Roles of Men And Women In The Catholic Church

There has been somewhat of an on-going discussion between my groups of friends over feminism in the Catholic Church. In one group we have been discussing the roles men and women should play in the Church. Basically why women should not be priests and why we should only have girl "altar boys" only when desperate. In the other group we talked about how there is the wrong kind of feminism and the right kind. Just because women are capable to do the things men can does not mean we need to prove it to everyone. We may be capable, but that is not what we are called to do.

My favorite Bible quote to reference when I speak about this topic is; Ephesians 5:22-33.

22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church-- 30 for we are members of his body. 31 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32 This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

It is quite obvious here that men and women are called to do different things. Men to take the lead and be strong to help protect and defend the Church. Women are called to follow the men's lead. Even though Men are called to be in leadership roles, women still have a lot of power in their parishes. Women are made to be caregivers and teachers. We as women are the ones put in charge to form the minds of the future of the Church. That is a huge deal to be entrusted with. We are also called to be Sacristans and make sure the sanctuary stays clean and beautiful because a building housing the tabernacle should be kept in the best shape. Women have equal rights to be sponsors at Baptism and Confirmation.They can be readers at Mass, extraordinary ministers (laypersons who assist the priest at Mass to give out Holy Communion, sometimes call Eucharistic ministers) if needed, and they can work in the parish office.

There is a downside for those who try to push the interchangeability between the roles of the sexes. It often results in society encouraging men not to be strong leaders and not to take roles of leadership in their families, in their parish, and in society. We don't want to give an excuse for men to become wimpy. We want all of our Catholic men to be strong and ready to take action when called to do so.

I know I am probably going to be considered a little old fashioned to some who may read this, but it is how I feel.

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.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Prayer

Lord,
Because love is patient…Help me to be slow to judge, but quick to listen. Hesitant to criticize, but eager to encourage,remembering your endless patience with me.

Because love is kind… Help my words to be gentle and my actions to be thoughtful. Remind me to smile and to say “Please” and “Thank You” because those little things still mean so much.

Because love does not envy or boast, and it is not proud… Help me have a heart that is humble and sees the good in others. May I celebrate and appreciate all that I have and all that I am, as well as doing the same for those around me.

Because love is not rude or self-seeking… Help me to speak words that are easy on the ear and on the heart. When I’m tempted to get wrapped up in my own little world, remind me there’s a great big world out there full of needs and hurts.

Because love is not easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs… Help me to forgive others as you have forgiven me. When I want to hold onto a grudge, gently help me release it so I can reach out with a hand of love instead.

Because love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth…Help me stand up for what is right and good. May I defend the defenseless, and help the helpless. Show me how I can make a difference.

Because love always protects and always trusts… Help me to be a refuge for those around me. When the world outside is harsh and cold, may my heart be a place of acceptance and warmth.

Finally, because love always perseveres… Help my heart continually beat with love for You and others. Thank you for showing us what the word love really means. Amen.

By Holley Gerth

"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-

Working On This Whole Trust Thing...

^{Yesterday I took the chance to go to confession. It had been about a month since I had last gone, and although I did not really have too much to say I ended up going for some advice. As I mentioned in a previous post about a interesting moment that happened to me personally on my trip. I was still feeling a bit confused and unsure about what my future. Before I went into confession I prayed to God about what that all meant. I decided to open up the Bible and it opened to this passage:}

^{Philippians 4:6-9}

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

That made me feel a little bit better, but still not fully at peace. I went into confession and told Father my list of sins. He then asked me if there was anything else that was troubling me about my relationship with God. I did not really plan on explaining the story of what happened on my trip, but when he asked me that I knew I had to get it off my chest. He then told me that that sort of thing happens a lot to lots of different people. He said that since this was the first time it had happened to me by a stranger it did not mean I am called as a nun. He told me to just leave it alone for now. If I am called to becoming a nun or sister than there will be more signs to come in my future, but for now to just not think about it at all. I felt an immediate sense of relief hearing that from my priest. For my penance he told me to keep praying to trust God and His plan for me. The more I thought about that penance the more I have realized that I really do need to pray more about trusting God. There have been some other things in my life over the past few years that have made me confused and frustrated about what God has planned for my future. So here's to me REALLY working on being relaxed while God takes the wheel.

"Be Still And Know I Am God"

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

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 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....:)

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.

April Fool's Day: Official Athiest Holiday In Florida

You must read this.......a proper decision by the courts...for a change.

FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY

In Florida , an atheist created a case against Easter and Passover Holy days.

He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians and Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring,"Case dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, How can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays.."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that, if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day.

Court is adjourned.."; You gotta love a Judge that knows his scripture!

"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...

"My Soul Is Thirsting..."

Yesterday's psalm for Mass happens to be one that I find so true and so beautiful. Not that the others are not true and beautiful by any means. I just mean that I think this one in particular always hits home with me.

I have to admit, of all the parts of the Mass the psalm tends to be the part I have the hardest time paying attention to. I will pay attention to what I am supposed to sing, but somewhere along the lines I tend to zone out on the verses... When I do pay attention to them I am always surprised at how I let myself zone out during them. I tend to do it even more so during daily Mass... It is pretty bad. So for those of you who may be like me I thought I would put the psalm here so you can read it and pay more attention to it.

Responsorial Psalm June 20, 2010

R. (2b) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

O God, you are my God whom I seek;

for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts

like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.

R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary

to see your power and your glory,

For your kindness is a greater good than life;

my lips shall glorify you.

R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Thus will I bless you while I live;

lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.

As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,

and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.

R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

You are my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.

My soul clings fast to you;

your right hand upholds me.

R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Forgiving Is Part Of Loving

Jesus said to his disciples:

“You have heard that it was said,

You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say to you, love your enemies

and pray for those who persecute you,

that you may be children of your heavenly Father,

for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,

and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?

Do not the tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet your brothers only,

what is unusual about that?

Do not the pagans do the same?

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
~Matthew 5:43-48~

The above happens to be the Gospel for today's readings. It is always a hard one for me to learn from... Love your enemy... Now, I am not one to really have many enemies. I tend to not have any problems with the people I meet, but occasionally there are times when I do have an issue with someone. Usually it is something that is a pretty big deal before I have a problem with someone; talking about me behind my back, saying something very hurtful when it is not warranted, these are just a few examples.

Today in father's homily he also talked about how hard it is to forgive those who hurt us. He asked us two questions. Who are my enemies? How do I show love to my enemy? I suppose the best way to show love to my "enemy" is by really forgiving them. Forgiving them and then moving on. That is easier said than done sometimes, but do it we all must. I sometimes think of myself as a forgiving person, but then I remember a few people who have hurt me in the past and realize that I am not totally that way. I will begin working on that now!

We Are The Salt Of The Earth And The Light Of The World...

Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp stand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

~Matthew 5:13-16~

The above quote is yesterday's Gospel reading. During the homily Fr. Don talked about how this Gospel seems to be a continuation from this past Sunday's Gospel. He talked about how it is great that we are salt of the earth, but we still need to be careful with that. If we put too much salt into something, than there is no way to take it back out and the dish is pretty much ruined, but if you do not put enough than the dish tastes to bland. We have to pay attention to who our audience is to decipher how much "salt" we should use. Once we get to know someone it is easier for us to tell how much of the faith we can talk about at one time before that person is turned off.

He also talked about how we are the light of the world. If we burn that light as bright as football stadium lights in our living room it would do way more harm than good. The light would be too bright, and might in turn, cause someone to lose their sight.

I personally think this is very true. Some people are much more interested in the faith and want to know as much as possible, where as others are not so sure about it and are only ready for a little bit at a time. The best thing is to let our light shine through our actions at first, and then once we feel someone is ready for more be there in a cheerful and friendly way to talk more about the faith.

Change.... I Certainly Do Not Like It...

This past week has been finals week here in Bloomington, for the college students. I have learned to kind of dread this week because it is always a week of good-byes. My friends who are seniors are done with IU and Bloomington once graduation is over and I know that for a large number of them it will probably be the last time I will ever get to see them. I will be keeping in touch with them via facebook and texting and what have you, but it will not be the same as seeing them even once a month or so. Even now as I sit here and type this out, the whole goodbye process does not seem totally real to me yet. I still feel as though I will be able to call up these
friends and make a time to hang-out... It is hard to let go of something you want to hold on to.
Anyway so I was kinda down last night thinking about all this good-bye stuff. I decided to pick up the Bible, without really having any idea what I was wanting to read. I decided to just randomly open it up, and what page did I open it up to???

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

"All things have their season, and in their times all things pass under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal. A time to destroy, and a time to build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh. A time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather. A time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. A time to get, and a time to lose. A time to keep, and a time to cast away. A time to rend, and a time to sew. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. A time of love, and a time of hatred. A time of war, and a time of peace."

Yeah... I needed to read that.

"Change...
we don't like it, we fear it, but we can't stop it from coming. We either adapt to change or we get left behind.
And it hurts to grow, anybody who tells you it doesn't is lying.
But heres the truth: the more things change, the more they stay the same.
And sometimes, oh, sometimes change is good.
Oh, sometimes, change is... everything."
~Grey's Anatomy~

Yes, I am still alive. :)

Well I have realized tonight that I haven't written up a blog post on here in quite a few days. I have just been so busy with a lot of different things that I haven't really had the time to sit down and write out a blog... I was busy with work, retreat reunions, movie night, playing ultimate frisbee, going to a friend's band concert, bowling, confirmation classes, and Bible study, add on family drama to that... Just a lot going on. Not much free time at all.

Tonight for Bible study we studied the book of Tobit. It is my very favorite book of the Bible. Me a hopeless romantic and all, this particular book, along with Song of Songs, totally works for me. It is a love story with lots of different drama going on in the story... It starts off with Tobias, Tobiah's father, a very righteous and holy man who becomes blind. He becomes distressed and prays to be able to die.

While this is going on there is a woman named Sarah who has issues of her own. She had married seven times, and each of those seven husbands ended up being killed by the demon of lust on their wedding night. She finally gets to the breaking point and starts to plan her own death. She changes her mind from committing suicide to asking God to take her life, and even at the end of her prayer she hands everything over to him and says that if He wants her to live, so be it, put to take pity on her.

At this point of the storyline, God finally sends out the archangel Raphael (Raphael actually means healer) to help answer both their prayers. Raphael goes with Tobiah to go in search of his wife, Sarah. Along the way they come upon a fish, and Raphael tells Tobiah that if he wants to get rid of Sarah's demon he must use the insides of this fish to cause him to flee, and then afterwords he and Sarah must pray to God in thanksgiving. He also said that in order to give Tobias his vision back he has to use the guts of the fish and wipe it on his eyes.

Finally Tobiah meets Sarah and they both do as Raphael told him on their wedding night, and the evil demon flees without hurting Tobiah, and then they kneel down and pray in thanksgiving for their vocation of marriage to each other.

Tobiah and Sarah finally head back to Ninevah where Tobiah helps bring his father's vision back. When Tobiah goes to give Raphael money for going on his journey with him Raphael finally reveals who he is to the two men... and then everyone lives happily ever after...

Here is the prayer that the Tobiah and Sarah prayed their wedding night...

Tobit 8:4-8

When the girl's parents left the bedroom and closed the door behind them, Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife, "My love, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance." She got up, and they started to pray and beg that deliverance might be theirs. He began with these words: "Blessed are you, O God of our fathers; praised be your name forever and ever. Let the heavens and all your creation praise you forever. You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve to be his help and support; and from these two the human race descended. You said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a partner like himself.' Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine not because of lust, but for a noble purpose. Call down your mercy on me and on her, and allow us to live together to a happy old age." They said together, "Amen, amen,"

"In Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me..."

Psalms 139:13-16
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.

This particular Bible quote always amazes me. It takes my breath away when I think about how from the beginning of time God has planned on creating me... the exact day, the exact moment... He knew the time frame. He knew the parents I would have, the place I would live, how society would be in the area I would grow up. He pictured what I would look like in His mind. He knew how long I would live, and even though I have free will, He knew me enough to know how I would choose to live my life... He gave me this life because He knew what I was able to handle, and every time I hear that verse I am always amazed that I am so important to Him... out of all the ALL the incredible people who have lived on this planet He still had time to think about me and my life and the purpose for it. It seems so crazy to me, but that is the truth.

The truth is He did not just do that for me, He did that for each and every person that has been placed on this earth. It is astounding....

The other night my family got into a discussion on evolution (if you knew my family this particular subject coming up would not surprise you in the least...). I know that evolution is real... caterpillars turn into butterflies; tadpoles into frogs... Even though I know that it is real, after reading quotes from the Bible like the above one, I have a real hard time believing I came from an ape. I just can't one hundred percent believe in that part of the evolution theory. My older sister and I agreed that if we were from apes, then how come there are not any more ape/people walking around today... why can't we still see this transformation going on? Her fiancee said "well, stages could take thousands or millions of years.." but that is not enough of an answer for me to really believe that... I guess that is one of those questions I will hopefully be able to ask God if I ever do get to meet Him...

Funny thing is I did not exactly mean to start talking about my thoughts on the evolution theory, but that is the way my mind wandered tonight. In my head I thought this blog would go in one direction, but it went on a little "detour" from the way I wanted this to go. That is part of the fun of letting my mind wander. I never know where it will take me...