St. Maria Goretti Moment.

As I mentioned in my quick little post I was on vacation last week. While gone, my confirmation saint's, Maria, feast day happened. I was having such a great time while on my vacation and site seeing in St. Augustine that I totally forgot it was her feast day... until I was walking through the gift shop for the Our Lade de la Leche pilgrimage site. As I was walking around I stumbled upon this little display and as I looked at it I realized that it was her feast day. It was her way of saying "Hey there, Teresa, don't forget about me. It's my day today." It made my day!

For those of you who have never heard of St. Maria Goretti, let me tell you a little bit about her....

Early life

Goretti was born Maria Teresa Goretti on October 16, 1890 in Corinaldo, to Luigi Goretti and Assunta Carlini. She was the third out of six children.

Before the age of seven, her family had become so poor that they were forced to give up their farm, move, and work for other farmers. They ended up sharing a house with another family which included Giovanni Serenelli and his son Alessandro. Soon, Maria's father Luigi became very sick with malaria, and died when Maria was just nine years old.

Maria's martyrdom

On July 5, 1902, finding eleven-year old Maria alone sewing, Alessandro Serenelli came in and threatened her with death if she did not do as he said; he was intending to rape her. She would not submit, however, protesting that what he wanted to do was a mortal sin and warning Alessandro that he would go to Hell. She desperately fought to stop Alessandro from abusing her. She kept screaming, "No! It is a sin! God does not want it!" Alessandro at first choked Maria, but when she insisted she would rather die than submit to him, he stabbed her eleven times. The injured Maria tried to reach for the door, but Alessandro stopped her by stabbing her three more times before running away.

Maria's little sister Teresa awoke with the noise and started crying, and when Serenelli's father and Maria's mother came to check on the little girl, they found the bleeding Maria and took her to the nearest hospital in Nettuno. She underwent surgery without anesthesia, but her injuries were beyond the doctors' help. Halfway throughout the surgery, Maria woke up. She insisted that it stay that way. The pharmacist of the hospital in which she died said to her, "Maria, think of me in Paradise." She looked to the old man: "Well, who knows, which of us is going to be there first?" "You, Maria," he replied. "Then I will gladly think of you," said Maria. The following day, twenty hours after the attack, having expressed forgiveness for her murderer and stating that she wanted to have him in Heaven with her, Maria died of her injuries, while looking at a very beautiful picture of the Blessed Mother.

Serenelli's imprisonment and repentance

Alessandro Serenelli was captured shortly after Maria's death. Originally, he was going to be sentenced to life, but since he was a minor at that time the sentence was commuted to 30 years in prison. He remained unrepentant and uncommunicative from the world for three years, until a local bishop, Monsignor Giovanni Blandini visited him in jail. Serenelli wrote a thank you note to the Bishop asking for his prayers and telling him about a dream, "in which Maria Goretti gave him lilies, which burned immediately in his hands."

After his release, Alessandro Serenelli visited Maria's still-living mother, Assunta, and begged her forgiveness. She forgave him, saying that if Maria had forgiven him on her deathbed then she couldn't do less, and they attended Mass together the next day, receiving Holy Communion side by side. Alessandro reportedly prayed every day to Maria Goretti and referred to her as "my little saint." He attended her canonization in 1950.

Serenelli later became a lay brother living in a monastery and working as its receptionist and gardener until dying peacefully in 1970.

Maria's Cannonization

On June 24, 1950, Pius XII canonized Goretti as a saint, the "Saint Agnes" of the 20th century." Owing to the huge crowd present, the ceremonies associated with the canonization were held outside of Saint Peter's Basilica. Pius XII spoke, not as before in Latin, but in Italian. "We order and declare, that the blessed Maria Goretti can be venerated as a Saint and We introduce her into the Canon of Saints". Some 500,000 people, among them a majority of youth, had come from around the world. Pius asked them: "Young people, pleasure of the eyes of Jesus, are you determined to resist any attack on your chastity with the help of grace of God?" A resounding "yes" was the answer.

Hey There Stranger...

I have been a complete failure in the blogosphere. I really just haven't had much of an urge to write lately. That is what usually drives me to sit down and blog, the urge for me to sit down and free my mind of whatever thoughts are stuck there. I warn you before you read this post that I have no clue where it will go as my mind likes to go on it's own after I have not written in awhile.

Life for me these days is going pretty good. No classes, work is great, and aside from the usual drama of the McConnell family not much to complain about in that part of my life either. My town is kinda quiet as the majority of college students are all gone for the Summer which includes a large portion of my own friends and so my social life has quieted down compared to what it was before the spring semester ended.

Hustle and bustle can be a good thing sometimes, but I prefer the easy pace of the Summer. Everyone seems less grumpier during the Summer when there is less traffic and it is easier to get from one place to another. I feel like it is just easier to breath and relax.

Breath and relax. The best place to breath and relax for me is easily during Eucharistic Adoration. There are times when I forget how amazing sitting with Jesus really is. I sometimes forget how much I have needed that time with Jesus until I am sitting there with Him in the silence of the church. I feel like that is the only place I can really put my life in the right focus, and that is really how it should be, keeping Jesus at the center of my life. It's not that I don't try, but I am human, and life happens and before I know it I am lost and am very lucky to have my faith life to help me become centered again. I lay it all out there and leave it with Him while Adoring Him in the Blessed Sacrament and I feel so much lighter after because I know that He has it all covered. He knows what is best for me and I will be ok.

"How sweet, the presence of Jesus to the longing harassed soul! It is instant peace, and balm to every wound." ~St. Elizabeth Seton~

Life Is Good, My Friends. Yes, Life Is Good.

Today has been a bitter-sweet day for me. It was bitter because today was the last confirmation class with my small group. It is crazy that two years have already gone by since the first class when we all started our journey. I must say I felt like a proud mamma hen today as my whole group, without me even prompting them, were excited to share with me about the saint they chose and why they chose that specific saint. It made me happy to know that they really did their own research and did not just choose a saint because their name sounded cool. I have become pretty close with these kids and am proud of how they grew in these past two years and I cannot wait to be able to watch them as they are confirmed next week-end. St. Michael the Arch Angel, St. Sebastian, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Catherine of Sienna, and St. Francis of Assisi please pray for these kids and watch over them as they journey through the rest of their life! :)

It was a sweet day as today is Mother's Day and who could have asked for better weather than what we had in my hometown? It was gorgeous and even more appreciated as in the majority of the past few weeks all we have seen are thunderstorms and rain. My whole family gathered together for a wonderful Mother's Day meal of grilled-out steak, baked potatoes, salad, and stuffed eggs. I must say it was all delicious, but I could not finish my plate. I felt so stuffed. My stomach really must have shrunk over the past few months because before I would have been able to eat it all. I was also blessed to see two of my three god-children today, which was a pleasant surprise.

Part of me is very surprised at how fast my week-end has flown by, but the other part is actually very excited to know that in six days it will be my birthday. I am even more excited about it this year as I will be spending part of my birthday at a Jason Aldean concert with two of my friends. I happen to be a HUGE Jason Aldean fan and own all of his albums except his newest one (which is the next cd I will be adding to my collection of music) and so to know I will be seeing him on my birthday is so cool. Along with that, the night before my birthday I will be going out with friends to celebrate, so I won't be getting much rest next week-end either. Go figure!

Beatification of John Paul II. :)

What a happy Sunday it is today! Today is even more special as Pope John Paul II was officially beatified early this morning, which brings him one step closer to sainthood. :)

For those of you who do not know the steps that are taken before a person is considered a saint then let me clue you in on them.

The process must begin five years after the candidate's death. (Pope John Paul II waived this requirement in Mother Teresa's case and Pope Benedict XVI waived this in Pope John Paul II's case as well.)

Local bishops investigate the life of the candidate and the findings are sent to the Vatican.

After approval by a panel of theologians and cardinals, the pope proclaims the candidate is "venerable," meaning a role model of Roman Catholic virtues.

The next step is beatification if it is determined by the church that the candidate is responsible for a miracle after his or her death.

Finally, for the designation of saint, the church must certify proof of a second miracle. Once they approve of the miracle then the Pope must declare the person a saint by canonizing them.

"You Were On The Cross"

"Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent."
~St. John of the Cross~

This is such a masterpiece of lyrics and music. Take a moment today to reflect on it.....

You Were On The Cross
Written by Matt Maher/Kenny Butler/Audrey Assad; Performed by Matt Maher

Lost, everything is lost
And everything I've loved before is gone
Alone like the coming of the frost
And a cold winter's chill in my stony heart

And where were You when all that I've hoped for?
Where were You when all that I've dreamed
Came crashing down in shambles around me?
You were on the cross

Pain, could you take away the pain?
If I find someone to blame, would it make my life seem easier?
Alone, all my friends are asleep
And I can't find anyone to stay awake with me

Where were You when sin stole my innocence?
Where were You when I was ashamed?
Hiding in a life, I wish, I never made

You were on the cross, my God, my God, alone, alone
You were on the cross, You died for us, alone, alone
You were on the cross, victorious, alone, alone

You were there in all of my suffering
And You were there in doubt and in fear
I'm waiting on the dawn to reappear

Reflection On The Meaning Of The "Our Father"

Yesterday I was blessed to be able to go to confession. The penance the priest gave me was to pray the "Our Father" very slowly while contemplating the words I was saying... I ended up finding an article that was incredibly well-written. I decided to borrow a little bit of it here... There is much more detail in the full article, which you can read if you click here.

“Our Father”
God is not just Father or even my Father, he is “our” Father. Although the word “our” is not in St. Luke’s account (Lk 11:2), it is certainly implied. The universality of God’s fatherhood is an important theme in Matthew’s Gospel. It highlights God’s covenantal family. Because God is “our” Father our relationship with others must cut through all races, sexes, cultures, classes, parties, or any other distinctions. The other, no matter how despicable or downtrodden, irregardless of their offenses and brokenness, is always my brother or sister because they are also God’s children. The Father’s great love sent Jesus to bind our wounds and unite us into one family. This is one reason that so much of Catholic worship is communal worship. It celebrates God’s love as the family of God.

“Who Art In Heaven”
Heaven is the possession of God, because God is everything worth possessing. When we possess God and nothing else, we have everything. On the other hand, if we possess every conceivable earthly good and do not have God, we have nothing. “What will it profit a man,” Jesus asked, “to gain the whole world and to suffer the loss of his soul” (Mt 16:26)?

“Hallowed Be Thy Name”
In this petition we ask that His most holy name be sanctified and honored everywhere. May we always honor His name in our thoughts and in our actions. Without His help we are utterly helpless to do so. So we pray: “Never let us violate your name by sin.” When we sin we drag your name, which you indelibly imprinted on our soul, through the muck of evil and death.

“Thy Kingdom Come”
We have a distorted understanding of kingship. We view it only in a governmental sense. A king is viewed only as a ruler or perhaps the ceremonial head of state. In democratic countries like the United States we have almost no appreciation of the biblical concept of kingship. This may be why some modern translators render the Greek word basileia as reign of God rather than kingdom of God. God’s fatherhood is the basis for His kingship, because in God His fatherhood and His kingship are one.

“Thy Will Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven”
Submission to the Father’s will defines what it means to live faithfully in His kingdom. This is how we, His children and His subjects, must live. Obedience to His will is the only way we can show our love. Thus Jesus said: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). It is only in the full submission to the Father’s will that we are truly free and at peace.

“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”
When these two images, daily and tomorrow, converge they underscore the supersubstantial bread of the Eucharist, “the bread from heaven” (Jn 6:32-32). This daily bread sustains our supernatural life, is the source of all grace, and in the great tomorrow it is cause of our resurrection in Christ. Liturgically this awesome reality is evidenced in the ancient practice at Mass of reciting or singing the Lord’s Prayer before Holy Communion. The Our Father is a reminder that we are about to receive the Bread of the great tomorrow when our union with the Heavenly Bridegroom will be eternally celebrated in the wedding banquet of the Lamb.

“And Forgive Us Our Trespasses As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us”
Nevertheless, the Father extends His merciful forgiveness. When our repentance is complete so is His forgiveness. However, God demands that we act like Him by forgiving those who have offended us. He knows that forgiveness liberates the wounded heart and removes the poison that endangers it. In that process we experience the depth of God’s love and mercy. When we forgive we also reveal he Father’s heart to others.

“Lead Us Not Into Temptation”
So we ask our Father, “lead us not into temptation.” In other words we ask the Father to make us humble relying on His strength and protection. We ask Him to keep us from becoming overconfident, complacent, self-seeking and boastful. When we are humble in this life the Father can exalt us in eternity. We ask the Father, “Deliver us from sin, the only evil.”

“But Deliver Us From Evil”
While our Father never uses force, He is not a passive bystander waiting on the sidelines to see which destiny we choose. He is always the loving Father nudging His wayward children with his loving support and direction. When, for example, we get caught drunk on the job and are fired, or are arrested for shoplifting, or have an affair exposed, or get caught cheating or lying, or get divorced for unfaithfulness, selfishness and neglect -- these are signs of God’s undeserved mercy. He’s trying to get our attention to the far greater danger that lies in eternity. When our evil is exposed, God is not abandoning us to sin with its pleasures. If we were not caught we would fall deeper into the arms of Satan until, like the scribes and Pharisees, we had sealed ourselves off from God’s mercy and forgiveness.

“Amen.”
We end our prayers with the word amen. It is a transliteration of a solemn Hebrew word (’amen) describing something firm, true, or reliable. At the conclusion of Christian prayer it expresses our complete trust and surrender to God’s will. It is our fiat.

"To Err Is Human, Forgive Is Divine"

Last night at holy hour I was asked to be the speaker. The topic was all about forgiveness. I was very excited for this talk and all was going well with it until I woke-up yesterday morning. I woke-up sicker than I have all week. I did not have a fever so I managed to make myself still go into work. As the day progressed, however, I began to feel worse and worse and eventually ended up with a 100.5 degree fever. I took advil and was very tempted to skip holy hour. It would not have even been a mental debate had I not promised to speak. I decided to take advil in hopes that the fever would go down and I could give the talk. Luckily, it did go down, and I did still give my talk. I had planned it for about ten to fifteen minutes. but fighting a really bad cough I shortened it quite a bit, but still managed to keep the important parts in my very short talk. I will share my outline with you all here....

I. Introduce myself and my talk.

"To err is human, to forgive is divine"

-Alexander Pope-

II. How we are all called to forgiveness

A. God does not call us to do anything He would not do Himself

1. confession

2. how some of Jesus' last few words before His death were "Forgive them Father, they

know not what they do."

II. Some common misconceptions about forgiveness

A. How some people believe that when we forgive someone we are condoning the action that

they did

1. We can only forgive what we believe is wrong

2. We are not condoning what happened. We are only choosing to move on from it.

B. Some people believe that we have to be asked for forgiveness in order to forgive

1. Again not true because, sadly, not everyone will be looking for forgiveness

2. Forgiveness is internal

3. We do not even have to tell the person we are forgiving that we forgive them.

III. Why forgive?

A. Forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves

B. Forgiveness challenges us to believe that the final outcome of a situation does not have to

be our hurt.

C. Every meaningful relationship must have forgiveness involved

D. When we forgive we tend to gain more confidence and are happier when living in the

present moment.

E. Physically people who are better with working on forgiveness tend to have lower blood

pressure and lower stress-levels.

F. When we forgive we tend be less likely to have problems with substance abuse and

depression.

IV. What happens when we do not choose to forgive?

A. We allow to continue being prisoners of the situation.

B. We are not really in control of the situation, the situation ends up controlling us.

C. We bring our anxieties and bitterness into our future relationships

D. We can not fully enjoy the present when we are holding a grudge about something that

happened to us in our past.

E. People fall into depression more easily

F. Most importantly we put up a barrier between our relationship with God.

V. Forgiveness is a journey...

A. It is not always an easy process. It may take days, weeks, months, or even years

depending on the degree of hurt that a situation has caused us.

B. To help us through this journey we must rely on God and our faith. We cannot do it alone.

VI. We all make mistakes

A. We are all human and no one is perfect

B. Compassion is a key ingredient to forgiveness. We must show compassion to one another.

C. Forgiveness is supposed to be a humbling experience. We are not supposed to believe we

are better than the other people involved because we are forgiving them. It is not

supposed to be like that at all.

VII. Share the story of St. Maria Goretti

VIII. Conclusion

End with

"We do not really know how to forgive until we know what it is to be forgiven.
Therefore we should be glad that we can be forgiven by others. It is our
forgiveness of one another that makes the love of Jesus manifest in our lives,
for in forgiving one another we act towards one another as He has acted towards us."

-Thomas Merton-

"JP II We Love You!"

This video is about a miracle that has been approved for the beatification of John Paul II. This makes me happy. :) :) :)

St. Elmo

Apparently there is a popular game (although game is not really the right word for it) going around. This year if you wish to do this you can click onto this link to find out who your saint for the year will be. You are supposed to pray about which saint will come up before you click the button, and then the one that is given to you is supposed to become special to you throughout the year. It will also give you a link so you can learn more about that specific saint. Tonight before I clicked the button I prayed that the saint who would come up would be someone I could really identify with and sure enough the saint that came up was St. Erasmus, or better known as St. Elmo. He is the patron saint against abdominal pains; against appendicitis; against birth pains; against childhood intestinal disease; against colic; against danger at sea; against intestinal disorders; against seasickness; against stomach diseases; against storms; childbirth; navigators; ordnance workers; sailors; women in labor. I found this kind of interesting because when I was little I would get really cranky whenever I got hungry. I remember one day I told my mom I was hungry and I must have said it a lot because she looked at me with a frustrated expression and said if I told her I was hungry one more time she would not give me lunch. So five minutes later I told her I had hunger pains.... After I read the first thing this saint was a patron saint for, abdominal pains, it made me flash back to that moment. I have also suffered from really painful abdominal cramps, and still do occasionally. I do not think I will be giving birth anytime within this year, but I do want to become a mother so now I know exactly who to pray to when that time comes.

Here is a little bit more about St. Elmo...
Feast day: June 2
Erasmus was also known as Elmo. He was the bishop of Formiae, Campagna, Italy, and suffered martyrdom during Diocletian's persecution of the Christians. He once fled to Mount Lebanon during the persecution and lived a life of solitude there for some time, being fed by a raven. After the emperor discovered his whereabouts, he was tortured and thrown in prison. Legend claims that an angel released him and he departed for Illyricum, eventually suffered a martyr's death and was one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. Legend records that when a blue light appears at mastheads before and after a storm, the seamen took it as a sign of Erasmus's protection. This was known as "St. Elmo's fire". The blue electrical discharges under certain atmospheric conditions have also been seen on the masks or riggings of ships. Erasmus is also invoked against stomach cramps and colic. This came about because at one time he had hot iron hooks stuck into his intestines by persecutors under Emperor Diocletian. These wounds he miraculously endured. His Feast day is June 2nd.

Time To Try And Show God's Love

As I have mentioned very briefly in the first paragraph, quite a bit of my attention this week has been focused on my family. A lot of different things have happened and it all just makes me sad. Tonight as I sat here I looked over at the little quote for the day calendar and this it what it said...

"God knows about the family. He invented it. God designs and intends the family to reflect His love. Your family may be fractured. You can begin a restoration process in your family by showing God's love."

I needed to read that. It hit me in a strong way. "Showing God's Love." A friend of mine wrote a post last night on acts of love. Charity is something I do need to work on. Even though I am frustrated in a lot of ways with some members of my family I know enough to know they will not respond to a lecture. So I am going to do something a little different. Instead I am going to show God's love by being more charitable towards them. It is not going to be easy, but I think it should be done. It is small, but it is a start.

"When I act as charity bids, I have this feeling that it is Jesus who is acting in me; the closer my union with him, the greater my love for all the sisters without distinction"
~St. Therese of Lisieux~

Everyone Has A Role To Play In Life....

Today is the feast of St. Andrew. I have always liked this apostle. He did not really like being in the spot light too much, unlike his older brother, St. Peter. St. Andrew did have some pretty big roles he played in the Gospels. He introduced Peter to Jesus. He also was the one who found the boy with the fish when Jesus fed the hungry crowd. I like St. Andrew because he is a lot like me. He did not need to be the main leader, the one who received all the attention. He was there to help, but did not want to be in charge. I feel the same way. I do not mind hopping on board with things such as retreat leadership teams, teaching confirmation, Bible studies, and even with my own job when I am part of the group. If someone were to ask me to actually be in charge of putting the leadership teams together or be the director of my daycare, I would refuse. I am sure I could do it, but all the pressure that comes with that role adds to much stress to my already hectic life. Each role is equally important in life, and St. Andrew helps remind me that sometimes it can be those who stay in the back ground that deserve some recognition just as the main spokesperson does.

My favorite Devotions

So a friend of mine tagged me to do this quite awhile ago. I am just now getting to it....

So, here are my personal favorite devotions...

Mass

Eucharistic Adoration

Stations of the Cross (during Lent)

Saint of the Day :)

The Angelus


And now I am supposed to tag three friends to tell about theirs... Enjoy!

Suzanne's Shorelines

The Long Journey Into Light

Just A Small Town Girl...

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.

"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.

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.

"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)

"You're Never Fully Dresssed Without A Smile..."

"Every time you smile at someone it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."

-Mother Teresa-

Mother Teresa has always had a special place in my heart. When I was younger it was because I always knew my parents named me after her so in as a child would do, I always loved to point out to my friends how cool she was. Now that I am older and really can appreciate all the incredible work she did I am even more proud to know that she is the one I am named after. She was one fearless and intelligent woman, that's for sure!!!