Vatican Seeking Spiritual Moms for Priests

Oh! This is just up my alley!!!

And Dioceses Willing to Offer Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican Congregation for the Clergy is looking for people willing to offer Eucharistic adoration for the priesthood and "consecrated feminine souls" ready to become spiritual mothers of priests.

A new Web site from that Vatican dicastery offers explanations and resources both for the campaign to begin Eucharistic adoration and for those who would like to be spiritual mothers of priests, following the example of the Virgin Mary.

ARTICLE FROM ZENIT

Decorating Fr. Duffy's Place for Christmas

Here are some photos.
We started with the lights first on Fr. Duffy's real tree. No artificial tree for him.
Here is my friend decorating the tree.

After the blessing we usually get from Father at the end of our visits

2nd Week of Advent

Loving Father, let me always remember that your Son reveals His Presence in every single detail of my life.

May I always cling to this Presence
From the Advent Magnificat Magazine.

Spiritual Help

from Regnum Christi

Conversation with Christ: “What do you ask most, Lord, of a poor guilty sinner except repentance and self-abasement for personal sins? For true contrition and a humble heart bring forth the hope of forgiveness, the troubled conscience is reconciled, and the grace that was lost is recovered and a person is secured against the wrath to come. God and the penitent soul meet together with a holy kiss” (Thomas à Kempis, Imitation of Christ, Book 3, Chapter 52, 4).

Resolution: I will make an act of kindness today towards a person whom I hold a grudge against or whom I have a hard time being with.

Praying Advent as Parents

H/T to Sue of Half the Kingdom

It is a special privilege and a tremendous challenge being a parent and Advent is a wonderful season to reflect upon this mystery. Because it is a season of hope, we can bring our children into our Advent prayer, holding them up to the Lord in love and in trust - in the loving hope that only faith can give.

Click Here for more

Advent Wreath for the Second Week of Advent

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Fulton Sheen Radio - New Addition to Side Bar

I found this wonderful site last night. You can listen to Archbishop Fulton Sheen on their Fulton Sheen Radio, which you can add directly to your blog or website.

FULTONSHEEN.COM

Feast Day of San Juan Diego

I actually made the slide show for the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe this coming Wednesday, but since Saint Juan Diego's feast day gets lost in the Sunday celebrations, I thought I would share it now:

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception with Saint Joachim and Saint Anne Circa 1638 - 1640, Francisco de Zurbarán

The Virgin Mary appears on a pedestal of cherubs' heads above a crescent moon, bathed in golden light. The figures below are her parents, Saints Joachim and Anne. The subject of the Immaculate Conception refers to the Virgin's own miraculous conception in her mother Anne's womb, not to the conception of Christ. It was a popular subject in Seville, but the inclusion of the Virgin's parents is unusual. Since Saints Joachim and Anna were particularly venerated by Carthusian monks this painting may have been made for a Carthusian monastery. There is, however, no other evidence to confirm this.

Source: The National Gallery of Art

The following is from St. Michael Center for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Please be sure to visit their site for more prayers, novenas, etc.

On December 8, the Catholic church celebrates the Solemnity of Immaculate Conception of Mary- the patronal feast of the United States. It is one of the few Holy days of obligation on the Church calendar -- that is, all Catholics are obligated to attend Mass on this day. As this feast occurs early in Advent, it is a perfect time to consider Mary and her important role in the celebration of Christmas.

The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a solemn dogma declared by Pope Pius IX in 1854 which proclaimed that Mary was conceived free from the stain of original sin. This privilege of Mary derives from God's having chosen her as Mother of the Savior; thus she received the benefits of salvation in Christ from the very moment of her conception. This great gift to Mary, an ordinary human being just like us, was fitting because she was destined to be Mother of God. The purity and holiness of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a model for all Christians.

"The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.”
-Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854.

The Immaculate Conception Prayer

Prayer for a Holy Life

Virgin Immaculate,
Mother of God and my Mother,
from your throne in heaven
turn your merciful eyes upon me.
With full confidence in your goodness and power,
I beg you to help me in this journey of life,
which is strewn with dangers for my soul.

I entrust myself completely to you,
that I may never be the devil's slave through sin,
but may always live a humble and pure life.
I consecrate, my heart to you forever,
since my sole desire is to love your divine Son Jesus.
O Mary,
since none of your devoted servants has ever perished,
let me too attain salvation.

From New Saint Joseph People's Prayer Book, Catholic Book Publishing