Retreat Recap

Thank you for showering my husband with prayers this past weekend! Your prayers worked and he came home truly "filled" with extra graces and faith. The boys and I attended the closing ceremony at the retreat, and it was so touching to see such a Spirit-filled group of men! It was also fun to watch the men giving countless hugs to each other as it was time to say good-bye. I don't think Paul has ever been hugged so much in his whole life! For those of you who know my husband, he grew up in a house full of brothers, so hugging is a bit out of his comfort zone :) I am so thankful that Paul said "yes" to this opportunity to grow in his faith and to seek Christian fellowship with other men. He will probably join a prayer group/bible study with a group of the guys, and I think that will help all of them to keep fanning the flames of faith that they received at the retreat. As Jesus said: "I have come to set the world on fire and how I wish it were already ablaze!" (Luke 12:49) Thank you, Lord, for filling my husband with the fire of Your love!

P.S. Now all of you can start praying for me, as I make the Women's Curcillo Retreat this coming weekend! :) I am really looking forward to it and I hope it fans the flames of my faith as it did for my husband.

Cursillo Retreat

My sweet husband is attending a Catholic Men's Retreat (called "Cursillo") this weekend. The Scripture theme for the retreat is "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3:10) Please help me cover my husband in prayer...that he grows closer to Christ and can hear that still small voice that will help him see God's will and purpose in his life in a deeper way. Thank you!

Recent Eucharistic Miracle

I just came across this amazing article in the National Catholic Register, the most widely read Catholic newspaper, and thought it was worth sharing. I find myself completely awed that the God of the Universe loves us so much that He continues to give us not only His Holy Spirit to guide us, but also His body and blood to feed us (John 6:52-58). In 2003, Paul and I were able to see a Eucharistic miracle in Orvieto, Italy which dated back to the 13th century. Apparently, the priest celebrating the Mass was having doubts about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and when he raised the host in the air, it started to bleed! There are over 130 documented and scientifically studied cases of Eucharistic miracles. The one mentioned in this article below is the most recent I've heard of. The book called "Eucharistic Miracles" by Joan Carroll Cruz is an inspiring collection of many of the most famous Eucharistic miracles. As Catholics we believe that Jesus is always present in the Eucharist, but it's such a blessing when He gives us miracles to help us believe more fully (He must know our human nature so easily doubts! Just like Thomas, we sometimes need to see to believe.) These miracles are beautiful reminders that Jesus is truly present in our world today and wants to fill us with His love and His Real Presence. Thank you, Jesus!

If reports from Poland are true, an alleged Eucharistic miracle that took place a year ago may have merit. According to a Polish blog, the Metropolitan Curia of Bialystok has announced the results of the investigation of an Ecclesial Commission appointed by Archbishop Edward Ozorowski on March 30, 2009.

Father Andrzej Kakareko, Chancellor, writes that on Oct. 12, 2008, a consecrated host fell out of the hands of the priest distributing holy Communion. The priest picked it up and placed it in the vasculum in the tabernacle. After Mass, the vasculum and its contents were transferred to the safe in the sacristy. Seven days later, after opening the safe, a red stain was seen on the host. Ten days after that, the vessel with the host was transferred to the tabernacle in the chapel of the rectory. The next day, the host was removed from the water and placed on the corporal in the tabernacle.

On Jan. 7, 2009, a sample from the host was sent to the University in Bialystok for analysis. According to two medical professionals, professor Maria Sobaniec-Lotowska and professor Stanislaw Sulkowski, the sample, in their opinion, most resembled the myocardial (heart) tissue of a living organism.

While unusual in this day and age, the Church has a long history of Eucharistic miracles. The Vatican International Exhibition’s “Eucharistic Miracles of the World” documents more than 130 worldwide miracles of the Eucharist, demonstrating that Jesus Christ in the Eucharist — body, blood, soul and divinity — continues to make his presence manifest at unique times and places in history.

Perhaps the most famous and well-known, is the Miracle of Lanciano, which occurred about A.D. 750. It bears repeating, as it closely resembles the alleged Polish miracle. During Mass, the celebrant doubted the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. During the consecration, the host transformed into flesh and blood. Subsequent investigations confirmed the authenticity of the human tissue. An investigation, as late as 1970, found the flesh to be cardiac tissue and the blood to be type AB.

Full article: http://www.ncregister.com/daily/eucharistic_miracle_2009

A Night of Sacrifice

Last night was one of those nights of parental sacrifice. Child #1 woke up in the middle of the night coughing every 3 seconds and needed medicine and extra TLC. Paul was gone on a work trip, so I (stupidly) let Coughing Child snuggle in bed with me. Once he finally stopped coughing on me (an hour or two later), he started snoring so loud that I got evicted out of my own bed. My brain must not fire on all four cylinders in the middle of the night, because I (stupidly) decided to camp out on the floor in the hallway between all three rooms, thinking that was the perfect place to be able to hear any of the children if they woke up. In case you were curious, the floor is no longer comfortable after you turn 30. Did I forget to mention that Child #2 and Child #3 also woke up sometime after my eviction too? One needed to pee, the other had a bad dream. I told Bad Dream Child, "Sorry, my bed's already taken. Go tuck yourself in your own bed again." Apparently, sleeping on the floor sucks all the compassion right out of ya. I might seriously need a nap today, in my own soft, comfortable, bed.

40 Days for Life Miracle

I just had to share this amazing email I received today from the National Director of 40 Days for Life... It is miraculous, it is encouraging, it gives me hope that we may be seeing the beginning of the end of abortion!


"With man this is impossible, but with God all thingsare possible." -- Matthew 19:26

I've known about this for the past few weeks, but nowI can finally share the HUGE NEWS! The director of the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Bryan/College Station, Texas -- where 40Days for Life first began -- has resigned her job,experienced a profound conversion, and joined our pro-life efforts. AMAZING!

Here's what happened ... Abby Johnson worked at Planned Parenthood in Bryan,Texas for eight years. She was there when the first-ever 40 Days for Life campaign was conducted outside of her workplace in the Bryan/College Station community in 2004. She was there for the next 40 Days for Life effort aswell -- the one that helped to launch the first nationally coordinated 40 Days for Life campaign in the fall of 2007. And she was there for the one after that, and the one after that, and the one after that -- and the one after that! In fact, Abby was able to look out the window of Planned Parenthood and see 40 Days for Life campaigns on six different occasions -- as well as the regular year-round prayer presence organized by the local Coalition for Life, under the leadership of our own 40 Days for Life campaign director Shawn Carney. For all those years, people outside the clinic prayed for Abby. And with all those prayers, Abby finally had a change of heart. She said, "Over the past few months I had seen a change in motivation regarding the financial impact of abortions," she said, "and I reached my breaking point after witnessing a particular kind of abortion on an ultrasound." She quit her job and went across the street to the headquarters of the Coalition for Life where Shawn has been helping her over these last few weeks. Fox News just reported on Abby's conversion, stating: Abby Johnson, 29, used to escort women from their cars to the clinic in the eight years she volunteered and worked for Planned Parenthood in Bryan, Texas. But she says she knew it was time to leave after she watched a fetus "crumple" as it was vacuumed out of a patient's uterus in September. "When I was working at Planned Parenthood I was extremely pro-choice," Johnson told FoxNews.com. But after seeing the internal workings of the procedure for the first time on an ultrasound monitor, "I would say there was a definite conversion in my heart ... a spiritual conversion." Johnson said she became disillusioned with her job after her bosses pressured her for months to increase profits by performing more and more abortions, which cost patients between $505 and$695. "Every meeting that we had was, 'We don't have enough money, we don't have enough money — we've got to keep these abortions coming,'" Johnson told FoxNews.com. "It's a very lucrative business and that's why they want to increase numbers."

Read the whole story (and see Shawn with Abby) at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571215,00.html Abby finally saw the truth. The truth which Planned Parenthood often tries to hide -- even from its very own management staff. She left on good terms, and says that Planned Parenthood tried to offer her more money to stay. "But this was not about money or me being angry," she said. "It was about my change of heart on abortion." Planned Parenthood has responded by going to court to seek a restraining order against both Abby and the Coalition for Life. The requested court action warns against disclosing any "confidential information." An initial court hearing is set for November 10, so please keep Abby, Shawn, and the Coalition for Life in your prayers. Seeing is believing, and you have to see this video report aired by KBTX-TV in Bryan/College Station: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=502

Abby's amazing conversion demonstrates the importance of a constant, persistent, peaceful prayer presence in front of abortion facilities. From that first campaign in 2004, we've prayed forAbby -- and for all abortion workers -- that they would come to see what abortion really is, and that they would leave the deadly business. In this case, those prayers have been answered. We are so proud of Abby's courage to leave the abortion industry and publicly announce her reasons for leaving. And now a familiar face has been seen praying outside Planned Parenthood in Bryan/College Station duringthe final days of this fall's 40 Days for Life --yes, Abby Johnson. God can and will do amazing things -- if only we ask! We must continue to pray and fast for more conversions just like Abby's. In fact, we WILL continue. In the days ahead, you'll learn how -- together -- we will keep this amazing momentum growing. In all, eight clinic workers left their jobs during the 40 Days for Life campaign that just ended -- and reports are still pouring in from across the 212 participating cities, so it could be even more! I have another updated total for you as well. The number of babies (and their moms) spared from abortion during this campaign is now up to ... 542! Praise God for ALL these miracles!

For Life, David Bereit
National Director40 Days for Life

A Holy Halloween!

Our family tradition of celebrating All Saints Day instead of the secular Halloween holiday is becoming more fun every year! We are so thankful that the school our boys attend also believes in focusing on "things above" rather than "things below!" The K-2 grades dress up as saints and give saint reports to the large group of families who come to the Fall Festival party at the school. The kids learn so much about a myriad of saints, and hopefully it plants seeds in their hearts to imitate those holy saints. After all, we are all called to be saints! On Halloween evening, we invited other Catholic families to join us at our house to celebrate the saints with us. We began the party by praying a traditional Litany of the Saints, asking for their intercession to help us grow closer to Christ. After our meal, the kids played three fun saint games: Pin the Halo on the Saint, Throw the Halo on the Saint, and the St. Therese's Drop Roses Game. Prizes were awarded to the winners (and the losers), and then the kids beat the tar out of some unsaintly looking pinatas that the boys and I made. We may not believe in trick-or-treating, but we still believe our little saints deserve some fun and sugar :) Here are some photos of our "saintly" family and friends at our All Saints Day celebration. I love having holy fun!

Here is Joseph, dressed as St. Hubert the hunter-turned-bishop, with some other saintly friends at the school Fall Festival

Here is our adorable Dominic dressed as St. Francis. Dominic loved being covered with his favorite stuffed animals, just as St. Francis loved preaching to the animals who surrounded him

Here is our ivory-skinned Michael dressed as the dark-skinned St. Juan Diego, the saint who received the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on his tilma

Here is my truly saintly husband dressed as St. Padre Pio, the saint who received the stigmata and many other miraculous gifts to bring others closer to Christ

Here I am trying to look like St. Elizabeth, the wealthy queen of Hungary who often gave bread to the poor, but when the King tried to stop her, the bread miraculously turned into roses and caused her husband to become a Christian

Here is Joey C. playing the St. Therese Drop Roses game. His rose landed closest to the picture of St. Therese, so he won 1st prize

Here is Grace, dressed as Blessed Mother Teresa, playing the Throw the Halo on the Saint game

Here is Agnes, dressed as St. Bernadette, very gently tapping the Black Widow pinata, just as the timid St. Bernadette probably would've done

Here is Michael smashing the pinata in a not-so-saintly-fashion

Here is Joseph, dressed as St. Hubert, with the remains of the deer pinata on his head. I was shocked to see the bright shining "cross" between his antlers, just like the real story of St. Hubert and the stag. It is said that St. Hubert was hunting on Good Friday rather than attending Mass, and just as he was about to shoot the giant stag it turned to face him with a shining cross between his antlers and said, "Hubert, unless you turn from your sinful ways, you will surely go to hell." St. Hubert quickly converted after that experience and eventually became a bishop.

Good, holy fun had by all...

all for the greater glory of God! :)

A Doublely Blessed Day

Today was a day of DOUBLE blessings! First, those praying at our Planned Parenthood this morning were blessed with a visit by Fr. Benedict Groeschel, a very holy man of God who is well-known for his preaching on EWTN, a Catholic television station. He is also well-known for his pro-life convictions, and he truly put those convictions to practice today by braving the bitter-cold Montana weather (in his Friar Tuck sandles no less!) to pray with other vigilers for an end to abortion. Today was the scheduled abortion day at Planned Parenthood, so his prayerful presence gave all of us renewed hope, on a day that is usually clouded with despair. Fr. Benedict encouraged us with these words: "Keep up the good fight and don't loose hope. After all, Mother Teresa said that we are not called to be successful, only to be faithful. God will do the rest."

Later in the day we received a second huge blessing. Hundreds of 40 Days for Life participants had been praying for young local woman who was receiving pressure from her boyfriend to abort their baby. Today, we received the exciting news from the young girl's mother that her daughter has decided to choose life for her child! That is our first confirmed local save in our town! Even though the save did not occur at the abortion facility, I truly believe it was because of the outpouring of prayer from the 40 Days for Life participants that helped the young girl make the right choice. All we did was faithfully prayed, and God did the rest. That's what 40 Days for Life is all about. And blessing upon blessing is the result. Today, my heart is overflowing with gratitude and hope!