Saturday, May 7, 2011

About | Spiritual Motherhood

About Spiritual Motherhood

After posting the last post on The Seven Sorrows of Mary, I thought it might be a good idea to link you to the about page of Catholic Spiritual Motherhood. It appears to be an excellent ministry.

Benefits of Devotion to the Seven Sorrows | Spiritual Motherhood

Okay this is not my post either. I found this at http://www.catholicspiritualmotherhood.com/ but since we could all use these benefits in these trying times, I thought I would post it.

Benefits of the Devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Mary


The Blessed Virgin Mary grants seven

graces to the souls who honor her daily

by saying seven Hail Mary’s and

meditating on her tears and dolors.

I will grant peace to their families.

They will be enlightened about the divine mysteries.

I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.

I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.

I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.

I will visibly help them at the moment of their death, they will see the face of their Mother.

I have obtained from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors, will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son and I will be their eternal consolation and joy.

Our Lord promised the following four graces to St. John:

1.)Those who invoke the Heavenly Mother through her sorrows will obtain true sorrow for their sins before death.

2.) Our Savior will protect them in their tribulations, especially at the hour of death.

3.) He will impress upon them the memory of His Passion, and will reward them for it in Heaven.

4.) He will commit such devout servants to the hands of Mary, that she may dispose of them according to their pleasure, and obtain for them all the graces she desires.

Father Faber* names seven more graces:

1.) This devotion has a remarkable connection to great interior holiness.

2.) It reveals the emptiness of worldly joys. Worldliness finds no soul harder to attack than one entrenched in the sorrows of Our Blessed Mother.

3.) It gives us a permanent share in the sorrow for sin which Jesus and Mary felt.

4.) It keeps our thoughts close to Jesus Crucified.

5.) It communicates to our souls the spirit of the Cross and gives us strength to endure our own sufferings with resignation to the Holy Will of God.

6.) This devotion is wholly covered with the Precious Blood of Jesus and leads us directly into the depths of the Heart of Our Savior.

7.) Anyone who during their lifetime has felt compassion for our afflicted Mother may consider this a most assured sign of predestination.

Benefits of Devotion to the Seven Sorrows Spiritual Motherhood

Osama Bin Laden! How Much Do You Love Your Enemies?

This is a rather somber post and since I don't like to dwell here on sad issues too much, I will be posting something of a lighter note soon.

A 14 year old friend of my son made a comment on his Facebook page how any death is sad to God and then I found this post at Courageous Priest.com 

I think the points in this article say alot.  I think the whole situation should be one of sadness. He not only ruined the lives of so many people here in America, killing thousands but He led so many people in his own country into such horrible sins. It is not just the loss of thousands of lives but the loss of souls for eternity.

Osama Bin Laden! How Much Do You Love Your Enemies?Osama Bin Laden! How Much Do You Love Your Enemies?


This will make many people upset. It is a homily from Fr. Timothy Henderson. Very wise words for us to contemplate following the death of Osama Bin Laden. He answers some of the following questions.

•How does our reaction to Osama Bin Laden’s death stack up against the teachings of Christ?

•Why was he killed?

•Are you angry at this man?

•Can we curse Him?

•Can we want him to be in @#!*% ?

•Have you forgiven him?

•Have you or will you pray for him?

•Do you want justice against this man’s crimes?

Emphasis added.



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The Death of Osama Bin Laden and the Christian Response

Padre Pio once said, ‘without the Grace of God, all I know how to do is to sin and sin again.’ The Epistle of St. Jude tells us, ‘The archangel Michael, when he argued with the devil in a dispute over the body of Moses, did not venture to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him but said, “May the Lord rebuke you”.’ Jesus personally has told us, ‘”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.’

How do your emotions and my emotions concerning the death of Osama Bin Laden stack up against the teachings of this Christ who we claim to be our leader and savior?

I do not speak of the question of whether or not he should be killed; by any standard of Just War Theory, his death saved lives. The question of the morality of his killing is not – repeat NOT – what I am talking about. He was killed to save lives, and I have every confidence his death achieved that.

Are you angry at this man? You have every right to be angry. There is such a thing as just anger. Do you believe he deserved justice? He deserved justice.

But now that he is dead, how does our reaction to this man’s death stack up against the teachings of this Christ who we claim to be our leader and savior? His actions were evil – there is no question about this. But are not the words of Padre Pio not also true? ‘Without the Grace of God, all I know how to do is to sin and sin again.’ There but the grace of God go you and I. His actions make us angry – and rightfully so, but as the Epistle of Jude tells us, the very holy St. Michael feared to curse out Satan – Satan who is more evil even the actions of this man bin Laden.
St. Michael feared to pronounce a reviling judgment on Satan. And if there was ever a human in our lifetime whom would fit my category of enemy, it is this man who ordered 19 other men to slam planes into buildings. But the words of Jesus tell us, ‘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.’

I am sure most of us are not going lose too much sleep over the death of a man who was the cause of so much trouble – I know I will not. Yet at the same time, how does our reaction to this man’s death stack up against our Christian calling? Can we even say a quick prayer asking God for mercy or a last second conversion? Remember what I said yesterday, the call of being a Christian is absolutely incomprehensible to the world.

You know, one of the first homilies I ever preached here was on forgiveness, and I never ever received so much angry mail and e-mail in my life – no other homily has compared… and the anger was on forgiveness. I know I choose an extreme example, but Jesus’ example included the extremes. The level of anger I saw tells me I need to keep preaching about anger and forgiveness and how we treat our enemies until we all get it. This is a core teaching of our Faith.

Do you have a just anger at bin Laden? You should. Did you want justice against this man’s crimes? That is okay. Justice and mercy are – repeat are – compatible.

Jesus said, ‘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.’ How does your reaction and my reaction towards this criminal stand up against the call of our Christianity? And I do not ask this question only for the sake of Osama Bin Laden; if you and I have non-Christian attitudes towards him, might we have them to a greater or lesser degree towards our neighbor?



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We have edited the text slightly for ease of readability.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Mary, Our Mother

Not too long ago, someone made a comment that since Mary was sinless it would be hard to look to her as a role model for women. I find that hard to understand because if I am going to look to someone as an example of how to live right as a woman, I am going to look to someone who did things right.


As a woman and a mother these are some of the reasons I look to Mary as a model woman ; one she was a woman who obeyed the Lord and went visiting a family member in need. Women can learn from her to be selfless and care for others. There are many people in the world needing care and friendship. Families should help each other out more. Today families are so far apart many hardly see each other anymore.




She followed the laws of her faith when taking Jesus to the temple. We could all learn to be obedient to God, our faith and the ways of the Church.



She followed her husband to where he was led so they could protect their son. In this world mothers have alot of worries and concerns about their children. She and Joseph ran for their lives to keep their son from being killed. Moms run many ways today to protect the lives and souls of their children. Mary can be the example to us that we should be protecting and caring for our children from the evils of this world and listening to God's guidance as we do.



Another way I look to Mary is how she instructed the servers at the wedding of Cana tolook to Jesus and that can remind us to do the same thing. Even at her apparitions she instructs us as our mother to look to Jesus, to turn back to God. She, also, stood by his side when he was suffering and dying. When my son and husband are going through struggles in life I am reminded by her example to pray and stand by them and encourage them. I ask her to pray for us to help us to get through and I look to her.



For a mom there are so many worries and anxieties we go through for our children and our husbands, the best person I could ever think to learn from would be Mary because of her total trust in God.



Yes, she was full of grace. She did have something special given to her that no other woman ever had. She was the most blessed woman ever and she will always be the best woman ever to look to for example. It is because of her sinlessness that makes her the best example. She lived for God. Something we all should do. She did it right.



Her life was not an easy one and neither is ours but by following her example women can learn how to trust and obey and raise their families and love our husbands and live for God.



She is our Mother and she would love for you to come to her, also. I know of people, including myself, that have found the problems in their lives turn around by praying the rosary every day. She has brought many answers to prayers for me. Call upon her as your mother also and see what happens. I'm sure you will be glad you did.

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Thursday, May 5, 2011

Quote on kids

I am reading a book right now called Good Discipline, Great Teens by Dr. Ray Guarendi. It is very good. I love the humor he adds to the book. It makes life seem a little more joyful.

He had a really good quote in the book. I just thought I would share.

There's a saying that tries to capture the essance of raising kids:  from birth to age six you teach them, from six to twelve you guide them, from 12 to 18 you pray for them. Dr. Ray Guarendi

Dear Lord help us to educate our family for your glory.

"Since parents have conferred life on their children, they have a most solemn obligation to educate their offspring. Hence, parents must be acknowledged as the first and foremost educators of their children. Their role as educators is so decisive that scarcely anything can compensate for their failure in it. For it devolves on parents to create a family atmosphere so animated with love and reverence for God and others that a well-rounded personal and social development will be fostered among children. Hence, the family is the first school of those social virtues which every society needs."--Gravissimum Educationis (one of the documents of the Second Vatican Council)

Helping and Loving Our Neighbor

Corporal works of Mercy
Feed the hungry

Give drink to the thirsty

Clothe the naked

Shelter the homeless

Visit the sick

Visit the imprisoned

Bury the dead



The Spiritual Works of Mercy
Admonish the sinner

Instruct the ignorant

Counsel the doubtful

Comfort the sorrowful
Bear wrongs patiently

Forgive all injuries

Pray for the living and the dead


Good Samaritain