OH CAAAAAAAANADAAAAAAAAAA we stand on guard for theeeee!

My personal favorite - Sidney Crosby

Go TEAM!

Br. Andre - thank you for your intercession!

In this house he is the new Patron Saint of Hockey!

LarryD - where can I send the condolence card?!?

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Brother Andre - PRAY FOR US!

Frere Andre - priere pour nous!!!!

Allez Canada!!!

Going for Gold in the Medal That Matters MOST!

Psalm 25:2

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LarryD, love ya man - but the gloves are OFF!

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Prayers for my foster daughter in Chile.

My foster daughter Francisca lives in northern Chile. There is no way for me to contact her to see if she is OK. I know the quake affected Santiago but Arica might be affected. I hope she is OK.

Lord, grant hope to victims waiting to be rescued. We pray for their safety and quick recovery.

Lord, console those persons who are separated and searching for loved ones. Reunite them as quickly as possible.

Lord, thank you for being our refuge and strength in times of trouble. Amen.

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The Gargoyle Code

I received "The Gargoyle Code" by Fr. Dwight Longenecker yesterday. I read it in one sitting even though it's meant as daily reading for Lent. The book is very timely with references to pop culture and modern "morals." And "Slubgrips" description of St. Therese of Lisieux left me howling!

I recommend this book!

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Lucky day!

I got to hold a 6 week old baby today.

Ah...bliss!

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What's in a name?

I've noticed a naming trend recently. According to baby name sites the top names for boys include Aidan, Caden, Jayden, Braydon, etc. I looked in our local paper and the birth announcements list Payton, Lauren, Nolan....All these names end in "n." At one time all the names seemed to end in "y" or "i" (think Vicky, Sandy, Cindy, Terry, Ronny, Kenny.)

Back to our regularly scheduled programming....

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The reason

And the reason is you.

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Jn 19:28

"I thirst." John 19:28

Was he thirsty for water? Perhaps. What He was really trying to convey was His thirst for souls. Your soul.

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My child, where did you go?

"My child, where did you go? Come to your merciful God."

I'd rather not Lord. For a second, I thought that I could follow You and be with You, but I'm a hypocrite! I say that I love You and that I want to follow You, but then I walk away and commit a sin. Very often the same sin, over and over! I say that I love You and then turn around and hurt You. I'm a terrible friend to You.

"Do not get discouraged when you see yourself as you are, when you see yourself as weak and helpless. You can do nothing without Me — of course! But you forget the importance and power of My mercy. As often as you fall, return to Me, and throw yourself upon My mercy. Trust in Me and My love for you. Your sins do not offend Me as much as does your lack of trust in My goodness."

But Lord, don't You ever get tired of my continual (and often repeated!) sins?

"Little one, fallen human love is imperfect and conditional, whereas My love for you is unfathomable. Only in eternity will you understand how much I love you. My love for you stretches from heaven to earth and pierces though your brokenness. Every time you humble yourself and approach Me with all that you are and have — all your brokenness and frailty — and ask for My mercy, My Heart melts and I rush to gather you in My arms."

by Sarah Chichester

Redefining the Victim

Our culture is chockablock with examples of this. We modern westerners wonder how it could be possible the Germans were capable of exterminating 11 million people in their mad zeal for racial hygiene. But the reality is that they gave exactly the same rationales we give for our extermination of four times as many people since 1973 in the US alone: by re-defining the victim so as to exempt ourselves from guilt for violating the commandment. Jews, Poles and Gypsies were re-classified as untermenschen or even “bacteria” (it was all very scientifically worded) and their deaths were treated like the death of cattle—“no innocent human beings were harmed in the making of this Holocaust”. We do the same trick: reclassifying babies as “fetal material” (another tidy scientific-sounding euphemism).

Seen on Catholic Exchange

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This and that.

I ordered a lovely book about St. Therese and it was returned to the online book seller as "undeliverable." Excuse me? I have received at least 100 books at my home address from this seller for the past 5 years. I could easily reorder the book (my credit card has already been adjusted) but I can't figure out why the parcel couldn't be delivered. Hmph!

However, watching the Olympics last night (ice dancing, not my favorite but we won GOLD!) I noticed the Russian couple had jackets emblazoned with eagles. It took me back 35 years to a British docudrama that my mother and I watched called "Fall of Eagles." Yes, Amazon has it in stock and it was even affordable. So I treated myself and purchased it. I hope it's as good as I remember it to be. I also ordered a book called "The Duchess of Duke Street." My mom loved the show but the DVD set was $100+ dollars - a bit rich for me! The used book was $4.95.

Off to a birthday party tonight after Mass and tomorrow is parish council so I might see you again Thursday.

Don't get discouraged - slow and steady is the pace for Lent!

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PS - have been off fancy coffee for 7 days and nobody has been maimed or killed yet!

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Penances - jumping through arbitrary hoops?

"If Lent is about self-offering, then it is not suited to a minimalist approach that treats the Church’s penitential practices as jumping through arbitrary hoops."

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PS...I think everyone has given up reading my blog for Lent.

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Caption this - bloggers convention 1967

Bloggers Convention - circa 1967

Caption away!

(click on photo to enlarge)

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Touting Tuitert!

JA!

Gefeliciteerd - je hebt gewonnen!

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Temptation

I wonder if Jesus was tempted? Oh wait! - you said desert!

Read more on the temptations of Jesus below...

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The Temptations of Jesus are really about....

I wish I could claim authorship for the following but they are summaries of passages from the study guide for the Holy Father's book "Jesus of Nazareth."

The Temptations of Jesus

The temptations of Jesus are fundamentally about idolatry and about who God is. The first temptation is hunger.

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.” Luke 4:1-4

Hunger symbolizes all of our physical needs and the physical evils we experience. Jesus' mission is to point the way to the heavenly kingdom, not to make sure that all earthly evils are overcome on earth.

The second temptation is to rule the kingdoms of the world. The devil offers Jesus the opportunity to unite all kingdoms in peace and unity, and so to abandon his message of sacrifice, humility and self-emptying love.

The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." Luke 4:5-7

Jesus wins the only glory that matters: glory from the Father, who desires peace that can only be found in the eternal Kingdom of heaven.

The third temptation is for certainty; for Jesus to cast himself from a height so that God will send angels to catch him.

The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' Luke 4:9-11

This temptation is for Jesus to submit to human requirements for certainty - in other words, to have faith on our terms, not God's. This would reverse the proper relationship between God and man. (Another reason why "guaranteed prayers" are wrong - God is not a vending machine!)

I can easily see how I have been (and continue to be) tempted by hunger (for stuff - even good Catholic books to learn more about the faith.) I am tempted to rule - my home, my space at the office, my parish, etc. and I am tempted by the need for certainty (having Luke in Afghanistan gives new meaning to the words "Jesus I trust in You.")

Reading the 4th chapter of Luke used to irritate me. I mean - how can you tempt someone that is sinless? But when read in the context of idolatry it makes a lot more sense. I really wish sometimes that the Bible came with directions! (Yes, I know there are annotated versions but I am trying to curb my hunger for yet another Catholic book!)

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109 year old Great War vet dies

John Babcock, Canada’s last World War I veteran, has died at the age of 109.

R.I.P.

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Piety vs. Relationship

"...the spiritual life is not primarily about certain practices of piety and techniques of prayer, but about a relationship." Ralph Martin in "Fulfillment of All Desire"

More than one saint has said that one Our Father prayed with love and devotion to God is better than 100 spewed off by rote. And they are right.

At one time it was all about "giving up stuff," then it was "adding stuff." But if we don't do it with love what is the point??

When I first came back to the Church I didn't know how to fast properly. One year I literally thought you couldn't eat a thing for 24 hours. Then I learned you could eat 2 small "collations" and one regular meal. So Scrupulous Sally here found out how much a "collation" is. Four ounces, I believe. Eventually I talked to Father about it and he told me I should not be weighing out my portions. (Guilty as charged....)

I think I did OK yesterday - however, the combination of no coffee + raging case of PMS = cranky Catholic. And I admit to having a little bread and milk before bed.

Am I going to hell for that? No. I don't think it was serving God to sit there clock-watching until 12:01 AM on Feb. 18 so I could shove some food in my mouth. Yes, I know I have food issues - I am overweight and I eat when stressed, when happy, when the sun is shining, when it's raining...so I did the best I could with the fasting, went to bed at a decent hour and got up this morning with enough time to spend 10 minutes with God reading a little scripture and praying. I did it with love, not because I have to tick boxes on my Lenten checklist. I trust that God in his mercy knows that.

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Lent is not a competition!

Lent is not a competition in piety. Crescat says it better than I can - read it here.

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For those already suffering and not sure what to do for Lent.

Something I recommend to people who chronically carry suffering around is to journal at least 30 minutes a day for the season of Lent. The journal is an examination of conscience where a person who is physically and mentally ill describes the sufferings that come their way day by day.

After journaling the suffering moments, you then journal a corresponding suffering from the life of Christ: his exile to Egypt, his poverty, his loss of Joseph so early in life, etc. After you journal that suffering of Christ, you then write down your resolution that day to offer up, with true Christian abandonment and resignation, the part of Christ's Cross that God has been pleased to send you.

For instance, a person can chronicle that they saw someone's dog pee on their lawn. They had intense suffering as they wanted to go out and kick that dog. As they recall the Cross of the Lord, they resolve to be more understanding that God's creatures don't have a clue what a lawn is and why they should not pee on it. Then they offer with true submission the anguish of their lawn being peed on and pray for the fruit of accepting whatever God's will is that will help them live the Christian life with more joy and thanksgiving.

I call this the "anti-bitching and overall Christian crabbiness and dour attitude journal". It has done wonders for people I know who could not come up with a penance for Lent because they already have chronic suffering in their lives.

By Fr. Angel Sotelo

Ash Wednesday thought

It's amazing how GOOD food tastes when you are hungry.

Thanks to Owen for "Ashley" the emoticon....

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Wow! What a way to start Lent!

This morning my husband was outside and our neighbour, who has refused to speak to us for 10+ years, said good morning to Hubby. They chatted off and on all morning as they were doing yard work.

Recently the neighbour was diagnosed with a brain tumor so I've been praying the Divine Mercy chaplet for him.

Prayer works.

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Fasting intentions

Today's fasting intentions are for a friend who needs help from Jesus to accept His graces.

Inspired by the Diary of St. Faustina, 738

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Entering the desert

I've been trolling blogs looking for more Lenten posts and found a few more ideas for penances and acts of piety. I'm exhausted just thinking about adding more stuff to do or give up! I think I better just stick with my plan and maybe change it up around Laetare Sunday.

One day a week I will be offline (the day will vary) so if you don't see me around that's why. I do not think this is a time to give up blogging entirely because we can support each other through the 40 days (but why do the last 38 always seem to be soooo long?!) I do hope to post things that are spiritually uplifting (instead of photos from the Mardi Gras party that Terry and I crashed!)

May God richly bless your Lent and may you find all that you seek in Him.
With love, Angie.

♥♥♥

Lent in a Tent!

You've got to read this story!

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FAT Tuesday

The minutes are ticking down to my favorite time of year - that spiritual boot camp for the soul called LENT!

Every year I make a huge list of daily activities for Lent. It usually looks like this: daily Mass, daily Rosary, daily spiritual reading, weekly Stations, no coffee, no cola, etc. I can actually sustain this....for about 3 days.

But Laura inspired this great idea - fill a bowl with slips of paper with different Lenten activities written on them. Each day pick one or two. I think I will have a very well -rounded Lent if I do this.

I will throw a dried bean in a jar for each activity engaged in and hopefully by Good Friday I will have enough to make a dinner with the beans.

I am also giving up my daily $3 latte. I am getting hives and palpitations just thinking about it. However, the $120 I am going to save will be much appreciated by the charity I am going to donate it to.

Well, off to eat a nice meaty dinner, run to the store for some bean soup for tomorrows lunch and then I will enjoy my Boston cream donut - mmmmmmmmm!

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A nice phone call!

Luke phoned me this morning! The last time we spoke was Christmas so it's been awhile! He sounds good. He called to let me know he got the St. Michael medal I sent him. I also sent him Abp. Sheen's "Wartime Prayer Book." Not much else I can tell you but I was REALLY glad to hear from him!

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Terry and I are the King and Queen...

.... of the Carnival! Wooot! Fat Tuesday - N'AWLINs or BuSt!

Today we feast for tomorrow we fast!

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Valentine's Dinner

What's on the menu tonight? Chicken and cauliflower tikka masala, basmati rice, and strawberry shortcake for dessert! What's the best part about this dinner? That I put it together earlier and now all I have to do is reheat the tikka masala and make whipped cream for the dessert after supper. All the prep dishes have been washed, garbage taken out - I can just relax now! I feel a nap coming on...

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RIP Cpl. Baker

Cpl. Joshua Baker, 24

Guard and defend me from the foe malign.

In life’s last moments make me only thine.

Call me and bid me come to thee on high

Where I may praise thee with thy saints for ever.

+JMJ

Let the games begin!

The "spirit bear"

The Olympics are open....

Highlight - the show projected onto the curtains - very West Coast! I loved the "whales", the "totem poles," the "flying" boy, and Donald Sutherland reading quotes from Canadian writers.

Lowlight - the cauldron malfunction at the indoor torch lighting. Somebody is never going to live that one down!

Token gay moment - k.d. lang singing some song that had nothing to do with the Olympics.

Saddest moment - the Georgian team entering the stadium wearing thick black arm bands to indicate they are in mourning.

Most self-indulgent moment fabricated by the Olympic committee - the Olympic "hymn." That song was waaaay too long and waaaay too stupid.

I probably won't watch any more of the Olympics but the opening show (usually a snooze-fest) was worth sitting through. Also, my friends daughter was dancing in the show - I suspect she was dancing to the fiddlers.

And here is a REAL "spirit bear" better known as the Kermode bear. (Say kerr-mode-ee.) In the Tsimshian (Sim-shun) language, these bears are known as "Moksgm'ol" (muks-kum-ol.)

It is NOT an albino bear or a polar bear but a sub-species of black bear. Kermode bears range from white to cinnamon colored. They only live on the northwest coast of British Columbia and SHOULD have been the Olympic mascot as opposed to those Japanese manga-wannabe "mascots" that are a slap in the face to the First Nations people of Canada, particularly those living on the West Coast.

And one last thought - when everyone was chasing Wayne Gretzky down the street I wondered...what if Jesus was in that truck - would everyone be running after Him? Would the excitement and emotion be as overwhelming?

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Book Review

I received my copy of Ralph Martin's "Fulfilment of All Desire" today. I have already read the introduction and three chapters. The book is not dumbed down but it's very accessible. I highly recommend it!

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Dominican Sisters on the Oprah Show

Watch the Dominican Sisters of Mary on the Oprah show at Aggie Catholic.

LOVE those Sisters! Oprah was...well, Oprah. But she was respectful!

And let us give thanks the Benedictine Sisters of Erie weren't interviewed!!!!!

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Our Lady of Lourdes

Oh ever immaculate Virgin, Mother of Mercy, Health of the Sick, Refuge of Sinners, Comfort of the Afflicted, you know my wants, my troubles, my sufferings. Look upon me with mercy. When you appeared in the grotto of Lourdes, you made it a privileged sanctuary where you dispense your favors, and where many sufferers have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and corporal. I come, therefore, with unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. My loving Mother, obtain my request. I will try to imitate your virtues so that I may one day share your company and bless you in eternity.

Amen.

@)>--,----

St. Joseph

Words of St.Teresa of Avila “I took for my patron and lord the glorious St. Joseph, and recommended myself earnestly to him. I saw clearly that both out of this my present trouble, and out of others of greater importance, relating to my honor and the loss of my soul, this my father and lord delivered me, and rendered me greater services than I knew how to ask for. I cannot call to mind that I have ever asked him at any time for anything which he has not granted; and I am filled with amazement when I consider the great favors which God has given me through this blessed Saint; the dangers from which he has delivered me, both of body and of soul.” —Autobiography, VI, 9

Guess what I did Tuesday night!!!

My coworker is going to Antarctica for a holiday! (I know!)

She LOVES penguins.

She is looking forward to seeing lots of penguins!

I call this one Sidney....

...and this one, Marc Andre.

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The base is carrot cake with cream cheese frosting sprinkled with pearlized sugar. The penguins are made of sugar paste, as are the blue snowballs surrounding the cake. The igloo is also sugar paste that is draped over a small metal bowl. Then I scored the design onto the igloo and highlighted it with watered down food color paste and a small brush. I also painted the penguins but their beaks and feet are tinted sugar paste. Their faces should probably be black but I'd need a smaller brush for those kind of details and I was running out of time, plus the craft store was closed! I think the webbed feet are the cutest detail of all!

It took me about 3 hours to make the whole thing. I hope my boss doesn't want me to make her kid a birthday cake....

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It's a beautiful life

You need to read this story about Nella Cordelia.

Get your box of tissues before you start reading.

H/T to Cathy.

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facebook - bye bye

I deactivated my facebook account.
I really don't have time to work, blog, do my church activities, read, pray, run my house, tend to hubby and worry about my kids if I am on facebook.

Thanks for understanding.
Angie.

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Inspired by Gem of the Ocean....

predeceased by...

From her online obituary:

Susan Hill, 61, of Raleigh died Saturday January 30, 2010, from breast cancer.Susan Hill gained national prominence as a champion for women’s rights. She was President of the National Women's Health Organization, a group of abortion clinics in Raleigh and the Southeast.

Ms. Hill is preceded in death by her infant sister, Mary Ann, her father, Dan Hill, Jr. of Durham, her twin sister Nancy Hill of Raleigh, and her mother Anne Hill of Durham -to which I added in the moderated comment section... "AND BY THE THOUSANDS OF BABIES WHO DIED IN HER ABORTION MILL." (I know they won't print it but I had to put it out there.)

May God have mercy on her soul. Truly.

I have hidden my recent posts - not because I disagree with the comments - but because this is just too personal for me to splash all over the internet. I'll be doing my discerning in private from now on.

Angie.

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Go Saints!

Happy Ground Hog Day!

Luke's Ground Hog

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Well, it'll be six more weeks of winter up here - it's bright and sunny today and any living creature that stuck his head out of a hole would have seen its shadow.

Happy Birthday to my brother and my niece today! I cannot believe she is 12!

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Daybook - because I am out of printable thoughts

Outside my window...dark now at 6:39PM but sunset is happening later and later!!!

I am thankful...my husband is understanding. For some reason he brought me home a donut tonight. I am having a bad day but he didn't know that - so the donut is a real treat!

I am wearing...jeans, t-shirt, blue fuzzy slippers, socks, hoodie (back in the day it was called a kangaroo jacket!)

I am remembering...how sweet my boys were 20 years ago. *sob*

I am going...to go kookoo if the problem at work doesn't get fixed. We are getting a horrible smell in the building - a combination of sewer gas, garbage and rotten eggs.

I am reading...Story of a Soul by St. Therese. I've had it for years and just could.not.get.through.it. But last night I read 3 chapters and can't wait to read more tonight! I guess the timing is right!

On my mind....LukeLukeLuke. And the nice vet I spoke to at the Legion today who saw Luke's photo and asked me to send Luke his best regards (even though he has never met him.)

From the kitchen....cold leftover roast and oranges for my dinner. I know!

One of my favorite things...religious medals. I've been wearing St. Michael for a few weeks now. I hope Luke gets the one I sent him soon.

From my picture album...

A photo of Luke when he was in training.

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