If you are really looking for God, you will find Him

I don't know how everything works, and I don't know the answers to most questions, nor do I know what I am doing from one day to the next most of the time. I may have something planned but then something else comes up and enters in to change everything. I thank God that these are not usually emergencies. When they are unexpected blessings, though, I love it!

It used to be the case that I didn't understand that when things go sour, it does not mean that God's hand isn't in it. Happy things were attributed to God working in my life. But suffering is also used by our Lord. Jesus also suffered, and he asked for the cup to be taken away. Thinking about this during my times in praying the sorrowful mysteries of the Holy Rosary, I have come to understand that it was God's will for sorrowful things to happen in my life as well. Meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary must include a connection to our own lives. This is necessary for spiritual growth.

Be encouraged today to just keep on praying and amending your life to be more pleasing to God each day. Read the Bible. If you are lazy, put on EWTN to learn from, borrow a movie like "The Gospel of John" from the library, or listen to the Word of God through a CD. But daily get something somehow some way from the Holy Scriptures. When you pray the Rosary, you are praying the Gospel. So pray the Rosary every day.

Every Sunday Mass is a must. Make time for it no matter how many other things are pulling at you for your time. Even if you haven't "felt" anything, even if it is just to go and get it over with so that you have the rest of the day free for other endeavors, continue to go. Sometimes it seems like God isn't even there in the Church. Sometimes it seems like He has forgotten you. Maybe you have tried to find Him, but can't, there are so many beliefs, so many different religions. I can assure you of this, if you seek Him, you will find Him. He wants you to seek Him. He will reveal Himself to you as you are able to receive the truth. To some He can only do so a little at a time, and to others He can bring you close like a small child can sit right up on the lap of his or her father for interaction and love and affection.

Do not be afraid to risk feeling or looking like a fool. I have found that there are always people unwittingly listening to the evil one, who want to drag people along with them to indulge in sinful things. What are their opinions to you? You have to be true to yourself, to find God and live your own life. The truth is there for you, and you can study and learn all about God, and still not "know" Him. When you pray the Rosary, Mary, His Mother can best show Him to you, for she knows Him better than any other human being.



You were created unique and special. Your gifts, your talents, these are blessings that have been given to you by God, Himself, and as you begin to use them as God designed them to be used, to glorify Him, you will find that you will be given new and better friends. You will begin to see that you belong to a holy family of brothers and sisters who are not perfect but cultivate gardens of virtues in their lives that helps you to want to sin less and please our Heavenly Father more.

None of us has all the answers. None of us knows it all. None of us has all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. As the Scriptures say, we are all parts of His body, with Jesus being the head. All of us are important to the whole, and it is a mystery how everything works together for the good of them who serve the Lord.Think about it this way: Jesus chose to lay His life down for us to save us from sin and death. He prayed to our Father, not His will, but that of the Father be done, agreeing to do whatever it took to liberate us and save our souls. Jesus embraced what was going to happen willingly, always having in His power as the Son of God to say NO.

In His Paschal sacrifice, His death, what appeared to be a tragic ending, it was, in fact, the ultimate victory. God will likewise use all of our sufferings for the benefit and value of His redemption plan. Trust Jesus. He did not come to condemn the world, He came to reconcile us to God. You don't have to understand how it all works, but it does.

Terrorist attempt in Times Square thwarted by the Virgin Mary?

Our Lady of Fatima, our Holy Mother wants us to return to God, to pray, and to do penance. Some Catholics have a regular devotion to our Blessed Mother. She requested that we pray the Rosary on the 1st Saturdays of the month of 5 consecutive Saturdays. There is more that she asked of us, but at least more and more Catholics a little at a time, have begun to pray. http://www.shrineofsaintjude.net/home1211.html

Praying the Rosary is more powerful than you can image. All the same, I'm about to imagine, and I'll do so right here. May 1st was the 1st Saturday of the month of the first apparition of Mary in Fatima in 1917 to 3 shepherd children. Typically the first Saturday of each month is also when pro-life Americans participate in prayer vigils across the nation at abortion clinics. The Catholic faithful are out there praying the Rosary.

I have no way to guess about the numbers, but all around the world there was a tremendous amount of prayer that was happening on Saturday and Sunday, depending upon time zones, with Marian groups and Apostolates, pro-life warriors being there at the preborn human killing places, and all these Catholics were praying the Holy Rosary as Mary requested.

In addition, Saturday and Sunday are the days that Christians of all denominations are praying at their Churches, too, both Catholic and Protestant believers in Jesus. Considering all of the concentrated public and private prayer that was going on for these 2 days, I believe it is very possible that the reason that the IED did not go off and kill anybody in the failed terrorist attempt in Times Square Saturday night is because of our Blessed Mother.

It is the first thing I thought of. And it wouldn't be the first time that she has done miracles even concerning battles and war. http://catholicism.org/mary-of-victory.html In my opinion, this makes more sense than anything else. And since others are getting credit for doing a good job in their part in saving many innocent people who were out enjoying the spring evening, I want to say, "Thank you, Blessed Mother. I love you!"

Here's a little something to help you learn to pray the Rosary: The mystery-of-the-Resurrection-of-our-Lord-Jesus-Christ

Are you living the message of Fatima...

The Vaccine War

If you are a parent, you'll want to have all of the available information out there to educate yourself about the possibility of childhood immunizations being linked to autism and neurological disorders and health concerns like asthma. The Vaccine War will be on tonight (4/27/10) and I recommend watching PBS Frontline for this reason. In Denver it will air at 9pm, but check your local listing to be sure, or it seems you can also view it online as of today.  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/vaccines/?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=proglist&utm_source=proglist

From the preview available at that link, it looks like the parents might not get a fair shake in the report, but we shall see. There may not be any discussion about the cells of aborted babies that have been used in the creations of vaccines, either. http://www.immunizationinfo.org/issues/vaccine-components/human-fetal-links-some-vaccines In the meantime, here are just the initial arguments for and against the vaccinations that have been given in the debate.

Fathers and mothers experience having a child without any characteristics of autism, yet following the administration of childhood immunizations, the child presents as though a different person, withdrawn, flapping hands, lack of social interaction, non-verbal communication, and other autistic descriptions.

Many scientists and doctors claim that there are no conclusive studies to prove that autism is linked to vaccines.

Parents have sued and won big money in court over autism that they claim resulted from vaccinations.

Pharmaceutical companies have a lucrative stake in the vaccines.

There are also concerns by society, including living amongst those without childhood immunizations.

Some important questions are:

Why isn't the government studying the possibility, rather than dismissing any possible connection with mercury and other potentially harmful substances? What is causing this explosion in numbers accounting for 1 in 150 births being on the autism spectrum? What are the results and the conclusions of studies that have been done, who did them, what is the significance, and who funded them? Is this another case similar to the global warming hoax that liberals imposed upon us world-wide while silencing honest scientists with valid views that differed from theirs? What are the risks and benefits of childhood vaccinations concerning my own children? Are there alternatives to those shots in question?

That's just a starting point for me. I know I'll be watching The Vaccine War tonight for some answers. From what I've been reading, even the flu shots are suspect. Let's get to the truth, I have no agenda, I have kids.

Vaccinations, abortion & fetal tissue--cause of autism?

Blogger The Badger Catholic posted something extremely important and upsetting that I want all parents to read about, since most of us take our children to the doctor to have them vaccinated. If I didn't know about this, I doubt a lot of other parents have heard this information. I appreciate this horrifying info and I'm passing it on:  http://badgercatholic.blogspot.com/2010/04/which-vaccines-contain-aborted-babies.html

Having worked for several years as an assistant teacher of students with severe and profound special needs, autism is one area of the field that has been of special interest to me. Tens of thousands of parents have suspected that childhood shots are responsible for the cause of autism. This has to do with mercury and the video included in my post explains more. There are about 1 in 150 kids who have been diagnosed with autism. There have been some investigations, but my experience is that generally doctors assure us that they doubt the vaccines are causing autism. At this point, that is a matter of pure opinion.

The parents just might be right. Human body parts, mercury, or a combination of both very well could have an adverse effect on children. Something is causing the numbers to skyrocket. We may soon discover that abortion doesn't end at killing preborn children, but is also the ingredient for disabilities in the little ones who have escaped legal murder in the wombs of their mothers.

Michigan Right to Life brings us the details on the research and some available pro-life vaccine alternatives...

Vaccines, Abortion & Fetal Tissue

For several years now, information has circulated among prolife groups and individuals regarding the development of very common vaccines through the use of tissue taken from aborted babies. While initially the reports and information were not conclusively documented, further detailed research by several prolife groups has provided direct proof of a connection between aborted fetal tissue and most vaccines. That connection, and its implications for whether prolife citizens should consider using the vaccines, raises some complicated issues. In sorting through those issues, this LifeNotes will address the basic science involved, the documentation of the abortion-vaccine connection, the moral/ethical questions about using abortion-tainted vaccines, and information about available alternative vaccines.

U.S. Produced Vaccines from Aborted Cell Lines

Disease	Vaccine Name	Manufacturer	Cell line (fetal)
Polio	Poliovax	Aventis-Pasteur	MRC-5
Rabies	Imovax	Aventis-Pasteur	MRC-5
Hepatitis A	Havrix	Merck & Co.	MRC-5
Hepatitis A	Vaqta	Glaxo/SmithKline	MRC-5
Hepatitis A-B Combo	Twinrix	Glaxo/SmithKline	MRC-5
Smallpox	Acambis 1000	Acambis	MRC-5
Chickenpox	Varivax	Merck & Co.	MRC-5/WI-38
Measles, Mumps, Rubella	MMR II	Merck & Co	WI-38
Mumps-Rubella	Biavax II	Merck & Co	WI-38
Measles-Rubella	MR-VAX	Merck & Co	WI-38
Rubella only	Meruvax II	Merck & Co	WI-38

 U.S. Produced Alternative Vaccines
(There are no U.S. alternatives for Chickenpox, Rubella, Hepatitis-A)

Disease	Vaccine Name	Manufacturer	Cell line
Polio	IPOL	Aventis-Pasteur	Monkey kidney
Mumps	Mumpsvax	Merck & Co.	Chick embryo
Measles	Attenuvax	Merck & Co.	Chick embryo
Rabies	RabAvert	Chiron Therapeutics	Chick embryo
Smallpox Hepatitis B	Acambis 2000 Engerix, Comvax	Acambis-Baxter Glaxo/Smith/Kline, Merck	Monkey kidney Yeast

http://www.rtl.org/prolife_issues/LifeNotes/VaccinesAbortion_FetalTissue.html

Here's a little plug for Mother Angelica's birthday

Mother Angelica has done a great service for Catholics world-wide by creating EWTN. April 20th is her birthday, so I just couldn't let this day end and get any sleep before giving her this special birthday gift. Enjoy...and be transformed...

 There are so many wonderful programs on EWTN that help to build your faith. Faith formation is something that every single one of us needs and with the variety of programming on this channel, you are sure to find several programs that are not just rich in Catholic teaching, but are personally interesting and appealing to you. If you haven't yet forced yourself to be a viewer there, you are really missing some excellent opportunities to grow in your faith.

The Daily Mass is repeated several times from early in the morning until late at night, so you can be a part of it sometime each day, at least turn the volume up while you wash the dishes to hear the Liturgy of the Word and the homily. Regularly there are programs on that teach the Catholic faith by way of interviews with converts who recount their research and experiences, through faithful Catholic priests and theologians who share what they have studied, and with reruns of the ever-humorous Mother Angelica taking questions from callers and explaining practical and heavenly things from God's perspective from the Holy Word of God and our Catholic Catechism as naturally as it is to have a bite to eat.

One thing that was a huge help for me to begin to gather the family together to pray the Rosary together daily is that twice a day Mother Angelica leads the devotion to our Blessed Virgin Mother praying along with her nuns. In fact, this is where I learned how to pray the Rosary, and so can you. Don't worry if you don't have a rosary yet, I didn't have one when I first prayed the Rosary. You may also enjoy praying the devotion in a different context, perhaps from the Holy Land, they've got it, too, EWTN Holy Land Rosary with Father Mitch. The Holy Rosary and The Divine Mercy Chaplet are wonderful devotions and please our Lord and our Lady of the Trinity very much. Most of us know that we should be praying more. Having EWTN on encourages the viewer to have a life of prayer and to better reflect Jesus in our lives.

Bob and Penny Lord feature the lives of the saints while traveling to historical places and presenting their wealth of research just as if they are friends with each of them. And why not? I've found that saints are some of my best friends. Why not find out about them. They will enrich your life tremendously in so many ways.

Saturday mornings are a great treat for children. Tune in and see why. It wasn't an easy change for my kids at first to have EWTN on Saturday morning, but several months later they were asking me to wake them up to see their shows if they didn't wake up on their own. I confess I love a couple of those programs, especially The Knights of St. Michael.

Dramatic presentations and musical talent are included in the lineup, along with programming directed toward our youth, combining the serious with fun. Raymond Arroyo never fails to provide vital interviews while providing news that is of importance to faithful Catholics. Programming for women is smart, intelligent, warm, and informative. Watch a couple of these and you'll be quite surprised that strong women of faith are not dull and brainless. And yes, there is great programming that is geared toward men. Young or old there is something on EWTN for you. So check it out.


If you already enjoy EWTN and learn a lot, please remember them with some funds. Thanks.

Happy birthday, Mother Angelica :) Thank you for your obedience to God and love for souls.

The Rosary held in the hands of my dead mother

Yesterday while praying the Rosary along with Mother Angelica and the nuns on EWTN, at the end of the Mystery of the Transfiguration, as I contemplated on being transformed into the image of Christ, I remembered something from long ago. I'd like to share it here.

Someone had placed a rosary into the dead hands of my mother for a proper Catholic funeral, an adornment that I had never seen her pray with. The whole family and friends of my mother came to the funeral home to pray the rosary. That is the first time I ever heard that prayer. I doubt I was the only one who did not even know to contemplate on the mysteries as we prayed the prayers over and over. I assumed this was to help my dead mother in some Catholic funeral ritual of some superstitious nature. Before my mother's burial, I believe I was given that rosary. I did not know it was anything other than a token for remembrance of my dead mother.

After Mom was buried, I never saw anyone in my family ever pray the Rosary again, either. Nor did any priest or nun tell me to pray the Rosary even though I was searching for God, had a lot of questions, and was even ripe for becoming a nun myself. Neither did they suggest this devotion to me for myself or for my deceased parent even as I questioned them about where my mother might be since she had killed herself.

There are so many ironies connected to that memory that I experienced yesterday that I am not going to get into here. But there is something very important that I want to say.

Like many other Catholics, I have a rosary hanging from my rear-view mirror in my car. Yet a rosary is not a decoration. It is not meant to be put into a corpse's hands. It is meant to be for the living to run to and use as a holy weapon of spiritual warfare. Better still, it should be always handy in a pocket, ever ready, as a knight is not w/o his sword nor a soldier w/o his weapon on the battlefield. Use that rosary, pray the Rosary, and pray it often, every day.

If you would like me to help you to learn about the Holy Rosary please contact me or leave me a comment and I will help you. How many years has my mother been suffering in purgatory because there was nobody to pray for her? I do not know. Pray for the poor souls in purgatory. Like me, you may have never been told that you can pray for your deceased loved ones. Now you know. So pray for them.

I sought a close-up picture of a rosary in the hands of a corpse to go with this post. And can you believe it, out of 365 days, this post and the first and best photo that I could find is this one that accompanies this entry. It is a picture of St. Bernadette. And as I looked for information about who is in the picture, I read that today is also her feast day. Yes, it just "happens" to also be her feast day on the very day I publish this entry. And you don't believe in miracles? What, do you think that this is a coincidence?  Think again.

Prayers for Kayleah Wilson's safe return

"Kayleah is described as 5-foot-1, 145 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a white and pink shirt over a white tank top, blue jeans, and white and red shoes. Kayleah has been missing since March 28,2010 3:40 PM

"The 12-year-old girl left her home Sunday afternoon to go to a friend's birthday party and never arrived. She didn't show up at the pick-up location, and she hasn't come back home..." It has now been 2 weeks since her disappearance from Greeley, Colorado.

Michelle Thompson of Greeley, created a cause group at http://www.facebook.com/ called "Prayers for Kayleah Wilson's Safe Return". It is here that the world-wide community has come together to help find missing Kayleah Wilson. The photo and the information about Kayleah as quoted above is available at the facebook group page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=search&gid=110710275614207

At this point, there are over 4000 members who belong to this group. People have joined the group from all across the country and from Canada. Posts include information, news, updates, hopeful possible clues or tips, and a whole lot of support and prayer. There are now 54 helpful links included, with one being from The Greeley Tribune, which has been regularly reporting on missing Kayleah.

At the present time (Saturday, April 10, 2010) there is an active community search being led by The Friendswood Texas-based Laura Recovery Center for Missing Children. If you are at least 18 years of age, you can still participate, as this event will continue again tomorrow, Sunday, April 11th. Details can be found on the facebook group site.

Anyone with information about Kayleah's whereabouts is asked to call 1-800 225-5324. 

More info on the Kayleah Wilson case here: http://www.amw.com/missing_children/case.cfm?id=72088

A prayer vigil was held last night. Those who attended did so not out of a sense of loss, but in prayerful hope and expectation for Kayleah Wilson's safe return home. In reading the posts on the group wall, the message is clearly positive and collectively encouraging and affirming. Please pray for Kayleah and her family. Along with the many other courageous and prayerful voices, this examiner says: Kayleah, your family loves and misses you, and we want you home safely soon. 

For Kayleah and her family, here is a song with a message of hope... "there's a light at the end of this tunnel, hold on."

This post is an exception to my blog posts and my column posts not being identical. The reason I have done this is because the article is important, we need to pray for and find this missing child. The original is here: http://www.examiner.com/x-4317-Denver-Roman-Catholic-Examiner~y2010m4d10-Prayers-for-Kayleah-Wilsons-safe-return