The Cat Came Back

Honey when we first rescued her as an abandoned kitten

After almost 4 months MIA, our pet Honey has returned to the fold. The prodigal cat is back home!

It was quite an adventure for our wayward kitty. She went missing the day after my birthday in December and found while my father was in the hospital a little over two weeks ago. (Note: She was actually brought home a couple of days ago.) My husband shared a detailed account with me on how he eventually got her home. Suffice to say, that he saw a wild cat transformed into the sweet and affectionate cat we knew, as soon as she got home.

There are a few people that need to be thanked.

First of all, I truly believe my dear ol' dad helped me get my cat back. He knew how heartbroken I was about her being lost. Now that he is able to help his loved ones, he didn't hesitate us recover our pet.

My husband also believes St. Francis' intercession had a hand in this small miracle. My sister who also firmly believes my dad helped us, reminded me that my father had a deep devotion to St. Francis, the patron saint of animals. He had a big garden statue of St. Francis in a prominent place in room.

It was my father and mother's love of animals that all of us inherited.

Okay, now for the people who helped:

- My friends like Betty, who knew Honey would be found. She shared with me a St. Martin de Porres connection one morning when she walked home from Mass. St. Martin de Porres is another patron saint of animals.

- My homeschooling friends who prayed for Honey to be found and continually asked about any updates.

- Our neighbors who actually went beyond the call of duty in helping us search high and low for this cat! Jon, Barbara, Takeo, Wyman, et al.

- The security guards all over town who couldn't have been nicer when we posted signs and asked them to keep an eye open for the krazy kat.

- The many people who called us when they saw our Lost Cat signs all over our neighborhood. The last one, actually paid off. It was a good thing we never dismissed any call even though it seemed like a slim chance it was Honey.

It was a feral cat colony caregiver who called us. She was sure this cat was different than the rest. She called because she saw the sign I posted in the area where she fed the cats.

- My family who commiserated with me.

I know I am forgetting many, many people for their help and I'm sorry about that. We are very appreciative though.

And, last but not least my husband Dan who suffered with me when we lost Honey. He actually felt my pain and prayed, prayed and never gave up hope.

He is the actually cat-lover in the family.

Mass and Adoration in Different Languages

Adoration - St. Stephen's Paterson, NJ

My mother and I attended Mass and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament which followed the celebration of the Holy Mass, at St Stephen's Church's chapel.

Fr. Dariusz K. reminded everyone that tomorrow is Divine Mercy Sunday and that today was the 9th day of the Divine Mercy Novena.

The pastor and sacristan are both Polish and this is a predominantly Spanish-speaking community of parishioners.

When I closed my eyes and listened to the prayers of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in the original Polish, I could almost hear the voice of our late Holy Father Pope John Paul II praying with us. What a beautiful language Polish is!

The Holy Mass and the prayers are often said in three languages: English, Spanish and Polish.

Today, I had the opportunity to pray the 9th day of the novena in Spanish. It may be because I had to pay more attention as I read it, but it really was more meaningful for me to read about the lukewarm souls in the Spanish language.

Daily Meditation - Easter Saturday

Painting of Our Lady and Saints in the St. Stephen's Chapel, Paterson, NJ

The next time I find a person struggling or in turmoil, I will offer to pray with them—or at least for them if they decline.

Regnum Christi Daily Meditation

Special Fine Art Friday Edition - Italian Earthquake in the Abruzzo Region Damages Art Treasures, Churches and Monuments

A fireman kisses a statue of a Virgin after it was recovered from the tower of a Baroque church destroyed during the earthquake
Firemen rescuing painting from a church destroyed in the Abruzzo region earthquake

Roman churches, funerary monuments and museums where artistic treasures are housed have been damaged in the Italian region affected by the earthquake. Even though the extent of the damage has not been calculated, David Rijser, an expert in Classic and Renaissance antiquities has tried to calculate the losses.

Artdaily Article

H/T Iconia

Daily Resolution - Easter Friday

I will do a significant but hidden act of charity to someone whom I find difficult to be with, perhaps even someone I consider to be my enemy.

Regnum Christi Daily Meditation

First Chapter - St. James

St. James the Apostle by Rembrandt van Rijn
James
Chapter 1


James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings.

Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it.

But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind.

For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.

The brother in lowly circumstances should take pride in his high standing,and the rich one in his lowliness, for he will pass away "like the flower of the field."

For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass, its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes. So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him.

No one experiencing temptation should say, "I am being tempted by God"; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one.

Rather, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers:

all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.

He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Know this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath,
for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.

Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.

He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like.

But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does.

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Source: USCCB

St. Padre Pio - Prayer After Holy Communion

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You.
Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without fervor.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light, and without You, I am in darkness.
Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.
Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You.
Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much, and always be in Your company.
Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.
Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I wish it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of Love.
Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes, death, judgment, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You. It is getting late and death approaches. I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!
Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers, I need You.
Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.
Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You, if not by Communion, at least by grace and love.
Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not merit it, but, the gift of Your Presence, oh yes, I ask this of You!
Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for. Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.
With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity.
Amen

Thanks to In Him We Live and Move and Have our Being for sharing this prayer.

SOUTH AFRICA: Prelate Concerned by Poor Eucharistic Practice

The Catholic archbishop of Johannesburg, Buti Tlaghale, has expressed his disappointment about poor Eucharistic practice among some priests and the faithful.

The Eucharist effectively makes present the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, yet there is evidence that some Catholics do not show faith in the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, Archbishop Tlaghale said in his homily on Holy Thursday.

“Many enter the church and do not make the sign of the cross with holy water. Many no longer genuflect; not even a bow that acknowledges the presence of Christ in the tabernacle,” the archbishop said.

He also noted that altar rails had been dismantled, making it no longer imperative for the faithful to kneel when receiving the ‘Body of Christ’.

“Our churches are like a market place before and after mass partly because we have moved the tabernacle to a separate room, or simply because we have lost the sense of the presence of the Holy. We have abandoned silence and a prayerful atmosphere in the church.”

The archbishop recommended that where possible the centrality of the tabernacle be restored and the practice of genuflecting and silence revived.

“Church law requires us to fast for an hour before the Eucharist. The chewing of gum during Mass is simply distasteful,” Archbishop Tlaghale further said.

“The taking of Communion to the sick often leaves much to be desired. Usually, Consecrated Hosts are distributed to lay ministers after Communion. And the priest asks: ‘How many?’ How many what? It does not sound like a language of people who recognise the presence of the Lord.”

Lay ministers carrying Communion to the sick often stop to chat with friends as they go. “At times they rush to do a shopping round before proceeding to the sick. It is not unusual for some to keep the Consecrated Hosts at home because they did not find the sick person or because on their return, they found the church locked.”

Archbishop Tlaghale encouraged the practice of priests praying with altar-servers in the sacristy before and after Mass, but regretted that “some sacristies are like a market place. No prayers are said.”

He challenged priests, as custodians of the Eucharist, to promote adoration and ensure that papal or Vatican documents on the Eucharist are well known by Christians.

“My strong plea to the priests: put these documents within the reach of your parishioners. Help us translate them into vernacular languages where necessary. This is one way of reawakening and increasing Eucharistic faith. This is the supreme treasure of the Catholic Church.”

Article written and copyrighted by Catholic Information Service for Africa

H/T Catholic Culture

For the Ultimate Pro-Life Statement, Don't Miss the Kurtz Family on EWTN's "Life on the Rock"

The following is from EWTN

What do you do if you’re Catholic couple faced with infertility? Rather than resort to in-vitro fertilization, in which many embryos are created and destroyed, Donna and John Kurtz of Coatesville , Pa. began adopting. They are now the parents of 21 children (17 adopted, four under their guardianship) from all over the world. To feed, clothe and house them – and others who need help – they’ve started a non-profit organization called “ Saint Joseph ’s House.” Hear their amazing story at 8 p.m. ET, Thursday, April 16 on “Life on the Rock.”

Michelle Laque Johnson
Director of Communications
EWTN Global Catholic Network

Picture of Archbishop Dolan

My friend in Hawaii Janina, shared this photo with me. She thought I would like it and she was right. She is so cute. She mentioned that her mom got very close to the Archbishop. As you can see by the photo, she did. Mahalo Janina and mom!