Apparently Lady Bugs Are Catholic. Interesting.

Today I am supposed to talk about lady bugs with my kids as we are covering insects this week. As I was looking up some information on them, I ran across this question:

15. How did the ladybug get its name?
A. In Europe, during the Middle Ages, insects were destroying the crops, so the Catholic farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. Soon the Ladybugs came, ate the plant-destroying pests and saved the crops! The farmers began calling the ladybugs "The Beetles of Our Lady", and they eventually became known as "Lady Beetles"! The red wings represented the Virgin's cloak and the black spots represented her joys and sorrows. They didn't differentiate between males and females.

Interesting fact. I have a new-found appreciation for the lady bug, even if they can stink pretty bad...

Facts On Our Lady Of Guadalupe

A few days ago I was talking with some friends of mine about the awesome power of the different miracles our faith has had. It is interesting how there are so many wonderful miracles that have happened which scientists have not been able to explain and it is kind of sad to think about how not many Catholics hear about them. One that is more well-known, but still incredible to my friends and I is the miracle which Our Lady of Guadalupe left Juan Diego... Juan Diego's tilma.

For those who do not know about this miracle here is a bit of a synopsis of the story behind it.

On December 9, 1531, Our Lady appeared to Blessed Juan Diego who was a recently converted Aztec. She asked his to go to the Bishop and request him to build a church for her on the barren hill of Tepeyac which is now part of Mexico City. Our Lady wanted to show her merciful love to all of her children. The prudent Bishop asked Juan to ask the Lady for a sign. Juan did so and Our Lady promised to give him the sign. On December 12, Our Lady again appeared to Juan on Tepeyac Hill and told him to pick the Castilian roses which miraculously appeared there and bring them to the Bishop as a sign for him to believe her request. Juan gathered the roses into his tilma and brought them to the Bishop. He opened the tilma to show them and, to everyone's astonishment, the Image of Our Lady appeared on it. The Bishop then built the church as Our Lady had requested and ten million natives were converted and baptized to the one, true faith within the next 10 years.

Scientists today cannot really explain the image on Juan's tilma. The fabric that the tilma was made with was a type of cactus which is supposed to disintegrate between twenty-sixty years, but after about four hundred fifty years it is still intact. Most shockingly about that is the fact that there is nothing covering it to protect it from disintegrating. When looking under a microscope scientists could find no proof of brush strokes to prove that it was painted on. The image seems to increase in size and change colors due to an unknown property of the surface and substance of which it is made. According to Kodac, the pciture feels more like a photograph, but photography was not invented until three hundred years after the miracle happened. After multiple times of trying to reproduce the image no one has been able to succeed in making another exact replica. I personally find the eyes of this image the most amazing of all the other scientific facts. If one is looking at the eyes of the image very closely then it would be easy to see a reflection of images of people believed to be Juan, the Bishop, the interpreter, and a few others. It is believed that the reflection shows the reactions of those in the room as Juan's tilma was opened. The distortion and place of the images are identical to what is produced in the normal eye which is impossible to obtain on a flat surface. Lastly, the stars in the sky show the exact way the constellations were the night of the miracle.

Just one example of how awesome the Catholic faith really is.

The Christmas Story Told Through Facebook

It's the Christmas story "Facebook" style. It is actually interesting. Check it out.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=58212845#!/video/video.php?v=1573735336164&oid=160636703764&comments

Not So Surprised That It Starts Early

Recently our daycare received a large donation of books. The majority of the books that were given to us were Christian. Not a bad thing to have, although I really wish they were Catholic/Christian. A girl cannot be too picky when it comes to free books for my class... That is until I run into one book in particular that tries to teach anti-Catholic teachings. That is what this book in particular does. This book is supposed to be a nice Christmas story for children. It pretty much is about Mary, the Blessed Mother, sharing with her "granddaughter" about the night of Jesus' birth. It reads as though it is a fact that Jesus had a brother named James (who is the father of this girl in the book), which us Catholics know is not true.

I really should not be surprised that there are children's books out there that are worded and crafted so well, but are so not right. After reading the first page and realized what this author was trying to achieve with the beautiful pictures and nice storyline I did not finish reading it out loud. After finding such anti-Catholic doctrine in the story I spent some time going through the other books to make sure there were no more mishaps as this particular one.

So just F.Y.I., if someone suggests this book to you as a good gift to a child do not buy it.

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.

"Our Lady of Sorrows"

In honor of today's feast day here is a little background info... :)

The feast of the Our Lady of Sorrows was originated by a provincial synod of Cologne in 1413 as a response to the iconoclast Hussites. It was designated for the Friday after the third Sunday after Easter. It had the title: Commemoratio angustiae et doloris B. Mariae V.. Before the 16th century, the feast was celebrated only in parts of Northern Europe.

Earlier, in 1233, seven youths in Tuscany founded the Servite Order (also known as the "Servite Friars", or the "Order of the Servants of Mary"). Five years later, they took up the sorrows of Mary, standing under the Cross, as the principal devotion of their order.

Over the centuries several devotions, and even orders, arose around meditation on Mary's Sorrows in particular. The Servites developed the two most common devotions to Our Lady's Sorrows, namely the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows and the Black Scapular of the Seven Dolours of Mary. The Black Scapular is a symbol of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Sorrows, which is associated with the Servite Order. Most devotional scapulars have requirements regarding ornamentation or design. The devotion of the Black Scapular requires only that it be made of black woollen cloth.

The Seven Sorrows (or Dolors) are events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary which are a popular devotion and are frequently depicted in art.^[1]

It is a common devotion for Catholics to say daily 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Mary for each.

1. The Prophecy of Simeon over the Infant Jesus. (Gospel of Luke 2:34)
2. The Flight into Egypt of the Holy Family. (Gospel of Matthew 2:13)
3. The Loss of the Child Jesus for Three Days. (Luke 2:43)
4. The Meeting of Jesus and Mary along the Way of the Cross. (Luke 23:26)
5. The Crucifixion, where Mary stands at the foot of the cross. (Gospel of John 19:25)
6. The Descent from the Cross, where Mary receives the dead body of Jesus in her arms. (Matthew 27:57)
7. The Burial of Jesus. (John 19:40)

Happy Feast Of The Assumption!!!

Almighty and everlasting God,
You have taken up body and soul
into the heavenly glory the Immaculate Virgin Mary,
Mother of Your Son: Grant, we beseech You,
that, ever intent upon heavenly things,
we may be worthy to be partakers of her glory.
Through Jesus Christ Your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever. Amen.

"The Truth About Mary And Scripture"

I stole this video from a friend who posted it up on facebook... It is very good. If you have the time you should watch it...

I am a proud Godmommy... again. :)

Today was a wonderful and enjoyable day! Today is the day my youngest nephew was baptized, and I officially became his Godmother. I have two goddaughters right now, but he is my first godson...:) I was so proud of the little guy. I am used to babies cry when the holy water is poured over them, but this kid did not make one sound. He also had a nice number of people come to watch him become part of the Catholic faith. He is one popular little guy. :)

After the baptism there was a nice meal at my family's house... Since it is also Mother's Day today, both my sisters and I did not want our mom to do anything, but enjoy the company. Us three went in together to buy the food needed for today, and I was the one to put it all together. I am quite proud of myself for that. I am used to cooking for just my family, but not so much for a larger gathering like this. I also cleaned the house a little bit yesterday to. My sisters were in charge of cleaning up since I did the cooking, and between us, I would prefer to cook then the clean-up part, so it suited me just fine.

All in all I think that today was a very nice and blessed day. :)

The bottom picture on the right happens to be one of Keegan and the statue which his Godfather, and very close friend, gave to him for his baptism. Keegan loved that statue. He held a nice conversation with Mary and baby Jesus. He was just mesmerized. It was so cute, I just had to put a picture of him with the statue up here.

"And the rain came falling down..."

Yesterday a couple of my friends and I went on a little road trip to The Mother of the Redeemer Farm. We ended up making it there in time for evening vespers... really we had no idea there would be evening vespers, so it was kind of cool. Impromtu Eucharistic adoration holy hour for us. After vespers we decided to take a walk down the huge hill. As soon as we made it to the bottom, what do you think happened to us? Lightning struck! Now, if you have been to the farm you would understand how frustrating it would be to make it back up this hill with the fear of being caught in a thunderstorm. My friends and I went huffing and puffing up that hill in record time. As soon as we made it to the top we were all pretty much dying. My calves were killing me and I just wanted to drop and not move. We made it inside my car right before it started raining, so it was some pretty perfect timing. Once we made it to the IU campus, one of the girls looked out and saw the rainbows that are in the photos above. I was so excited because I happened to have my family's camera with me. Since I was the driver I asked one of the girls if they would take the pictures for me. It was so beautiful to look at! It was a fun and adventurous trip up to the farm, if I do say so myself. :)

Moving on up to the "adult" table

Yesterday I spent the day up in Indy. My little second cousin/goddaughter received her first communion. She was asked to bring up a rose to Mary's statue during the Mass. She was so excited to have that role. She knew how important that day was and acted so well-behaved. It was an exciting moment watching her go up and receive Jesus for the first time.

After first communion we went over my cousin's house where we all ate a delicious Italian meal. We talked and joked around. It was a nice time with my family. I am so happy that I have some of my LARGE extended family so close by. :)

Finding Freedom in Imperfection

I have been thinking a lot about some of the way I am. I started really contemplating this when I was in my small group. I do not even remember the question that sparked the way I have realized I need to make somewhat of a change.

Perfection... sometimes I think in a way I work towards trying to be the "perfect" friend, sister, person to work with, daughter. I realize that I never really thought about trying to be the "perfect" person, but I think that in a way I do do that. I try to be the person that always has something nice being said about them. I try to be the listening ear for friends and family. I try to always have a smile on my face because I somehow feel as though people have really started to expect that from me. I try not to complain too often about things even though there are many times I just want to tell people to give me a break... I am not a psychiatrist. I can't be the one to save everyone's little corner of the world. That is what God and Jesus are for, right? That sounded a little harsh after reading that, but the truth is I have my own personal issues I have been trying to get through, and sometimes I do not want to deal with other people's problems.

I realized in my small group that there are very few people I feel comfortable and trust enough to vent to and know that they will still love me afterwords. I think my problem is that I need to let more people in and not be afraid to always keep my guard up and keep a happy face on when I am not totally feeling all that happy. I am not saying that keeping my guard up is a bad thing... letting people in has always been an issue for me. For as long as I can remember it seems that as though as soon as I start to really feel comfortable with a person and really trust them enough to let them all the way in, they leave... they move away, or they find other people to hang-out with and kind of drop me like a hot potato without much of an explanation for it. My family seems to think I wear my heart on my sleeve, and in some ways I do, but in others I keep it hidden under lock and key.

I have to remember that there is no such thing as a "perfect" person. The only person that can totally own that saying is Jesus... well I guess Mary too, so two people that can own that saying. I have come to realize that it is somewhat freeing to realize I don't need to be perfect all the time... so imperfection is totally ok, and there is beauty and character in a hopelessly flawed person. Why should I hold myself to such an impossible standard as perfection if I don't expect that from everyone else in my life. We are all human and we all have different things we are dealing with. As of now I am going to work on letting some more people in when I need someone, because it is not healthy for me to keep it all in.

"The Words We Pray"

This is a very interesting book to read. It goes through the history of all the popular prayers we have... The Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Hail Mary, so forth and so on. I highly recommend it. There are many interesting facts about these prayers I never knew until I read this book.... I have decided to use it as part of my lent promises....

I find this pretty disturbing.....

Interesting Fact About the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Today at Mass during the homily our priest, Fr. Don, asked the congregation if any of us knew why this particular Feast, The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, is one of the few left that we have to go to Mass for no matter what day of the week it falls on. He then told us that it is because Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception happens to be our nation's patron saint, and therefore the bishops of America had to make sure we remembered that by requiring us to go to Mass for her... I learned something new.... :)

O pure and immaculate
and likewise blessed Virgin,
who art the sinless Mother of thy Son,
the mighty Lord of the universe,
thou who art inviolate and altogether holy,
the hope of the hopeless and sinful,
we sing thy praises.
We bless thee, as full of every grace,
thou who didst bear the God-Man:
we bow low before thee;
we invoke thee and implore thine aid.
Rescue us, O holy and inviolate Virgin,
from every necessity that presses upon us
and from all the temptations of the devil.

Be our intercessor and advocate
at the hour of death and judgment;
deliver us from the fire
that is not extinguished
and from the outer darkness;
make us worthy of the glory of thy Son,
O dearest and most clement Virgin Mother.
Thou indeed art our only hope most sure
and sacred in God's sight,
to Whom be honor and glory and majesty and dominion
for ever and ever world without end. Amen.

"Blessed Mother"

I was looking through some of my old scrap books yesterday, which I haven't done in I don't know how long... Anyway, as I was looking through them I found a poem that my Grandpa wrote before he died. It is a beautiful poem which I have put below. I also found some notes he wrote to me that I totally forgot about. As I was looking at those things he wrote I became a little sad. I always like to tease my friends when they complain about their grandparents and tell them at least they are lucky to have theirs still living... all of mine have passed away already. I think I miss my Grandpa Mike the most because I remember the most about him. All the others died when I was really young, and so I do not remember them so well. There are things I remember about him, like how he would always give us chocolate when we would bring him his mail everyday, or how he LOVED fishing so much... he would go fishing all the time and he cooked the best fish frys ever... he called me his "little piano girl" and would brag about me to his friends when they would come over. There are so many other memories that came almost immediately to me as I was looking at his stuff, and I hope that I have made him proud to be called my grandpa... Anyway, one of his favorite things to do was write poetry. He even had a book published with his work along with other family members poems in it. Here is one of his favorites;

Blessed Mother

May you keep us in your sight
protecting us day and night.
If we are downtrodden and weary,
send us your love to make us cheery.

When we say your rosary we envision
you kneeling at the foot of the Cross,
and it reminds us that you
suffered a great loss.

Ask your blessed Son Jesus to forgive
us for our share in putting Him there.
We want you to know, Blessed Mother,
that we have found Jesus--
no other.

Help us, we pray, to live each day
as we would if we were standing
BEFORE GOD.

-Michael Morgan-

All About Holiness in A Woman

I was able to be able to check my facebook today, and there happened to be a note that was posted, and the title of it intrigued me. I was quite pleased with what was in this note, and decided to put it on here. I am sure that this probably won't be as interesting to the male readers out there, but I hope that the females get as much out of it as I did. It is quite long, but it is so good that I do not mind it so much.... Enjoy

Holiness in a Woman

I learned something very intriguing from a really amazing priest the other day. He told me that holiness in a man means RESPONSIBILITY. Can he provide for his loved ones? Can he keep his commitments? Can he "take the lead" through mutual respect? I found it quite profound to be able to stick all of what it means to be a holy man into just one word! So that got me thinking. What does it mean to be a holy woman, in just one word?
After googling it for at least a half hour straight, coming up with... absolutely nothing, of course, I decided to ask Mary and found myself looking at a bible verse. Wisdom 7:23-8:21. (I'm not typing it out, so go crack open a bible!) The verse speaks of a peace, wisdom, understanding, beauty, a reflection of eternal light, self-control, and joy. After this multitude of beautiful and strong virtues, the passage goes on to say how "he" then sought this "wisdom," taking her as his bride for his delight, her company, and her heart.
This is what every man seeks AND what God seeks. Why do we want to be holy women? Because we have a longing within ourselves to be desired, fought for, and beautiful. By whom? Ultimately by our Prince charming, our Lord, but if we are called to the sacrament of marriage, we also desire to be holy for our earthly spouse, as well. We want to be holy and beautiful for our princes.
So where do we start? Always with God. In the book, The Restless Heart: Finding Our Spiritual Home in Times of Loneliness, Ronald Rolheiser describes how "before being born, each soul is kissed by God and then goes through life always, in some dark way, remembering that kiss and measuring everything it experiences in relation to that original sweetness." Through this understanding of our deepest longing for love, to be united with God, we need to ask ourselves a VERY important question: ARE we His spouse? And if we desire an earthly spouse, how can we logically think that we can be a man’s spouse if we are not trying to fulfill our deepest calling to be Christ's Spouse?

A Bride of Christ

Here are a few questions that we can ask ourselves to discover if we are striving to be Christ's spouse:
- Do we spend time with Him? I don't like it when people ask how much I "pray." I would much prefer if they ask how many dates I've been on with my Prince lately. Do we go on walks with Him? Talk to Him? BE with Him? Many of us have the opportunity to go to communion daily. This is the time when we are most united with our Heavenly Prince in a radical way. Do we choose BE with Him? Do we rise up, His love, His fair ones, and come away with Him?
- Do we help Him with His work? Our Lord is many things; are you at His side helping him? Our Lord is a teacher; do we enjoy being with children, young and old, and teach His Father’s way? Our Lord is a healer; do we visit the sick, provide a band-aid when needed, and offer looks and touches that will heal the broken hearted? Our Lord is a lover; do we provide charity through praying for the souls in purgatory, giving affection to the ones on earth, and seeking and yearning for the Father's Love and Will? The Lord has many other "occupations"; do we help Him?
- Do we share in His pain and His joy? How have we been given the opportunity to BE with Him--you know what I mean. To be with HIM—THERE. Everyone has a special place where we can just BE with Him. Do we venture out of ourselves to share in the pain that others go through in order to be closer to Christ? Do we visit Him in His Agony through the painful times in our lives when we lose a loved one, feel lonely, have an addiction? Do rise with Him in His Ascension when a baby is born, the sun rises, we receive good news?

The Blessed Mother, Spouse of the Spirit

We can ALWAYS turn to Mary to guide us. She has lived and continues to live as the Spirit's beautiful, immaculate bride! What a sign of Hope for us on earth! We can go and look through the gospel, find when she is mentioned, and ask ourselves how we have actually done what she has done through the Grace of God. We can see what a holy woman would do in our situation—WWMD?
We can also pray the rosary, not just for special intentions or because we "have to," but to learn how to be little Mary's here on earth. How did Mary live that mystery? How was she a spouse in that mystery? How has this mystery become real in our lives? How can we be His spouse in that mystery? For example, the first joyful mystery, the Annunciation: when did we last say "yes" to God? Perhaps it was when we didn't want to wake up early for Sunday or daily mass, but we did anyway because we WANT Him MORE than hours of sleep (although we have to be prudent, too!). Perhaps it was when we helped that little boy put on his winter coat and little gloves and hat to enjoy a snowy day. Perhaps it was when we answered our cell phone when our mom or dad was calling, even though we had a TON of homework and wanted to spend time with friends later.
One of my favorite examples of how we can be like Mary, a holy woman, is through caring for someone who is hurt. Do you remember when we were in elementary school and there were always those one or two girls who always helped everyone? Perhaps someone got hurt in gym; she was always right there so quickly! She always got out of class or didn't participate in an activity because she was the one who helped and stayed with the person who was hurt. Maybe you were that girl; or maybe you were like me, wondering how she could just DO that--forget about herself, know exactly what to say, what to do. But, that's what we're called to do: forget ourselves and simply be Beautiful for Christ.
This is also why girls should love to sing, dance, share the Faith, etc. And this is where Faith comes in. All of these things—going out of ourselves and being like Mary—can be very scary. This is because we have this feeling like we don't know HOW to do these things: to be Beautiful. But, the Truth is... we do know how when Christ is beside us. He is the one who is doing the true healing, the passionate dancing, the on-tune singing; we just have to give Him our little yes of action and He will be there LEADING us.

A Woman Existing

A couple years ago I wrote a poem that I entitled, "Pure Existence." The poem is about knowing that my soul mate is out there somewhere. He is strong and gentle and knows that I am out there somewhere, too. The end of the poem asks a very importance question that we all wonder in our hearts: Will he wait for me? Am I worth waiting for? Is my pure existence enough?
In order to answer this question, we need to first discover what it means to exist. In order to exist, we have to be there, present, and respondent. I can think of many times that I have not existed in this world. One of the simplest examples that I experience quite often is in a clothing store. I really like clothes shopping, but there is a part of it that I absolutely despise. I will be in a clothing store with my mom, who is talking to me, but when I spot that cute shirt or dress or skirt, I stop existing. I don't hear a thing that my mom says. I have trained myself to say a few uh-huh's and ya's, but I'm not really there. Instead of my existence, that dress is existing. The same thing happens a lot if I'm single and a cute young man walks by. I simply don't exist, but that guy has LIFE, let me tell you. In fact, he has MY whole life in his hands right then. But, is that enough? Will he notice me?
No. Not really. He may notice the way I look, but not my heart--not my true existence. Why? I'm not even existing right then! God says that we first have to Exist in order to be noticed. How do we exist? We become His spouse. What true man of God can resist the Church? What true man of God can resist Mary? What true man of God can resist a Bride of Christ? Jesus' princess? A lily immaculately white? A rose in full bloom? A young woman Existing. We look so many places to be irresistible, captivating; yet so many times we fail to go straight to the most remarkable, captivating beauty in this world and the next: God. We, as women reflect the Beauty of God in a Real, True way. Remember how we can live out the Annunciation? God chose a young woman to bring His Son into this world--to Exist! He chose US! In the words of Our Lord and JPII--Be Not Afraid!

One Word

Have you been wondering what I came up with (through the Grace of God, of course) as the word to describe True Holiness in Women? Well, here it is: Support. Do we feel lonely? Do we try to pray, but still feel lonely? Do we feel useless? Do we feel like we are not needed? Do we feel like we are not Existing as Women? Then we are not supporting the way God intended us to.
Mother Teresa. Talk about a woman who lived out her calling. She supported her Bridegroom with His work with the poor. She supported human dignity through every person that she touched. Women give their bodies and their lives to support. Wives support their husbands by respecting and challenging their True calling to manhood. Mothers support their children by caring for and cherishing their True calling to be God’s children. Christian women, especially those called to the religious life, support Christ by being His Bride. Women support.
Each and every day we need to support. If we give this over to God, He will provide amazing opportunities to fulfill our calling as women. We just have to receive those opportunities. They were there our whole lives. Right in front of our eyes is the way that we are fulfilled. Right in front of our eyes is the face of Christ, staring back at us asking for our support in His work. We just need to receive this gift of womanhood. In the spirit of Mary say YES to be HOLY!

Ave Maria!

Memorable Quotes from Bishop Fulton Sheen

My mom passed on a book to me a few months ago called "The Quotable Fulton Sheen." I finally opened it up today and have already found some really good quotes in it. Here are a few that I picked out already.

"Beauty without virtue is like a fair flower that has an offensive odor. But true beauty bathes in that light without which nothing is beautiful. beauty is a gift of God, like the rain. He allows the rain to fall upon the just and the wicked, and He gives beauty not only to the good, but even to the wicked. Wicked beauty strikes the eye, but the inner beauty of grace wins the soul."

"It has always struck me as strange that we should pardon a wife, on the grounds of 'temporary insanity,' for limiting her married life by shooting her husband, and at the same time glorify the same wife as a 'progressive free-born woman' because she limits her family by stifling an unborn life. All of which goes to prove that we do not need new laws but expansion of the definitions of old ones, and particularly of the law of murder."

"I wonder if it is not true that as the world loses veneration for Christ's mother, it loses also it's adoration of Christ."

"Books are the most wonderful friends in the world. When you meet them and pick them up, they are always ready to give you a few ideas. When you put them down, they never get mad; when you take them up again, they seem to enrich you all the more."

"The very fact that the world is a thousand times more scandalized at a bad Catholic in public life than a bad anything else, is only a proof that the world expected much more of him."

"A man's real good is that which he works most earnestly to preserve, and which saddens him most when he loses it."

I can't wait to look even more through the book to find more quotes. Very interesting ones, indeed.

Interesting facts about Our Lady of Quadelupe

Tonight at "holy hour" we talked about different miracles... mostly we talked about the Shroud of Turin and Our Lady of Quadelupe. I learned some interesting facts about the picture of Our Lady on the Juan Diego's tilma. I did not know that if you looked at Our Lady's pupils you can see the reflection of three people in her eyes, those of Juan, the Bishop, and the translator that translated the conversations between Joan and the Bishop. Also, not only are the reflections visible, but the way they are placed is scientifically in the proper spots in the pupil with all the shadowing and everything. I do not think I ever learned that before, and if someone did tell me, I obviously was not paying too close attention to it at all. Another thing that was pointed out was how the stars on Our Lady's cloak are actually different constellations, and the way they are placed on Juan's tilma happen to correspond exactly to where to stars and constellations were on the night that she appeared to him. Just some things to think about. Very interesting to say the least.
So in honor of us talking about Our Lady of Quadelupe, I have found a very pretty prayer, which I have placed below.

PRAYERS TO OUR LADY OF QUADELUPE

Our Lady of Guadalupe, mystical rose, intercede for the Church, protect the Holy Father, help all who invoke You in their necessities. Since You are the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the True God, obtain for us from Your Most Holy Son the grace of a firm and sure hope amid bitterness of life, as well as an ardent love and the precious gift of final perseverance.

Dearest Lady, fruitful Mother of Holiness, teach me Your ways of gentleness and strength. Hear my prayer, offered with deep felt confidence to beg this favor.

O Mary, conceived without sin, I come to your throne of grace to share the fervent devotion of your faithful Mexican children who call to Thee under the glorious title "Guadalupe" - the Virgin who crushed the serpent.

Queen of Martyrs, whose Immaculate Heart was pierced by seven swords of grief, help me to walk valiantly amid the sharp thorns strewn across my path. Invoke the Holy Spirit of Wisdom to fortify my will to frequent the Sacraments so that, thus enlightened and strengthened, I may prefer God to all creatures and shun every occasion of sin.

Help me, as a living branch of the Vine that is Jesus Christ, to exemplify His divine charity always seeking the good of others. Queen of Apostles, aid me to win souls for the Sacred Heart of my Savior. Keep my apostolate fearless, dynamic, and articulate, to proclaim the loving solitude of Our Father in Heaven so that the wayward may heed His pleading and obtain pardon, through the merits of Your Merciful Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

"Top 10 Ways to spend Holy Week"

I received this in an e-mail from a friend of mine. She is a consecrated in the Regnum Christi movement... So here are the "Top 10 Ways to spend Holy Week."

1. Take 10 minutes to read a Passion narrative from the
Gospel.

2. Look in your parish bulletin to find an extra Holy
Week activity you could attend (and invite a friend to
go with you).

3.Invite a friend to go to mass with you on Holy
Thursday,Good Friday, or Easter.

4. Pray the stations of the cross on Good Friday.

5.At three o’clock on Friday, take a moment of silence
to reflect on the mystery of our redemption from sin
and how much God loves you.

6.Offer up listening to music on Good Friday and Holy
Saturday in order to unite yourself. with the Church
in mourning the death of Christ.

7.Prepare a good confession and go in order to have
a heart ready to receive Christ back on Easter.

8.Pray a decade or more of the Rosary on Holy
Saturday to accompany Our Lady after burying her
Son.

9.Listen well to the readings in Mass and ask the
HolySpirit to touch your heart.

10.Make Easter a spiritual holiday by reminding
someone of the real meaning of it.