Feast of St. Monica

Picture source

Patroness of Mothers

Prayer to St. Monica

Exemplary Mother of the great Augustine,
you perseveringly pursued your wayward son
not with wild threats
but with prayerful cries to heaven.
Intercede for all mothers in our day
so that they may learn to draw their children to God.
Teach them how to remain close to their children,
even the prodigal sons and daughters
who have sadly gone astray.

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

Newly Published Bio on WAF Co-Founder John Haffert

WAF HI blog has the details

Modesty of Dress and Love of God

Here is another good article on the topic of modesty of dress:
Modesty of Dress and Love of God

Immorality in Fashions and Destruction of the Family

Garb that does not show a person’s self-respect as an intelligent and free being (and, through baptism, as a son or daughter of God and a temple of the Holy Ghost), contributes to a large extent to the present destruction of the family. It does this by favoring temptations against purity. It also does this by its vulgarity and childishness that corrodes the notion of the seriousness of life and the need for ascesis (self-discipline), all of which are fundamental elements that maintain family cohesion and stability.

The struggle for the restoration of the family by opposing abortion, contraception, and homosexuality will be much more effective if done together with efforts to restore sobriety, modesty and elegance in dress.

Prayer for Peace of Mind (Padre Pio)

Kneeling at your feet, Sweet Mother of God and Queen of Peace, I, your loving child, confidently turn to you in my need, seeking your intercession for peace of mind and comfort in my troubled heart. (Hear mention your petitions)

O listen to me, dearest Heavenly Mother. Come to my aid and refuse me not as I cry to you. For you are my Mother, and you fail no one who has recourse to you, O Consoler of the afflicted, O Queen of Peace. Amen

Shared by Fr. Vince I.

Music Video - God and dog

The video can be seen at Prayers for Our Pets

What Makes Women Happy in their Marriages?

Read it here Do you agree? Could you add anything to the list? I think the list pretty much summed it up for for me.

H/T Colleen Hammond

The 13th Day - New Fatima Movie

The 13th Day

Based on the memoirs of the oldest Seer, Lucia Santos, and many thousands of independent eye-witness accounts, The 13th Day dramatizes the TRUE story of three young shepherds who experienced six interactive apparitions with a “Lady from Heaven” between May and October 1917, which culminated into the final prophesized Miracle.

Source Thanks for the video Tito!

How To Be Miserable

Bold emphasis is mine.

How To Be Miserable
by Fr. Pius Sammut, OCD.

The smallest package in the world is a person wrapped up in himself! "I gave a small party this afternoon. It was very small, just three guests - that's all. Me, myself, and I. Myself ate all the cookies while me drank all the soda. It was also I who ate the pie and passed the cake to me."

Narcissism is repulsive. The Russian born Vladimir Nabokov, well known author of rather notorious novels, was a collector of butterflies and moths. One evening he returned from his day's excursion announcing that during a hot pursuit of butterflies near Bear Gulch he had heard someone groaning distressingly down by the stream. When asked the obvious question "Did you stop?" he answered "No, I had to get the butterfly!" The next day the corpse of an aged surveyor was discovered in what has been renamed, in Nabokov's (dis)honor, "Dead Man's Gulch."

And arrogant. Upon losing a game at the 1925 Baden-Baden tournament, Aaron Nimzowitsch, the great chess theoretician, knocked the pieces off the board, jumped on the table and screamed, "How can I lose to this idiot?" Another chess player had the nerve to say, "When I am white, I win because I am white - white moves first and so has a distinct advantage - when I am black, I win because I am Bogoljubov.".

The truth is that all of us are infected by this sickness. As someone put it, "There are two kinds of egotists: Those who admit it, and the rest of us." The Irish dramatist Oscar Wilde was expressing a feeling we all have, when he uttered, "Come over here and sit next to me, I'm dying to tell you all about myself". It is always about me!

At a social gathering, a woman was rather frank stating, "My husband and I have managed to be happy together for 20 years. I guess this is because we're both in love with the same man."

When British actor Michael Wilding was once asked if actors had any traits which set them apart from others, his answer was revealing, "Without a doubt," he replied. "You can pick out actors by the glazed look that comes into their eyes when the conversation wanders away from themselves." This happens not only to actors!

Going through a sports magazine, once I read an observation that a football player once made on his coach, the legendary Vince Lombardi winner of the NFL championships many times! "When you entered Vince's office, you could not help noticing a huge mahogany desk with an impressive organization chart behind it on the wall. The chart had a small block at the top in which was printed: "Vince Lombardi, Head Coach and General Manager." A line came down from it to a very large block in which was printed: "Everybody Else!"

If you want to be miserable, this article claims, just "Think about yourself. Talk about yourself. Use 'I' as often as possible. Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others. Listen greedily to what people say about you. Expect to be appreciated. Be suspicious. Be jealous and envious. Be sensitive to slights. Never forgive a criticism. Trust nobody but yourself. Insist on consideration and respect. Demand agreement with your own views on everything. Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them. Never forget a service you have rendered. Shirk your duties if you can. Do as little as possible for others."

English author, C. S. Lewis, pointed out once that when people become Christians, if they are not careful, their sinning often shifts from the overt, outward, visible sins of lying, cheating, stealing, cursing and swearing, to the more inward, hidden, non-apparent invisible ones ... and among them he lists "a critical spirit" ... a spirit of being judgmental, a censorious attitude. So prevalent is it in churchly circles, that it is sometimes labeled "Christian cruelty". All this comes from this me-attitude, this persistent self-absorption.

This is why Jesus Christ therapy is so healthy. "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." And again, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?"

When Mother Teresa was passing through a crowd in Detroit a woman remarked, "Her secret is that she is free to be nothing. Therefore God can use her for anything." Gosh, what an insight!


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(c) Fr. Pius Sammut, OCD. Permission is hereby granted for any non-commercial use, provided that the content is unaltered from its original state, if this copyright notice is included.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cincarm/message/12326

Question on Modesty for My Readers

Reader Elizabeth had a question regarding the The Forgotten Virtue - Modesty in Dress and in particularly another article she read Skirting the Difference: What's Wrong with Women Wearing Trousers

...This is the location of an article that I read and it interested me. I also read your article and comments on the "The Forgotten Virtue: Modesty of Dress" article.

I was hoping you could help me with I question I gained from reading the first article.

"Women often say they wear slacks because they are more comfortable or convenient for getting in and out of cars, warmer in winter etc., and shorts because the weather is hot (but it is even hotter in Purgatory!). But with a little of the ingenuity and resourcefulness for which women are famed, a judicious combination of articles of apparel can be chosen from among the contents of a woman’s wardrobe to enable her to wear skirts for many occasions – windy days and sub-zero temperatures, cycling, hiking and riding side-saddle, for instance – all without the need to wear trousers. There are some sporting activities which cannot be done in a skirt and so must be out of bounds for women. Sacrificing convenience and freedom is not easily done, but if a more restricted life-style for the sake of modesty and propriety is the path of greater holiness, it is also potentially one of greater sacrifice and will bring its rewards in increased graces."

The whole idea of feminine modesty is very enthralling to me and this paragraph in particular sparked my interest. The only thing is that the author did not go into detail about how these "judicious combinations" can be created. I was hoping that you could help me use my "ingenuity and resourcefulness" so I may become a better example to others.

I have replied to Elizabeth but I want to see what my readers have to say on this topic. I offered to pose her question here. Please feel free to comment.

Thank you.

Queenship of Mary

Prayer to Mary, Queen of the Home

O Blessed Virgin Mary,
you are the Mother and Queen of every Christian family.
When you conceived and gave birth to Jesus,
human motherhood reached its greatest achievement.
From the time of the Annunciation
you were the living chalice
of the Son of God made Man.
You are the Queen of the home.
As a woman of faith,
you inspire all mothers to transmit faith
to their children.

Watch over our families.
Let the Children learn free and loving obedience
inspired by your obedience to God.
Let the parents learn dedication and selflessness
based on your unselfish attitude.
Let all families honor you
and remain devoted to you
so that they may be held together by your example and your intercession.

Amen.

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


EWTN's Queenship of Mary