, God ultimately brought us to the font of Baptism, the Source of Eternal Life. The greatest way we can show gratitude for our parents is by praying for them through the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Father Edmund Sylvia, C.S.C. Chaplain of Living His Life Abundantly® International, Inc. and Women of Grace® and my co-host on EWTN and Women of Grace Live, will celebrate a Novena of Masses between Mother's Day and Father's Day for all parents. In the months of May and June, dedicated to Our Blessed Mother and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we pray you will join your prayers to ours as we place our parents in their Sacred Hearts.

I invite you to use the link below to send me the names of your parents, grandparents, godparents, or other loved ones who have nurtured you throughout your life so that we may offer this Novena of Masses for their spiritual or temporal needs. In this way, we can truly honor those who have gifted us with life whether biological or spiritual.

May this Novena of Masses yield abundant spiritual fruit for our loved ones. Please join us for this very special prayer opportunity to honor those who cooperated with God to give us life.

Simply click on the link to submit the names of your loved ones to be included in this special spiritual opportunity.

In His Service,

 
Johnnette S. Benkovic

Spiritual legacy of Archbishop Fulton Sheen -- Wednesday on "EWTN Live"

Fans of Archbishop Fulton Sheen won't want to miss Father Charles Connor at 8 p.m. ET, Wednesday, March 20 on "EWTN Live" with Father Mitch Pacwa. Father Connor will discuss Archbishop Sheen's spiritual legacy, which also happens to be the subject of a series now in production at EWTN. This should be a lively discussion!

 

 

Michelle Laque Johnson
Director of Communications
EWTN Global Catholic Network
5817 Old Leeds Road
Irondale, Alabama 35210
(205) 795-5769 (office)
(205) 441-6248 (cell)
(205) 271-2920 (fax)
mjohnson@ewtn.com (email)

 

You are God's Treasure...

PRAYER

Father, help me to be able to comprehend the incredible value You place on my life. I receive the love gift of Your Son Jesus as the price You paid in order to purchase my redemption. I acknowledge that my worth does not come from what I do, but simply because of Whose I am. Because of Jesus, I am accepted as Your child and I  am Your most treasured possession. In the name of Your beloved Son Jesus I pray, AMEN.

*This is a beautiful prayer shared by the Poor Clare Colettine's (from the Father's Love)

God's beautiful plan...

You are a beautiful gift in God's eyes. We each have different crosses to carry and different gifts but we are all God's little flowers... 

Some of us are the little violets and some of us are the roses...  Our frustrations in this life are like the weeds that we need to pull up by the root in the garden we call our life...  Sometimes the pain that fills our life seems too heavy to bear, but when we turn to Our Lord on the cross and in Holy Eucharist, Jesus begins to reveal his beautiful plan.  Our life is like the field which the farmer must plow, in order to have a beautiful garden he must turn the soil and plant the seeds.   In our lives God must also till the garden of our hearts.  His plan may not be what we desired, but if we place our trust in Him and turn our life over to Him the beautiful plan will be revealed in His time.  Our trust must grow into that beautiful flower in time the cross that you bear will reveal the fruits that God has yet to show you.

Please know that you are loved today and that you are being lifted in our prayers.  God bless you and please let us know if  you have a prayer requests.

We love you,

Hannah's Tears Intercessors

Mary the Immaculate..

Are you someone who is struggling today because of the heavy burdens in your life?   If you are please read Patrick Madrid's article, "Mary Ark of the New Covenant" .  Patrick's article will give you the biblical insight to truly realize that Our Blessed Mother has been sent by God the Father to bring us aide and comfort.

Mary is the Immaculate Conception let us place our trust in her as we keep the faith and the truth in these trying times.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Guest Post: Saints to Lean On

Post from a friend at Be Not Afraid:

Along with Hannah's Tears, I've been thinking about saints. You see, I've just begun reading Sister Janice McGrane's, "Saints to Lean On - Spiritual Companions for Illness and Disability". I think all of us reading here have been touched by some difficulty or even tragic circumstances. All of us, I'm willing to wager, have leaned on a favorite saint, or two, or three . . . and, I'm certain we each have a story to share about how the saints really did help us in our struggles with infertility, miscarriage, loss of infant, or any other pain associated with motherhood. Please feel welcome to share your own story in the comments - who knows, perhaps you will be featured in a blog post about heavenly intercession! For now, I want to share the story of two saints you really can lean on in times of trouble: St. Therese and St Gianna.

 

Do you know how difficult pregnancy can be for those who have lupus? I really didn't, until I read this account.  Our dynamic duo interceded to help a Colorado Springs mom who battled infertility and Lupus. Lisa Kottler's second baby was brought safely into the world by a series of miracles. It's true, not even the doctors can explain. For example, just when a premature birth seemed imminent, there was a sudden increase in amniotic fluid - just enough to keep the baby safe. Read this incredibly encouraging story here. 

 

How about the following scenario: The doctors note that the baby is not growing and they see clotting (therefore, blood loss), the placenta is deteriorating, and the amniotic sac has ruptured. Is there any hope for such a baby? The doctors say no, but with God, all things are possible. In retrospect, we can see in the case of Elisabete Comparini Arcolino - the mother who was visited with all these problems during pregnancy with her fourth child - that God was up to something special. It appears that He permitted a situation that seemed hopeless, knowing that he could count on his Elisabete to hold on and not abort as the doctors had advised. He also knew His faithful servants, her husband, their parish priest and even their bishop would support Elisabete in asking for the prayers of then Blessed Gianna Molla. Though several other problems (if you can imagine it!) manifested during the remainder of the pregnancy, eventually Elisabete gave birth to a full term baby who was determined to be healthy. This hopeless scenario was the second miracle contributing to the canonization of St. Gianna. And how about the first miracle that contributed to her cause? That too involved a mom suffering severe complications in pregnancy; she had lost her baby and it looked as though she too would die because of a very serious infection. At that time, someone asked for the intercession of St Gianna. To the utter amazement of everyone involved, the woman who was expected to die overnight when home the next day. 

 

There are so many stories like this - perhaps not officially recognized as "miracles", but we faithful know they are. I will be bringing you these stories from time to time to offer encouragement and so that together, we may strengthen our faith. If you have a story to share, please leave a comment and you may well be featured in our next post about our heavenly intercessors.

A Mothers' Day Prayer

Merciful Father,

 

Today we celebrate motherhood.  I thank you that my own mother gave me life.

 

O Lord of Life, my heart aches and my womb longs to carry a child.  You planted this desire in the heart of every woman, whether she knows it or not, whether she can bear children or not.  As I walk this journey of infertility, amid reminders of the life I don't have, I beg your loving care and grace. 

 

I especially ask for your grace on this Mothers' Day:

As I watch mothers celebrate with their families.

As I watch the bouquets disappear, knowing they are for a blessed mom. 

As I walk by the countless cards and treats made specially for mothers' day.

As I weep silently during the Blessing of Mothers at Sunday Mass. 

 

Although you have a plan for me, dear Lord, You also know my pain.  Please help me carry this pain until I too, have a chance to rejoice on Mothers' Day. 

Thank you for the spiritual motherhood You've given me; help me to see the many ways you call me to do this in my every day life.  May I keep my eyes, even when they're filled with tears, fixed on You, O Lord.

Amen.

patrons against sterility ~ infertility

• Agatha of Sicily
  
• Anne
• Anthony of Padua
• Casilda of Toledo
• Felicity of Rome
• Fiacre
• Francis of Paola
• Giles
• Henry II
• Margaret of Antioch
• Medard
• Philomena
• Rita of Cascia
• Theobald Roggeri

God loves you!

PRAYER

Father, Your love for me existed even before you formed me in my mother's womb. You knew me and set me apart for Your special purpose long before I was born. Help me to receive a deeper revelation of this truth, so that I might continue to walk out my destiny in the shadow of Your love. In the name of your beloved Son Jesus, I pray, AMEN.

Saint Joseph wise and loving...

Prayers to St. Joseph

On this feast of St. Joseph the Worker, I just wanted to inform our readers of a Catholic Dad's blog site.  Most of the blogging world seems to be filled with a network of women, but I'm here to share with you http://catholic-dads.blogspot.com/, I hope you will share this site with the men in your lives that need this type of support.  God bless the Catholic men out in the world that are keeping the faith alive!!! This site is to support Catholic husbands for prayer support and  friendship.  

Check it out!

Jason and Crystalina Evert To Guest on EWTN's "Life on the Rock" This Thursday!

The popular young couple, Jason and Crystalina Evert

 hosts of EWTN's series

"The Pure Life"

bring their enthusiasm and clear explanation of John Paul II's

"Theology of the Body" to EWTN's "Life on the Rock," 8 p.m. ET, Thursday, May 7.

Don't miss it!