"To write is to think, and to write well is to think well," David McCullough once said in conversation. - - read this morning in an article by Peggy Noonan

Words to live by...

Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
.....Howard Thurman

Thanks to Happy Catholic!

just for fun...

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Words to ponder...

Dame Gertrude More, Spiritual Exercises

O lett me sitt alone, silent to all the world and it to me, that I may learn the song of Love.

Dame Gertrude More was the great-great-granddaughter of St. Thomas More.

Thought for the Day

Feeling is the tentacle we stretch out to the world of things

---Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism, ch. 3

Words to Ponder

I heard this today on EWTN:

Jump and the Lord will catch you.

This was Dr. Douglas Grandon talking about his journey from Anglicanism to Catholicism. You can listen to the interview on "The Journey Home" . I don't think this means we act irresponsibly, but rather that if we are seeking to follow the Lord, don't let our fear stop us.

I ran across this at The Anchoress. It's long, but worth reading:


I love this simple definition of grace from Dom Augustin Guillerand, O. Cart, a French Carthusian.

This is the secret of peace, after committing a fault. What is past is past. And if we accept the consequences, while bracing our will, we can be sure that God will know how to draw glory even from our faults. Not to be downcast after committing a fault is one of the marks of true sanctity, for the saint knows how to find God in everything, in spite of human appearances. Once your will is sincerely “good,” then don’t worry…
In all that we do, and at every moment, God has ordained an exact balance between what we have to do and the necessary strength to do it; and this we call grace. Our part is to bring ourselves into line with grace.
God uses all the horrors of this world for an infinitely perfect end, and always with an infinite calm. It is part of his plan that we should feel the blows and experience the wounds of life: but more than anything else he wants us to dominate them by virtues of faith, hope and charity, and so live on his level. It is these latter which will raise us up to him, and then we shall share in his calm, and in the highest part of our being.

If anyone in my family reads this, a copy of Dom Guillerand's book (link above) would be wonderful Father's Day or birthday present!

What's your score?

You are 100% educated in Catholic truths!

 

Wow! You are totally educated in the Catholic faith. A real genius! Have you thought of teaching the faith to others? Be sure to share your wealth of knowledge with those who need it.

Catholic Truths
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Miracles

Miracles are nothing other than God's ordinary truth seen with surprised eyes.
---Gerald G. May, M.D. Addiction and Grace

Some sobering thoughts for us procrastinators...

I just found this quote at a website called The Seanachai:

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.” — Goethe

So stop worrying about all those reasons it won't work or you can't do it---get started!!!

Check out The Seanachai while you are at it. His most recent podcast is a short reflection on the benefits of writing longhand.

A prayer for family

PRAYER FOR HOME AND FAMILY - Robert Louis Stevenson

Lord, behold our family here assembled. We thank Thee for this place in which we dwell; for the love that unites us; for the peace accorded us this day; for the hope with which we expect the morrow; for the health, the work, the food, and the bright skies that make our lives delightful; for our friends in all parts of the earth.

Let peace abound in our small company. Purge out of every heart the lurking grudge. Give us grace and strength to forbear and to persevere. Offenders, give us the grace to accept and to forgive offenders. Forgetful ourselves, help us to bear cheerfully the forgetfulness of others.

Give us courage and gaiety and the quiet mind. Spare to us our friends, soften to us our enemies. Bless us, if it may be, in all our innocent endeavors. If it may not, give us the strength to encounter that which is to come, that we may be brave in peril, constant in tribulation, temperate in wrath, and in all changes of fortune, and down to the gates of death, loyal and loving to one another.

As the clay to the potter, as the windmill to the wind, as children of their sire, we beseech of Thee this help and mercy for Christ's sake.

I just did!

I could survive for 1 minute, 47 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

Created by Bunk Beds.net

Can you beat this?

I could survive for 1 minute, 6 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

Created by Bunk Beds.net

Another Quiz!

You Are 36% Nerdy

You're a little nerdy, but no one would ever call you a nerd. You sometimes get into nerdy things, but only after they've become a part of mainstream culture.

How Nerdy Are You?

What condiment are you?

Here's mine:

You Are Ketchup

You are easy going and very measured in your approach to life. Popular and well liked, you get along with everyone. Seriously, everyone loves you! Your taste tends to be pretty mainstream American. You go for the classic favorites: burgers, fries, and apple pie. You get along best with mustard and mayonnaise personalities.

What Condiment Are You?

Click here to take the quiz!

What color should your eyes be?

Your Eyes Should Be Brown

Your eyes reflect: Depth and wisdom What's hidden behind your eyes: A tender heart

What Color Should Your Eyes Be?

I'm a cashew

You Are a Cashew

You are laid back, friendly, and easy going. Compared to most people, you have a very mild temperament. You blend in well. You're often the last person to get noticed. But whenever you're gone, people seem to notice right away!

What Nut Are You?

The meaning of life...

I found a couple of nice quotes at The Quote Garden :

He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. ~Friedrich Nietzsche


Life has meaning only if one barters it day by day for something other than itself. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

What children need...

I ran across this on Barbara Nicolosi’s blog, Church of the Masses, and I pass it along because I think it is absolutely true:

As an old nun told me once, "There are certain things that little kids need from Mommy and Daddy. When they don't get them, they spend the rest of their lives searching for them. "

Discuss among yourselves

Be a Hand-Bell Hero!

How's your co-ordination? Try your hand at hand-bell ringing here

I hope you can do better than I did.