Please pray for Anna Jean!

This just came in from a Catholic friend and fellow writer. Please pray for this amazing girl who desparately needs prayers. I am leaving a couple of names out for privacy reasons...

"To my prayerful friends all over the world,

I need prayers, desperately, for a 14-year-old who lives down the street. Her name is A.J. (Anna Jean) xxxxxxxxxx. A month ago, she fainted while away at camp, her face then began to fill with fluid, her kidneys later began to fail. She was in Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago for a couple of weeks, was diagnosed with Wegener's Disease (Google it), and then was to begin Cytoxan (a heavy chemo drug) to try and stop the disease promptly. As a precaution, she had an MRI to be sure that her heart would be strong enough for the drugs, They found a mass. She had open heart surgery... on top of dialysis regularly, heavy drugs, another surgery to build up her nose with tissue from her hip because the Wegener's had deformed the nose, and so on.

A.J. has never complained. Not once. I cannot tell you how beautiful, kind, compassionate, amazing this girl is. We are so close with her and her family that they are the people with whom we celebrated my "10 years cancer-free" ... in Italy. A.J. has also been my mother's helper and then babysitter for the last three years. I love this girl as if she were my own.

She came home from the hospital last Thursday and all looked good. She went out to dinner with family, requested that I make her spaghetti carbonara on Friday, and then she started to feel sick again. She knew she would need dialysis three times a week for a couple of months until they regulated medications, but now she couldn't breath. Turns out her lungs were filling up with fluid. Back in CMH. Then, they found air in her abdomen, leaking from one lung. Now her heart is enlarged and is not working well at all. She is fighting for her life. Those were the words used last night... fighting for her life.

I need all of my prayer partners, all over the world, to storm heaven for A.J. Her mom is Sue, dad is Al, younger sister in Amy and older sister in Allie. They all need your prayers. They've personally asked me for prayers and I promised that I would contact all of you. Thank you for getting on your knees. The world needs this girl, and more girls like her, safe and healthy and inspiring the masses.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

Go on over to "Embracing Motherhood"

Check out "Embracing Motherhood" (the button is in the right column) to see more news on the Vatican Congress.

Entering the New Year with Hope, Grace, and Prayer

You can check out my New Year article at Catholic Exchange today.

Mother and unborn baby need prayers!

I received this today from a Pro-life friend. Please take a moment to read about this expectant mother who feels that she has to abort (kill) her unborn baby a few days before Christmas!

***

Dear Friends of the Unborn,
I am copying this email below to ask for urgent prayers for this little soul who is in danger of abortion on Friday. A good woman from my church sent it to me. She received it from one of her family members I believe who is good friends with the woman who is contemplating abortion. This is NOT one of those bulk email chain letters but is from a very reputable source that I know personally. For those of you who can fast along with pray please do. And for those who can go before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament to plead for this soul thank you!
God bless,
Mike and Kerry




Dear Family and Friends,



Please take a minute to read this email and pray for my friend. I won’t give you her name for her sake, but she is having an abortion on Friday the 21st. PLEASE pray that she won’t go through with it. She found out last week that her baby will be born with Down syndrome and apparently the doctors and her family have led her to believe that “terminating” her pregnancy is the right thing to do. Not only am I sad for the child, but sad for her b/c the psychological ramifications will haunt her for years. I’ve put her in touch with a woman we found yesterday who founded ‘Reece’s Rainbow’ which is a Georgia-based ministry for saving Down syndrome children- they have 200 families, paper-ready, to adopt Downs children.



Below is my friend’s email, which she sent out yesterday to over 100 of us who have taken her exercise class:



“To my pregnancy:

In my age group I had a 1:86 chance for Trisomie 21(Down Syndrom) and this time we were the unlucky ones..I'll have the DNE(similar to DNC)done Friday afternoon. It's sad and I wish I could change it, but hopefully the next time I won't be the 'unlucky winner'. It makes us appreciate even more what we've got with Andy, family and friends!”



Please pray today and tomorrow for her and for the soul that is about to be killed. Please pray for our efforts to interrupt her decision, and please pray for our culture that seems to think it is okay to broadcast a decision to kill a life so casually.

Let's not forget that today is the feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary!

Here are some beautiful words by Saint Augustine about Mary:

"The blessed Mary certainly did the Father's will, and it was for her a greater thing to have been Christ's disciple than to have been his mother, and she was more blessed in her discipleship than in her motherhood. Hers was the happiness of first bearing in her womb him whom she would obey as her master." -St. Augustine

When Mary was only three years old, she was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem by her parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne. (We celebrate their feast day on July 26.) Mary's whole life was to belong to God. He had chosen her to be the Mother of his Son, Jesus. The Blessed Virgin was happy to begin serving God in the Temple. And St. Joachim and St. Anne were pleased to offer their saintly little girl to God. They knew that God had sent her to them. In the Temple, the high priest received the child Mary. She was placed among the girls who were dedicated to prayer and Temple service. The high priest kissed and blessed the holy child. He realized that the Lord had great plans for her. Mary did not weep or turn back to her parents. She came so happily to the altar that everyone in the Temple loved her at once. St. Joachim and St. Anne went back home. They praised God for their blessed daughter. And Mary remained in the Temple, where she grew in holiness. She spent her days reading the Bible, praying and serving the Temple priests. She made beautiful linens and splendid vestments. Mary was loved by all the other girls because she was so kind. Mary tried to do each of her duties well, to please God. She grew in grace and gave great glory to the Lord.

"Button" for "Embracing Motherhood" blog

If anyone would like either of the two buttons of the images in the right hand column of "Embracing Motherhood" for their own blogs, just let me know and I'll send you the code. You may write to me at DMCooperOBoyle(at)aol(dot)com.

Fr. James's Sunday Homily

We are Sinners

Time-lapse photography compresses a series of events into one picture. Such a photo appeared in an issue of National Geographic. Taken from a Rocky Mountain peak during a heavy thunderstorm, the picture captured the brilliant lightning display that had taken place throughout the storm's duration. The time-lapse technique created a fascinating, spaghetti-like web out of the individual bolts. In such a way, our sin presents itself before the eyes of God. Where we see only isolated or individual acts, God sees the overall web of our sinning. What may seem insignificant to us and passes with hardly any notice taken, creates a much more dramatic display from God's panoramic viewpoint.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit He saves. The Lord redeems the lives of his servants; no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him” (Psalm 34: 18, 22).

What is sin? Man calls it an accident; God calls it an abomination. Man calls it... (Continued here.)

Fr. James's Sunday Homily

An unknown Confederate soldier once wrote this prayer: “I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked God for health that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for--but everything I had hoped for... Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am among all men most richly blessed”.

This Sunday’s Gospel narrative reminds us that we are to trust in God and be close to him through a life of prayer.

Prayer is very powerful. A number of years ago research at San Francisco General Hospital has revealed that victims of heart attack, heart failure and other cardiac problems who were remembered in prayers fared better than those who were not. Cardiologist Randy Byrd assigned 192 patients to the "prayed-for" group and 201 patients to the "not-prayed-for" group. All patients were in the coronary intensive care unit. Patients, doctors and nurses did not know which group patients were in. Prayer group members were scattered around the nation and given only the first names, diagnoses and prognoses of patients. The researcher said that the results were dramatic. The prayed-for group had significantly fewer complications than the unremembered group. And fewer members of the former died. The latter group was five times more likely to develop infections requiring antibiotics, and three times more likely to develop a lung condition, leading to heart failure. (Continued here)

Pope Benedict to announce a consistory to create new cardinals

Vatican City, Oct 16, 2007 / 03:10 pm (CNA).- Sources at the Vatican have informed CNA that Pope Benedict XVI will announce during tomorrow’s General Audience that he will convene a consistory to create new cardinals in November.

Currently there are 105 cardinals under the age of 80 that are a part of the College of Cardinals, which leaves 15 vacancies to reach the normal total of 120. This month the former Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano and the American cardinal Edmund Szoka will both turn 80, bringing the total number of open spots to 17.

The candidates considered likely to receive the red hat are the Archbishops of Sao Paulo, Odilo Scherer; París, André Vingt-Trois; Washington DC, Donald William Wuerl; Warsaw, Kazimierz Nycz; and of Genoa, the current president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference—Angelo Bagnasco.

According to traditional Vatican practice... (Continued here)

Tune in to "Mom's Corner" Tuesday morning!

Tune in tomorrow morning at 9:15 AM Eastern Standard Time to hear the newest segment of my Mom's Corner" with Teresa Tomeo on "Catholic Connection" on Ave Maria Radio. We will be discussing a timely and urgent topic for parents regarding our "tween age" and teen age girls and the pressures on them from our culture. Join us and feel free to call in with a question or comment. You can listen in at this link from your computer!

Do we hear His voice today?

"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.

"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the Lord who made us.
For he is God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock
he guides.

"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."

"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. (Psalm 95)

***

Do we hear our Lord's voice today? Is He calling us through our spouses and our children? Is He speaking to us through our neighbor who wants ten minutes of our time (when we are in a hurry) to vent about a problem, hoping for a loving response? Is our Lord calling us through our duties in our household that sometimes seem to loom over us with a burdensome pressure? Is He calling us in the workplace to smile at those around us - to love those who ridicule our faith? Is our Lord asking us for ten minutes of our time to retreat to our hearts to truly listen to Him? Is our Lord asking us to meet Him in the Blessed Sacrament where He waits for us; wanting to shower us with His love and blessings and tremendous peace? Is our Lord perhaps calling us to reach out to the lonely around us, allowing His love to shine through us to transform their hearts and bring them closer to Him? Where is our Lord calling us? Do we dare ask Him?

St. Faustina Kowalska

From Catholic Culture:
"St. Faustina Kowalska, Virgin
Saint Faustina was born in the 20th century, and canonized in the year 2000. Jesus chose her to deliver to the modern world a message as old as eternity. It is the message of his love for all people, especially sinners. Jesus said to Faustina, "Today I am sending you with my mercy to the people of the whole world." It is his desire to heal the aching world, to draw all people into his merciful heart of love.
On February 22, 1931, Jesus appeared to Faustina as the King of Divine Mercy. He asked her to have a picture painted of him as she saw him — clothed in white, with red and white rays of light streaming from his heart. The rays represent the blood and water that flowed from the side of Jesus on the cross. Under the image are the words, 'Jesus, I trust in you...'" (Continued here.)

St.Francis of Assisi

Click here to HEAR beautiful music from St. Francis Mass.

"Father, you helped Saint Francis to reflect the image of Christ
through a life of poverty and humility.
May we follow your Son
by walking in the footsteps of saint Francis of Assisi,
and by imitating his joyful love.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever."
(the Opening Prayer for today's Mass)

from Catholic Culture:
"St. Francis (1182-1226) was born and died in Assisi. He was the son of a rich merchant, Bernardone, received a good education, and in the beginning followed the ways of the world. He was taken prisoner in the battle between the Assisians and Perugians, and after his release decided to abandon everything for Christ. His father became extremely displeased at his action, and disinherited him. In 1220 he founded a new order which in ten years numbered five thousand brothers. His followers were called Friars Minor because they were to consider themselves as the least among religious. Out of humility Francis never accepted the priesthood but remained a deacon all his life. He had a great love for God's creatures and called them his brothers and sisters. His ardent love of God merited for him the name of Seraphic." (read more here.)

Reported "Miracle" can be evidence of Mother Teresa's Sainthood

Kohima, Oct 3, 2007 / 09:57 am (CNA).- An Indian priest who worked with Mother Teresa believes she has miraculously interceded to heal him. If the claim is accepted by the Vatican, his evidence could prove her sainthood.

Father V.M. Thomas, a 56-year-old Salesian priest based in the northeastern Indian town of Guwahati, was inexplicably healed of a painful ureter stone the day before he was to undergo surgery. The details were related in a letter he wrote for the dossier of the investigation into the canonization of Mother Teresa.
(Read the story here)

The Pope pays a visit to Secret Archives and defends the work surrounding Pius XII

From Catholic News Agency:

Vatican City, Jun 25, 2007 / 09:35 am (CNA).- On a visit to the Papal Library and the Vatican’s Secret Archives this morning, Pope Benedict came to the defense of those whose work involves the case of Pope Pius XII. Accusations have been made by critics of the World War II era pope, in particular by the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, that the archivists have withheld incriminating documents.

The charges frequently leveled against Pope Pius XII include anti-Semitism and having aided Hitler. However, none of the charges has ever been substantiated.

The critics of the pontiff requested that Pope John Paul II open the secret archives from the reign of Pius XII before the normal period of secrecy ended so that they could prove their case. The late Holy Father granted permission to open the archives early.

Read entire article here.