"The Voice Within"

"Yes! My Word, the Scriptures. Read them, study them; store them in your hearts, use them as you use a lamp to guide your footsteps.
But remember, My children, My Word is more even than that. It is the Voice that speaks to your hearts, that inner consciousness that tells of Me.
It is the Voice that speaks to you intimately, personally, in this sacred evening time. It is even more than that. It is I you Lord and Friend.
'And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.' Truly a lamp to your feet, and a light to your path."

Which is why we should read it....:)

It's Halloween Time!

Halloween
- by Mary Jane Carr

Witches flying past on broomsticks,
Black cats leaping here and there,
White-robed spooks on every corner,
Mournful moaning in the air,

Goblins peering out of windows,
Spirit-things that rap and run-
But don't be scared-it's just October,
Having one last hour of fun!

Why I Don't Want To Follow The Crowd

"The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one in the world has seen before."

I'm Gone...

For the week-end that is. I will be spending this week-end with an old friend of mine in Ohio. I probably won't have time to blog while there. I do promise a few entries when I return on Sunday though! Please keep me in your prayers, as this is actually the first time I have gone on a road trip without anyone else with me. I know my mom is secretly freaking out about this, so the more people praying should help ease her mind. lol

Catholic Voting

Last night the topic of discussion for s.l.t.'s "holy" hour was about Catholic voting. It was a very intense subject. There is a funny joke that I thought about last night from "Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin." "There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin.." This line kept coming to me because this topic became pretty heated last night. Everyone has their own opinions on who to vote for and why. It is tricky trying to decipher who to vote into leadership roles in this country when each of the main parties are both very flawed.

The nights discussion was to remind us where the church stands on voting. There are five non-negotiable issues which the Catholic church says should never be promoted by the law... Voting for a candidate which openly supports either one of these five things is a mortal sin. The five issues are as follows; abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, and homosexual "marriage. This definitely makes voting for us Catholics very difficult. We have to take great caution when we do cast our votes. After hearing all of this last night it almost makes me not want to vote. It also reminds me that I really have to research each candidate more thoroughly. It is easy to vote for a "pro-life" candidate for me. I would never vote for a pro-choice candidate. After last night though I realized that even if that candidate claims they are against abortion that does not mean they are also against the other four issues the Church stands on.

It is obvious that our nation needs a lot of prayer and real Catholic people in the leadership roles. I know I will be praying and gathering lots of info on the candidates before I go to vote.

It's The Possiblity That Excites Me

Tonight I had the pleasure of sitting down for a meeting with an amazing group of people over dinner. Fr. Bill took a group of us college students out to dinner and to talk about how we can help the high school youth group this year. Our parish is in search of a new youth minister, and since we will probably not find one till sometime next year we assembled this group to work together until the youth minister is hired. Usually the youth group is run by college students, so that is nothing too new for the parish. What is different right now is that the group will be much larger than usual, and it is filled with some pretty fun and very Catholic people.

Tonight we all decided that next month we will begin our youth group with a night of Eucharistic Adoration (I personally wanted to add the option of confession too, but that did not go over that well, sadly), pizza, ice breakers, games with prizes, and some sort of sporting event.... There will be notifications sent in the mail directly to the kids along with announcements made at each Mass. AT the next confirmation there will be a mandatory survey for the kids to fill out about what they want in the youth group. With their input hopefully we will have a nice turn-out. I am really feeling excited by the possibility of what the youth group can be. Hopefully it will be a great turn-out.

Eucharistic Procession Photos

Just a few photos from the Eucharistic Procession that was held this past Wed. evening.

Road Trip Down to St. Meinrad

Yesterday was a very eventful day. Two friends and I went on a road trip down to St. Meinrad's Monastery where we visited some of our seminarian friends. We made there in a record time of two hours, which I must say I am still proud of myself for. The first activity scheduled for our day was Mass. After that we spent some time catching up with a few of the seminarians over lunch. We enjoyed looking around the main church while our "tour guide," Mike, practiced for a concert he participated in today. He then took us through the Monastery and drove us around the few shrines that around the St. Meinrad. We prayed a rosary together at one of them; the Monte Cassino (the top two photos). After all of that we ended our day there praying evening prayer with the monks. It was a great balance of prayer and fun.

Revelations 1

This year my friends and I are part of another Bible study. This time around we are looking more in-depth at the book of Revelations. Today was our first meeting and we spent a lot of our time going over what the significance of numbers and colors are in this book along with discussing the first chapter.

There is great meaning held behind the numbers and colors. The number 3 stands for a few or a limited time; 4 means fullness; 6 is incomplete; 7 means completeness and perfection; 10 means limited; 12 is also completeness because it is a multiple of 3 and 4; and lastly 1,000 means numbers to large to count. When the color white is mentioned is symbolizes victory; red means blood shed or violence; scarlet means royalty and blood shed; purple just means royalty; black means famine; and pale green is for death.

As we went through the first chapter of Revelations we noticed that there is some important happenings going on. If you look at Daniel 7 you would come across, "I beheld thrones were placed, and the Ancient of days sat: his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like clean wool: his throne like flames of fire: the wheels of it like a burning fire."
This is important to keep in mind as you look at Revelations 1:13-14, "And in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, one like to the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. And his head and his hairs were white, as white wool, and as snow." Our group came to the conclusion that this is another way to show how both God and Jesus are the very same person.

There is a little bit more to this first chapter that we covered, but sadly I do not have the time to go much farther into right now. I am thinking this will be one interesting Bible study.

Fighting To Keep Childhood Innocence

This past week it seems as though the majority of the conversations I have held with my friends have all at one point or another focused mainly on sex. What I mean by that is we have discussed how sad it is that the kids nowadays are becoming sexually mature at an early age. Just this evening one of my friends was telling me how an eleven year old she knew of in her hometown had become pregnant. Eleven years old. It completely shocked me. Thinking back to age eleven I was just beginning to kind of notice boys. Sex completely grossed me out. Most of my friends have all agreed with this being how it was for them as well. It seems to me that children are growing up way earlier than they need to.

I became even more curious about how serious this may be down the road for the future of these kids. Apparently in one public middle school they handed out a sex survey which was very detailed. You are welcome to read more about that if you click here. I am very saddened to hear that such a detailed sex survey is being handed to seventh graders. I am not a parent, but I am pretty sure if I was a parent of a child at that school I would be furious. There is a study that has been going on with this age group which you can read about by looking here. Obviously there is a huge factor in this study which I do not agree with, and that is pushing more condoms into Middle schools. I do not think that will fix this issue... In fact that just tells them that having sex that young is ok.

Here are some more facts I have found:

Nearly half (46%) of all 15–19-year-olds in the United States have had sex at least once.

By age 15, only 13% of never-married teens have ever had sex. However, by the time they reach age 19, seven in 10 never-married teens have engaged in sexual intercourse.

Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia explicitly allow all minors to consent to contraceptive services without a parent's involvement (as of January 2010). Two states (Texas and Utah) require parental consent for contraceptive services in state-funded family planning programs

Of the 18.9 million new cases of STIs each year, 9.1 million (48%) occur among 15–24-year-olds.

Although 15–24-year-olds represent only one-quarter of the sexually active population, they account for nearly half of all new STIs each year

Each year, almost 750,000 women aged 15–19 become pregnant.

Ten percent of all U.S. births are to teens

1 out of 5 people will have an std withing the next few years.

These are only a few statistics and if I had more time tonight to really look for more I would. This is enough for me to read and know something is not working right when it comes to our kids.

Sometimes I wish I was born in a different century when everyone cared strongly about their reputations and how other people viewed them. Sex was supposed to be for marriage, as it should be today. All I can keep doing is working on being the best role model I can for the kids I am around. I want to be held accountable because I do know I have quite a few people who do look up to me. With lots of prayer and focus on my goal I am pretty sure I will not go wrong. I know, that is much easier said than done.

Something Extraordinary

If you were a bystander on third street in my hometown, you would have witnessed something extraordinary... A Eucharistic Procession. It is not something that happens everyday and I am sure it was a sight to see for those people who had no idea was was coming at them.

It was a gorgeous fall evening for this beautiful and sacred procession. The night sky was clear and the whether was perfect. The air smelled of incense around us as the altar servers carried it with us. It was simply perfect.

I was part of the ninety or so people who made up our group. We prayed the rosary and the divine mercy chaplet. We also sang church hymns in between each decade of the prayers. It is a special connection between a group when we all know that what we are doing is important. It is bringing Christ out to others. It is about bringing the heart of our faith and putting it out there for all to see. Yes, there were a few who yelled out some not so nice things to us, but the majority of the people we crossed paths with were very respectful of us. We passed a few fraternity houses and the frat boys would come out and just stand and stare. When they were handed a card about what they were they would take it with interest. It was a memorable evening.

I do not have pictures right now of this event, but you can expect me to put some up as soon as I possibly can.

"The Seven Levels of Intimacy"

This evening was a huge night for me. I was able to hear the well-known author, Matthew Kelly, speak at one of the local Catholic parishes here in town. His topic was on his book, "The Seven Levels of Intimacy." Matthew Kelly was incredibly funny and it is easy to see how much he believes what he was telling us... Intimacy is not at all about sex. In fact it is actually about the ability to reveal our true selves to those around us.

During his talk he broke down his seven levels of intimacy. From the least intimate to most intimate, these levels are cliches, facts, opinions, hopes and dreams, feelings, faults, fears, and failures (the last three are one level), and lastly legitimate needs. He said that we go through these seven levels of intimacy throughout the day with each interaction. Sometimes we only go through a few, sometimes it ends up being the most intimate, sometimes very casual.

Cliches happen to be the most simplest of the seven. Basically it is an interaction with the expected questions being asked and hardly any answer being given back... "How was your day?" "I dunno."

Facts is basically when you speak about things you have in common, or how the stock market is, or what are the stats of sports teams. It is still pretty simple.

Opinions is usually what causes the most trouble, mainly because it causes the most conflict. We tend to try to avoid conflict with one another so instead of openly stating how we feel about something when we know how the other people around us feel we just kind of go with the flow. Apparently until you have a healthy disagreement with someone your relationship with them is still not really real.

Hopes and Dreams is the fourth level of intimacy. It is important to help those around you find ways to achieve their goals, and in return we need to be open with others about what we hope for so they will help back. It is a sad thing to never know your friends hopes and dreams because that means your friends do not feel comfortable enough to share that part of them with you.

Feelings... This is the hardest part for both males and females to get down. Males tend to know when something needs to be said but rarely ever want to say it, whereas females know want to say how they feel, but tend to always say it at the wrong time. It is just a very true fact.

Faults, fears, and failures is the sixth level of intimacy. This is when you are close enough that you are able to be honest enough with one another about eachother's not so great parts. It is through this openness progress will be able to be started to work on ourselves, and that helps us become the best version of our self.

Lastly is legitimate needs. This is the one where we can say what we need from each other to make our goals come true. It is all about who we know we can come to for help when we need it most and that is who we are most comfortable with when asking for help with something.

This is all just a little bit of what I heard tonight. I am looking forward to reading this book now.

"If I Die Young"

If I Die Young
by The Band Perry

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a, bed of roses
Sink me in the river, at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh, uh oh

Lord make me a rainbow, Ill shine down on my mother
She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh and
Life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no
Ain't even grey, but she buries her baby

The sharp knife of a short life, well I've had, just enough time

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a, bed of roses
Sink me in the river, at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

The sharp knife of a short life, well
I've had, just enough time

And I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom
I'm as green as the ring on my little, cold finger, I've
Never known the lovin' of a man
But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand, there is a
Boy here in town says he'll, love my forever
Who would have thought forever could be severed by
The sharp knife of a short life, well
I've had, just enough time

So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls
What I never did is done

A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I'll sell them for a dollar
They're worth so much more after I'm a goner
And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin'
Funny when your dead how people start listenin'

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a, bed of roses
Sink me in the river, at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh (uh, oh)
The ballad of a dove (uh, oh)
Go with peace and love
Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket
Save them for a time when your really gonna need them, oh

The sharp knife of a short life, well
I've had, just enough time

So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls

The above song happens to be one which really makes me ponder a lot of different things.... "The sharp knife of a short life." I know that in general people around my age do not think about dying very often. We tend to think that we have all the time in the world to figure our lives out. 25 is so young to die...When we do hear about someone around our age dying people tend to have a harder time dealing with it. It seems more tragic in a way, than an older person because most of the time it is unexpected. Not always, but usually.

The fact of the matter is we never know when God will say our time is through on this world. For all I know, I could die tomorrow. We put things off that really should not be put off... confession, for example, happens to be one of the more important things. It is something that people will think about doing, but then put off for the next week, or even longer. It is important to keep our souls ready for whatever comes.

This song made me think about how I want people to remember me today if I do happen to die at a young age. Hopefully not so much in a bad way. Hopefully I do not die too soon though. My family has already had to deal with giving one son/brother back to God. I would hope they would not have to go through the same type of thing happening again.

I put this on my play list for the blog so if you are interested in hearing it you will find it easily there.

"The Spiritual Warfare Prayer"

Tonight I attended "holy" hour. We spoke about how demons are real and how important it really is to avoid things that will help make it easier on demons to take over our bodies. I think it is kind of funny how lots of people to not argue the presence of angels, but laugh at the thought of demons working in our world everyday. We all prayed the prayer below and it was very interesting. I thought a lot about my life in general while reading this prayer and reflecting on it. It is quite long, but I felt like putting it here in case some of my readers may be interested in praying it as well.


The Spiritual Warfare Prayer

Father, I love You, I praise You, and I worship You. I thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Who won victory over sin and death for my salvation. I thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit Who empowers me, guides me, and leads me into fullness of life. I thank you for Mary, my Heavenly Mother, who intercedes with the holy angels and saints for me.
Jesus Christ, I place myself at the foot of Your cross and ask You to cover me with Your Precious Blood which pours forth from Your Most Sacred Heart and Your Most Holy Wounds. Cleanse me, my Jesus, in the living water that flows from Your Heart. I ask You to surround me, Lord Jesus, with Your Holy Light

Heavenly Father, let the healing waters of my baptism now flow back through the maternal and paternal generations to purify my family line of satan and sin. I come before You, Father, and ask forgiveness for myself, my relatives, and my ancestors, for any calling upon powers that set themselves up in opposition to You or that do not offer true honor to Jesus Christ. In Jesus' Holy Name, I now reclaim any territory that was handed over to satan and place it under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

May the power of Your Holy Spirit, reveal to me, Father, any people I need to forgive and any areas of unconfessed sin. Reveal aspects of my life that are not pleasing to You, Father, ways that have given or could give satan a foothold in my life. Father, I give to You any unforgiveness; I give to You my sins; and, I give to You all ways that satan has a hold of my life. Thank You, for Your forgiveness and Your love.

Jesus, in Your Holy Name, I bind all evil spirits of the air, water, ground, underground, and netherworld. I further bind, in Jesus' Name, any and all emissaries of the satanic headquarters and claim the Precious Blood of Jesus on the air, atmosphere, water, ground and their fruits around us, the underground and the netherworld below.

Heavenly Father, allow Your Son Jesus to come now with the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the holy angels and the saints to protect me from all harm and to keep all evil spirits from taking revenge on me in any way.

(Repeat the following sentence three times: once in honor of the Father, once in honor of the Son, and once in honor of the Holy Spirit.)

In the Holy Name of Jesus, I seal myself, my relatives, this room (place, home, church, car, plane, etc...), and all sources of supply in the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ.

(To break and dissolve all satanic seals, repeat the following paragraph three times in honor of the Holy Trinity because satanic seals are places three times to blaspheme the Holy Trinity.)

In the Holy Name of Jesus, I break and dissolve any and all curses, hexes, spells, snares, traps, lies, obstacles, deceptions, diversions, spiritual influences, evil wishes, evil desires, hereditary seals, known and unknown, and every dysfunction and disease from any source including my mistakes and sins. In Jesus' Name, I sever the transmission of any and all satanic vows, pacts, spiritual bonds, soul ties, and satanic works. In Jesus' Name, I break and dissolve any and all links and effects of links with: astrologers; bohmos; channelers; charters; clairvoyants; crystal healers; crystals; fortune tellers; mediums; the New Age Movement; occult seers; palm, tea leaf, or tarot card readers; psychics; santeros; satanic cults; spirit guides; witches; witchdoctors; and, Voodoo. In Jesus' Name I dissolve all effects of participation in seances and divination, ouija boards, horoscopes, occult games of all sorts, and any form of worship that does not offer true honor to Jesus Christ.

Holy Spirit, please reveal to me through word of knowledge any evil spirits that have attached themselves to me in any way. Pause and wait for words to come to you, such as: anger, arrogance, bitterness, brutality, confusion, cruelty, deception, envy, fear, hatred, insecurity, jealousy, pride, resentment, or terror. Pray the following for each of the spirits revealed.)
In the Name of Jesus, I rebuke you spirit of _________________. I command to go directly to Jesus, without manifestation and without harm to me or anyone, so that He can dispose of you according to His Holy Will.

I thank You, Heavenly Father for Your Love. I thank You, Holy Spirit for empowering me to be aggressive against satan and evil spirits. I thank You, Jesus, for setting me free. I thank You, Mary, for interceding for me with the holy angels and the saints.

Lord Jesus, fill me with charity, compassion, faith, gentleness, hope, humility, joy, kindness, light, love, mercy, modesty, patience, peace, purity, security, tranquility, trust, truth, understanding, and wisdom. Help me to walk in Your Light and Truth, illuminated by the Holy Spirit so that together we may praise, honor, and glorify Our Father in time and in eternity. For You, Lord Jesus, are, "...the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6 ), and You "...have come that we might have life and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10 ).

"God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior" (Isaiah 12:2 ).

Amen.
Alleluia.
Amen.

Days Like This Are My Favorites :)

Today was a wonderful day at work for me. The weather was pretty nice (especially the temperature), the kids were pretty good listeners for the most part, and it was filled with some fun. This morning we took a small field trip to the fire station that is right across the street from where I work. The kids had a blast! They thought they were pretty special when the firemen came out to stop the traffic for us so we could safely cross the street. They sat nicely and were well-behaved as the firemen each took a turn to talk about the importance of fire safety. The children watched as one of the men suited up for them. Their very favorite part was being able to crawl around inside the fire engine. It was an enjoyable time.

Immediately after that we let the kids play in the leaves that have fallen in the ground. They took great joy in burying me and a few of the other teachers in a pile of leaves. We had a leaf fight as well. Let's just say it took awhile for me to pick the leaves from off of my hair. I let the "inner kid" come out of me while chasing the kids around. It is days like these that I enjoy my job the most.

After work I went to Mass as usual, and one of the families from my daycare attended Mass as well. It was so cute because after the two children went to communion with their dad they came over and sat by me till the end of Mass. I was all flattered that they both wanted to spend even more time with me. It was kind of cute.

Wise Words From J.R.R. Tolkein

"Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament... There you will find romance, glory, honor, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth, and more than that."

The above quote happens to be one of my very favorite quotes by J.R.R. Tolkien. It comes from a letter he wrote to his son about the importance of the Eucharist in everyone's spiritual journey. You can read the rest of it if you click here. It is a nice quick read with good advice.

Really there is nothing better than to spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. I enjoy sometimes waking up in the middle of the night and quietly drive to the local church on a night I know there is Eucharistic Adoration. I tend to come in as quietly as possible so as not bother the other two people there praying there. It is amazing how much more relaxed I am after that.

I remember having to read the book, "The Screwtape Letters" back in high school. For those of you who have never heard of this book, it is by C.S. Lewis. It is a compilation of letters between the devil and his nephew about how to keep us from getting to Heaven. It is a very interesting book and I encourage you all to take a look at it. I recall one of the main points the devil was trying to get across to his nephew is to take advantage of how to drown out God's voice by filling everyone's life with as little amounts of silence as possible. It is in when we are silent that God speaks to us. Now that I am older I understand the need for that silence, and one of the best ways to fill that particular need is through adoration.

"Ray Of Hope For Timothy"

Yesterday morning was spent with my family at a pancake breakfast helping out a teenager named Timothy raise money for a kidney transplant. I know I mentioned him before in this post. Timothy is receiving some help with this project through C.O.T.A. (Children's Organ Transplant Association) which is a cause that is close to my heart. I have mentioned why that is in this previous post if you are interested in hearing that story. It was a nice morning and I just wish the turn-out was a little better for him. The pancake breakfast was held at a local fire station. Some of the kids that came were able to climb up into the fire trucks and talk in the speaker. It was cute. They firemen were incredibly nice and friendly. They were also some pretty good cooks I must say. I did not leave that place hungry at all. Timothy needs $50,000 dollars before he can even be put on the transplant list. He has raised almost $33,100 right now, but as you can see he has a ways to go. If you want to learn more about Timothy you can click here. If you may be interested in learning more about C.O.T.A. you can click here.

It's About How God Sees Us

"Who you are has nothing to do with the clothes you wear or the car you drive... Heaven does not know you as the fellow with the nice suit or the woman with the big house or the kid with the new bike. heaven knows your heart... When God thinks of you, He may see your compassion, your devotion, your tenderness or quick mind, but He doesn't think of your things... And when you think of you, you shouldn't either."
~Max Lucado~

"The Teleological Argument"

This is my final entry on St. Thomas Aquinas' famous five ways to prove God's existence... enjoy!

5. The teleological argument (argument from design)
The fifth way is taken from the governance of the world. We see that things which lack intelligence, such as natural bodies, act for an end, and this is evident from their acting always, or nearly always, in the same way, so as to obtain the best result. Hence it is plain that not fortuitously, but designedly, do they achieve their end. Now whatever lacks intelligence cannot move towards an end, unless it be directed by some being endowed with knowledge and intelligence; as the arrow is shot to its mark by the archer. Therefore some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things are directed to their end; and this being we call God.

St. Thomas Aquinas Part 4

4. Objects in the world have differing degrees of qualities such as goodness.

The fourth way is taken from the gradation to be found in things. Among beings there are some more and some less good, true, noble and the like. But "more" and "less" are predicated of different things, according as they resemble in their different ways something which is the maximum, as a thing is said to be hotter according as it more nearly resembles that which is hottest; so that there is something which is truest, something best, something noblest and, consequently, something which is uttermost being; for those things that are greatest in truth are greatest in being, as it is written in Metaph. ii. Now the maximum in any genus is the cause of all in that genus; as fire, which is the maximum heat, is the cause of all hot things. Therefore there must also be something which is to all beings the cause of their being, goodness, and every other perfection; and this we call God.

"The Cosmological Argument"

In a previous post I mentioned about five ways St. Thomas Aquinas has made to prove God's Existence. This post focuses more on the third way...

3. The cosmological argument.

The third way is taken from possibility and necessity, and runs thus. We find in nature things that are possible to be and not to be, since they are found to be generated, and to corrupt, and consequently, they are possible to be and not to be. But it is impossible for these always to exist, for that which is possible not to be at some time is not. Therefore, if everything is possible not to be, then at one time there could have been nothing in existence. Now if this were true, even now there would be nothing in existence, because that which does not exist only begins to exist by something already existing. Therefore, if at one time nothing was in existence, it would have been impossible for anything to have begun to exist; and thus even now nothing would be in existence--which is absurd. Therefore, not all beings are merely possible, but there must exist something the existence of which is necessary. But every necessary thing either has its necessity caused by another, or not. Now it is impossible to go on to infinity in necessary things which have their necessity caused by another, as has been already proved in regard to efficient causes. Therefore we cannot but postulate the existence of some being having of itself its own necessity, and not receiving it from another, but rather causing in others their necessity. This all men speak of as God.

Fall Fun

This past Friday the daycare went on one of my personal favorite field trips. We went to a local apple orchard. I enjoy this particular one because of all the different fun age appropriate things for my kids to do. As soon as you get out of the car you are welcomed to this place with the smell of cinnamon in the air from the bakery. The staff is very welcoming and great with the children.

The first part of our agenda was to take a hayride tour of the grounds. We were then able to go out and pick an apple off of a tree. After that the children rode on a train ride that took the kids all around the pumpkin patch. We then enjoyed exploring the barn. There are rope swings set-up for the kids to play on in the ground level and upstairs there is a very long tunnel slide they can go down. Along with this there happens to be a nice tricycle area set-up for them to ride around on. The haystack pyramid is a must for the children to climb up. I enjoyed a fun game of tag in their maze. They also keep some farm animals which the children had fun petting and feeding.

It was such a nice day. I am hoping to be able to take my own nephews there sometime this month...:)

Aquinas... Part Two

Here is another post about the second way St. Thomas Aquinas proves that there indeed is a God.

The second way is from the nature of the efficient cause. In the world of sense we find there is an order of efficient causes. There is no case known (neither is it, indeed, possible) in which a thing is found to be the efficient cause of itself; for so it would be prior to itself, which is impossible. Now in efficient causes it is not possible to go on to infinity, because in all efficient causes following in order, the first is the cause of the intermediate cause, and the intermediate is the cause of the ultimate cause, whether the intermediate cause be several, or only one. Now to take away the cause is to take away the effect. Therefore, if there be no first cause among efficient causes, there will be no ultimate, nor any intermediate cause. But if in efficient causes it is possible to go on to infinity, there will be no first efficient cause, neither will there be an ultimate effect, nor any intermediate efficient causes; all of which is plainly false. Therefore it is necessary to admit a first efficient cause, to which everyone gives the name of God.

St. Thomas Aquinas' First Argument Which Proves There Is A God

I mentioned in a previous post about the five arguments St. Thomas Aquinas made to prove the existence of God... I will go more in depth of the first one in the post. I am going to make some other ones which will focus on the others. I found this from this website so if you become impatient with how fast I write these entries you can learn more there.

The first argument is the argument from motion. It is certain, and evident to our senses, that in the world some things are in motion. Now whatever is in motion is put in motion by another. For nothing can be in motion except it is in potentiality to that towards which it is in motion; whereas a thing moves inasmuch as it is in act. For motion is nothing else than the reduction of something from potentiality to actuality. But nothing can be reduced from potentiality to actuality, except by something in a state of actuality. Thus that which is actually hot, as fire, makes wood, which is potentially hot, to be actually hot, and thereby moves and changes it. Now it is not possible that the same thing should be at once in actuality and potentiality in the same respect, but only in different respects. For what is actually hot cannot simultaneously be potentially hot; but it is simultaneously potentially cold. It is therefore impossible that in the same respect and in the same way a thing should be both mover and moved, i.e. that it should move itself. Therefore, whatever is in motion must be put in motion by another. If that by which it is put in motion be itself put in motion, then this also must needs be put in motion by another, and that by another again. But this cannot go on to infinity, because then there would be no first mover, and, consequently, no other mover; seeing that subsequent movers move only inasmuch as they are put in motion by the first mover; as the staff moves only because it is put in motion by the hand. Therefore it is necessary to arrive at a first mover, put in motion by no other; and this everyone understands to be God.

"Be Still"

Sometimes I ask the question,
"My Lord, is this your will?"
It's then I hear you answer me,
"My Precious Child... be still."

Sometimes I feel frustrated,
Cause I think I know what's best.
It's then I hear you say to me,
"My Busy Child... just rest"

"I know the plans I have for you,
The wondrous things you'll see;
If you can just be patient, Child,
And put your trust in me.

I've plans to draw you closer.
I've plans to help you grow.
There's much I do you cannot see
And much you do not know.

But know this, Child ..... I LOVE YOU.
You are Precious unto Me.
Before I formed you in the womb,
I planned your destiny.

I've something very special
I hope for you to learn.
The gifts I wish to give to you
Are gifts you cannot earn.

They come without a price tag,
But not without a cost;
At Calvary, I gave Myself,
So You would not be lost.

Rest, Child, and do not weary
Of doing what is good.
I promise I'll come back for you
Just like I said I would.

Your name is written on my palm,
I never could forget;
Therefore, do not be discouraged when
My answer is... "Not Yet"

Author Unknown