Feast of St. John Vianney

Tonight during Nocturnal Adoration my niece was reading The Man Who Fought With the Devil by Eva Betz. She remarked afterwards. "Aunt Esther, the book was really good!"

"If we could comprehend all the good things contained in Holy Communion, nothing more would be wanting to content the heart of man. The miser would run no more after his treasures, or the ambitious after glory; each would shake off the dust of the earth, leave the world, and fly away towards heaven."

"When we go before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our heart; our good God will open His. We shall go to Him; He will come to us; the one to ask, the other to receive. It will be like a breath from one to the other;"

"Jesus Christ, after having given us all he could give, that is to say, the merit of his toils, his sufferings, and bitter death; after having given us his adorable body and blood to be the food of our souls, willed also to give us the most precious thing he had let, which was his holy Mother."

"I throw myself at the foot of the Tabernacle like a dog at the foot of his Master."

"All the good works in the world are not equal to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because they are the works of men; but the Mass is the work of God. Martyrdom is nothing in comparison for it is but the sacrifice of man to God; but the Mass is the sacrifice of God for man."

"Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself".

"My little children, your hearts are small, but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer we receive a foretaste of Heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the souls and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun".

- St. John Vianney

Happy Birthday to my Uncle Manny and it is also the birthday of my late grandpa Manuel and my late uncle Pepe.

Saintly Quote

Thanks Sue.

We believe in the love of God for us. To believe in love is everything. It is not enough to believe in the truth. We must believe in love and Love is our Lord.

Saint Peter Julian Eymund (1811-1868)

Prayers for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Thanks Sue!
Source: Purgatory

Prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Lord Jesus, have mercy on the souls detained in Purgatory. It was for their salvation that you took on our human nature and suffered a most painful death. Have mercy on their burning desire to see you, have mercy on their tears of repentance. Through the merits of your Passion, remit the sentence they incurred by their sins.

Dear loving Jesus, may your Blood descend on those dear souls! May it shorten their time of atonement and may they soon be called to eternal happiness in your Presence! Amen.

A Prayer for The Holy Souls in Purgatory

O most gentle Heart of Jesus, ever present in the Blessed Sacrament, ever consumed with burning love for the poor captive souls in Purgatory, have mercy on the souls of Thy departed servants. Be not severe in Thy judgments, but let some drops of Thy Precious Blood fall upon the devouring flames. And do Thou, O merciful Saviour, send Thy holy angels to conduct them to a place of refreshment, light and peace. Amen.

Membership in the Catholic Church - A Great Privilege

"We can think of nothing more glorious, more noble, and more honorable than membership in the Holy Roman Catholic Church, by which we who become members of such a holy Body (the Mystical Body of Christ), are guided by one and so sublime a Head (Jesus Christ), are filled with one divine Spirit (the Holy Spirit), and finally are nourished in this earthy exile with one doctrine one same heavenly Bread until we are permitted to share the one eternal beatitude in heaven"

(Mystici Corporis).

I Have Learned

Thanks to Barb for sharing the following:

I've learned.... that the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I've learned.... that when you're in love, it shows.

I've learned.... that just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!" makes my day.

I've learned.... that having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I've learned.... that being kind is more important than being right.

I've learned.... that you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I've learned.... that I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.

I've learned.... that no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I've learned.... that sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I've learned.... that we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned.... that money doesn't buy class.

I've learned....that under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned....that when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned.... that love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned.... that the easiest way for me to grow spiritually is to surround myself with people more spiritual than myself.

I've learned.... that everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned.... that life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned.... that when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned.... that I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.

I've learned.... that one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I've learned.... that a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned.... that I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.

I've learned.... that when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.

I've learned.... that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

I've learned....that the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

Author Unknown (by me)

Tomorrow is the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Angels

Tomorrow is an important feast day for Franciscans. It is the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Angels of Portiuncula. The reason I am posting this today is to remind you that if you attend Mass at a Franciscan Church, you will gain plenary indulgence.

To learn more about this feast day, visit Catholic Tradition

Feast Day - St. Alphonsus Liguori

When we have to reply to anyone who has insulted us, we should be careful to do it always with gentleness. A soft answer extinguishes the fire of wrath.

Quote Source: Saint Quote of the Day

Feast Day - St. Ignatius of Loyola

Grant, O Lord, that my heart may neither desire nor seek anything but what is necessary for the fulfillment of Thy holy Will. May health or sickness, riches or poverty, honors or contempt, humiliations, leave my soul in that state of perfect detachment to which I desire to attain for Thy greater honor and Thy greater glory. Amen.

This is one amazing saint! It is only recently that I have taken the time to learn more about him. In so many ways, he reminds me of St. Francis of Assisi; maybe it was his conversion or his passion of love for Christ.

To learn more about the founder of the Society of Jesus, please visit EWTN

Happy Feast Day Fr. Dave!

Election Poll

H/T to Amy

Thoughts of a Regular Guy has an election poll on his blog that he would like you to answer. It has to do with what is the most important issue to you you when voting for our next president.

Poll Results and the Start of a New Question for the Month

The results to has your house been blessed?

Selection Votes
Yes 46% 44
Yes. It has also been enthroned to the Sacred Heart 19% 18
No. I don't think it necessary 0% 0
No, not yet. 11% 10
No, but I would like more information. 23% 22
I don't know what you are talking about. 1% 1

95 votes total

Holy Communion on the Tongue

Picture source: AciPrensa

A lighthearted look from a priest's perspective.

Both dentists and priests see a lot of tongues.

House Blessings

Picture source: Marianland Please check out their fine Catholic products.

This month's poll is coming to an end. It seems that a few of you would like more information on having your homes blessed.

First let me share with you our house blessing story.

Growing up, our home was never blessed. My mom didn't think that our house was neat enough or clean enough to invite the priest over for a house blessing. With five kids and many pets, my mom was probably right about the neatness factor. But that should not have been a deterrent for our home to be blessed.

My parents only recently had our family home blessed after 40 years of living there. I hope you don't wait that long. A good friend of the family, Fr. Ignatius blessed the home and my mom is so happy about that.

After being married our new home was a rental apartment in Hawaii. We were blessed to have an associate pastor, a Maryknoll priest, Fr. Tom Donnelly who offered to have each and every home belonging to the parishioners, blessed. He went down the line alphabetically.

When it was our turn, I jumped at the offer. My husband was at work that day so it was only Fr. Tom and me. He went from room to room (small as it was) and gave each of the rooms its own special blessing. Then he blessed me.

Afterwards, Fr. Tom and I had a nice lunch together.

Before adopting Joey, we had to move into a bigger place so we moved into another apartment but in the same building. I contacted Fr. Tom and he joked about making a habit of moving and just to get a new blessing. Ha ha.

Once again he came over and blessed our new place, room by room. We ended that day with a nice little lunch where we got to know each other a little better.

Finally, we were able to purchase our own home. By this time, Fr. Tom had been assigned to the Big Island and he couldn't bless our home. I contacted another good friend of our family, Fr. Anthony Pasquale, now deceased. Fr. Pasquale came over and blessed our new home just like Fr. Tom had. This time was a little different however. This time, we had a dog and a bird. Fr. Pasquale, not only blessed the home, room-by-room but also our family and our pets! Afterwards, we all sat down to a nice dinner with good conversation.

In addition, we had our home enthroned to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Initially, we performed this ceremony with my husband as head of the family, performing the ceremony. Later on, our friend Fr. Art Dwyer, blessed our enthronement when he visited.

I strongly recommend that if you have not already done so, that you contact your parish priest and make an appointment to have your house blessed.

I found a link through Living Catholicism which may be of further help to you, as well as a link to a House Blessing

If you have any more questions, please feel free to leave a comment or email me.

Feast Day of St. Peter Chrysologus

"Anyone who wishes to frolic with the devil cannot rejoice with Christ".

Prayer of Spouses for Each Other

Picture source, this site

Recently, our Hawaii Catholic moms' biggest concern has been keeping our marriages holy and strong. As you know, the family is always under attack by the devil. What better way to destroy a family but by starting on the foundation of the family, the husband and wife.

I offer the following prayer for all who are suffering attacks on their marriage, especially one family in particular who was brought to my attention by Easter:

Lord Jesus, grant that I and my spouse may have a true and understanding love for each other. Grant that we may both be filled with faith and trust. Give us the grace to live with each other in peace and harmony. May we always bear with one another's weaknesses and grow from each other's strengths. Help us to forgive one another's failings and grant us patience, kindness, cheerfulness and the spirit of placing the well-being of one another ahead of self.

May the love that brought us together grow and mature with each passing year. Bring us both ever closer to You through our love for each other. Let our love grow to perfection. Amen.

Prayer Source: Catholic Online