Warren Zevon and Baptism of Desire

H/T to Julie D, the Happy Catholic for the link to an article posted by Of a New Springtime regarding the late Warren Zevon's biography.

Even though the only song I am familiar with and actually love is Werewolves of London, I have been fascinated with this artist for a long time. I hope you find the blog entry as interesting as I did.

Poll Closing and New Poll Coming Up

Thanks to all of you who took the time to vote in our little survey. The results are as follows:

Selection
Votes
Prominently center, behind the Altar 50% 77
Either to the left of right of the Altar 38% 58
In a separate room, e.g. Adoration Chapel 8% 12
In the back of the Church 3% 4
I'm still looking for It. 2% 3

154 votes total

Okay, the last one worries me a tad. I hope you three were kidding.

Please vote in our new survey/poll regarding house blessings.

Eucharistic Prayer

O Jesus, my love, truly present in the Holy Eucharist, I adore you. Dear and gentle Jesus, I love You and I thank You for the gift of Your self in this Sacrament of Love; The Holy Eucharist.

I offer to You my heart and the love which it contains, little as it is, to make up for the ingratitude of so many. For centuries You have remained in the Blessed Sacrament for love of us. May all hearts burn with love for You.

Merciful Heart of Jesus, hear the prayers we humbly bring before You (here mention your petitions). From this Holy Sacrament may Your light and Your peace shine forth into the darkness of all sin. Jesus, You are my love and my all. Have mercy on us and on the whole world. Amen.

Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us.

Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Source: 1996 Queenship Publishing Prayer card., Santa Barbara, Ca. 800-647-9882

Books I Currently Reading

We were in Borders the other day and we were happy to see they carried our Holy Father's book Jesus of Nazareth. By being a homeschooling family, we got a discount on it.

BTW, I got first dibs on it :-)

Although I am only on the second chapter, I am really enjoying learning about Jesus from Pope Benedict XVI's perspective.

The other book I am reading, I picked up at a garage sale at a Synagogue the other day. I am a fan of Isaac B. Singer's books which usually consist of short stories. The Family Moskat is a novel which follows a Jewish family in Poland all the way until the persecution of the Jews during World War II. I expect this book to be a little different from what I usually read by Singer but so far, it is a very good book.

I also started reading the biography on St. Josemária Escrivá. It is translated from the original Spanish into English. I think I would prefer to read it in the original Spanish.

If you could recommend one book to read this Summer, what would you recommend? Please leave your choice in the comment section. Mahalo.

Spotlight - New Catholic Website - News

I received the following email from the founder of Pewsitter

Pewsitter is a unique Catholic news web site that was launched earlier this year.
We are based in the U.S. and the preponderance of news on the site is from the U.S,
we do feature Catholic related news from around the world.

The news on the site comes from two sources. The main source is from the conventional secular and Catholic press. We scour the news every day and put on Pewsitter those stories about the Catholic Church, faith, religion and the important moral and spiritual struggles of the day.

The second news source is the Catholic lay faithful. The concept behind the site is to enlist an army of "pewsitters" to be the eyes and ears for Pewsitter - hence the name. By submitting newsworthy items to Pewsitter, the laity can help shape and influence the Church and be a powerful force for positive change.

Pewsitter's initial focus will be on the national and international news on its home page. Its mid term objective is it to feature the Catholic news of the day within each of the 189 Catholic dioceses throughout the U.S

We would very much appreciate your assistance in getting the word out about Pewsitter.
Here are several ways in which you can help us:

1. Place a link to our site, from your site, in a prominent place
2. Send an email to any opt-in email lists that you might have, encouraging other
faithful Catholics to go to the site and to begin to use it.
3. Volunteer to assist us with this endeavor
4. Keep us in your prayers.

Thank you in advance for your assistance. I know as a faithful Catholic, you will do what you can to assist us with this apostolate- and for that we are grateful. Would you kindly get back to me and let me know if you can assist us by putting a link on your site.

May God bless you.

Regards,

James Todd
Founder, Pewsitter

p.s. Below is some suggested linking information.

Site: Pewsitter

Linking Text: The Online Catholic Newspaper of the Third Millennium

Description: The Online Catholic Newspaper of the Third Millennium
featuring news content provided by YOU! Tell us what's going on within
your local parish or diocese by submitting a news item and we'll share it
with the world. Support the Pope and the Church by combining your voice
with thousands of other faithful Catholics.

Feast Day of Sts. Peter and Paul

Painting by El Greco

Novena to Sts. Peter and Paul

O glorious Sts. Peter and Paul, filled with compassion for those who invoke you, with love for those who suffer, heavily laden with the weight of my troubles, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present need under your special protection...(mention here).

As disciples of Christ and the first pastors of the early Church you both knew disappointment and suffering. Lead me out of my troubles as you have so many to Christ our Lord. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace to one day meet God Face to face, and with you and Mary and all the angels and saints praise Him through all eternity.

O most powerful Sts. Peter and Paul, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of winning my way to heaven.

Amen

Regarding the Motu Proprio

I'm sure by now you are familiar with what is expected on July 7th.

Please read Fr. Martin Fox's post on it. I think he makes some pretty good points.

Why St. Josemaria Escrivá Altered the Spelling of His Name

Picture source: CEDEJ

Since visiting my parents, I have a developed a growing interested in St. Josemaría Escrivá. My mom mentioned a little anecdote about his name and I'd like to share it with you.

It seems that his original name was Jose Maria Escriva. The word "escriba" pronounced without the accent at the end of the word, means "scribe". His classmates would taunt him and his sister with "scribes and pharisees" and this would embarrass little Josemaría. His father told him to never put up with these affronts to their family name and that stuck with him.

It was around 1928 that he added the accent mark to the end of his surname on the "v" so that no one would write Escrivá without the accent mark or with a "b". It no longer meant "scribe".

It should be noted that in Spanish, the "v" and "b" are pronounced the same so it is easily understood why people would make that spelling error when writing the Escrivá name.

Source: The Founder of Opus Dei: The Life of Josemaría Escrivá: Volume I: The Early years by Andrés Vásquez de Prada

For the Help of the Sacred Heart

Photo of the Sacred Heart statue taken at St. Stephen's Catholic Church, Paterson, NJ.

For the Help of the Sacred Heart

Take away, O my Jesus, the blindness of my heart, that I may know Thee; take away the hardness of my heart, that I may fear Thee; take away the coldness of my heart, that I may resist everything that is contrary to Thy will; take away its heavy, earthly sluggishness and selfishness, that I may be capable of heroic sacrifice for Thy glory, and for the souls whom Thou has redeemed with Thy own most precious blood. Amen.

From the Prayer Book, The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, IL

Yo Reinare - I Shall Reign

This photo was taken at St. Stephen's Church, Paterson, NJ

Many of you may recognize the statue of the Divine Child Jesus of Colombia. Mother Angelica has helped make devotion to the child Jesus a popular devotion worldwide.

Divino Niño Jesús:
Tengo mil dificultades: ayúdame.
De los enemigos del alma: sálvame.
En mis desaciertos: ilumíname.
En mis dudas y penas: confórtame.
En mis soledades: acompáñame.
En mis enfermedades: fortaléceme.
Cuando me desprecien: anímame.
En las tentaciones: defiéndeme.
En las horas difíciles: consuélame.
Con tu corazón paternal: ámame.
Con tu inmenso poder: protégeme.
Y en tus brazos al expirar: recíbeme.

Amén.*

"Divine Child Jesus,/ In my difficulties: help me/ From the enemies of my soul: save me/ In my errors: enlighten me/ In my doubts and pains: comfort me/ In my solitudes: be with me/ In my diseases: invigorate me/ When others despise me: encourage me/ In temptations: defend me/ In difficult hours: strengthen me/ With your paternal heart: love me/ With your immense power: protect me/ And, into your arms, when I die: receive me. Amen."

Source: Rorate Caeli Blog

The Madonna Through Art - Project Gutenberg

Bouguereau.—Madonna of the Angels. He also painted the Madonna in this blog's header.

While looking for a specific picture of the Blessed Mother, I came across an interesting online book. The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Madonna in Art, by Estelle M. Hurll. This link is being added to my sidebar.

Saintly Quote - The Blessed Sacrament

"When you approach the Tabernacle, remember that He has been waiting for you for twenty centuries."...St. Josemaria Escriva'

John Paul II - Cause for Beatification and Canonization

H/T to my mom.

Recently my mom received Holy cards with relics of Pope John Paul II. They are beautiful little cards suitable for framing, which one of my sisters did.

If you would like to donate to this worthy cause and in turn receive a relic card,"ex indumentis" just visit Causa di Beatificazione e di Canoinizza

Be a Part of the 40 Days for Life Campaign

Coming this Fall:



In 40 days you can:

Dramatically reduce abortions in your community...
Mobilize hundreds of new pro-life volunteers...
Help post-abortive women find healing...
Generate prominent pro-life news coverage...
Make LIFE the most important issue in elections.

For more information visit 40 Days for Life

Thanks to Blogging, I WonTwo Contests in a Row!

First let me start off by telling you that I never win anything. Seriously, I don't win contests, competitions or even board games. I do enter and compete for the mere fun of it.

It came as quite as a surprise to me that I won two Catholic mom blogging contests. One in May and one in June. How about that!!!

The newly created Catholic Moms Online sponsored a contest for the new members. As a new member I was automatically entered to win a lovely photograph/art work of Our Lady by the owner Angie. Guess what? I was one of two winners! Angie mailed me the very beautiful picture. I can't wait to get home and frame it.

Early this month, Danielle Bean organized a raffle to benefit St. Gianna's Home for Unwed Mothers. Many generous moms donated prizes for this worthy cause. One of them was Barb S of SFO Mom. Barb generously donated a year's subscription to Faith and Family. As you may already know, this is a great magazine for Catholic families. In fact, Danielle is their editor!

Well, guess what? Danielle and Barb informed me that I had won the magazine subscription! How wonderful is that?

So, thanks kind ladies for the opportunity to win these lovely prizes. They are sure appreciated!

A Prayer for Families

Picture source, Catholic Art Be sure to check out their other lovely Catholic pictures in their online store.

Prayer to St. Joseph
Patron of Families

Saint Joseph, please obtain God's grace and protection for my family and for all families.

Make our home safe and pure, the kingdom of Jesus and Mary - a sanctuary of peace, joy and love. Your protection is greatly needed today because God's enemies are trying to desecrate and destroy the family.

While on earth, you saved the Child and His Mother. So today protect our families and make our homes sanctuaries of prayer, love, patient sacrifice and work.

May they be modeled after you own at Nazareth. Remain with us with Jesus and Mary, so that by your help we may obey the commandments of God and of the Church, live a life a prayer and foster religious instruction in our homes. Save us from the evil that surrounds us, and grant us the grace of going to Heaven to eternally live in the company of the Holy Family.

From America Needs Fatima prayer card.

Update: It appears Ebeth of A Catholic Mom Climbing the Pillars had children on our minds yesterday. Please be sure to read her post.

NJ Man is Oldest New Priest

Picture source: Jim Pathe - The Star Ledger, May 18, 2007

Carmen Buono, who turns 69 today, is the oldest new Catholic priest in the country.

ARTICLE