— 1 —  This Week’s Post:  Find out what happened with Mr. Almost Right in this week’s post: But Not Enough ~ Continued!  May you be blessed!

— 2 —  Father Greg Shaffer:  If his name sounds familiar then that is a good thing!  He is the priest from George Washington University who is being accused of being a Catholic priest with Catholic beliefs that line up perfectly with the Catechism!  However, two gay students are “mobilizing to have him removed.”  Damian Legacy and Blake Bergen, say they have left the Newman Center in the last several years because “Father Greg Shaffer’s strong anti-gay and anti-abortion views are too polarizing.”  Here are some of the quotes from the University paper:

“….but when you see the faces of the people you’re turning away, you see the people who say ‘Oh, I would go to church all the time, but I don’t like Father Greg.’ …..”

“….And while Legacy said he is now more comfortable with both his sexuality and his religion, and has since become an ordained priest in the Old Catholic Church in October….”

Soooo Damian is now a gay priest in the Old Catholic Church.  What the heck is the Old Catholic Church, I thought?  Oh, of course. Schism.

Please go here and support Father Shaffer!!

–3–  Father Greg Shaffer:  Will be at our Church tonight!  A few years ago Father Greg Shaffer started a basketball team of priests and seminarians called DC ‘Hood (as in priest-HOOD) that would offer to play parish teams in order to promote vocations and show another side of parish priests. The team has been a huge success playing at a variety of parishes in the Archdiocese of Washington. At each game there is a talk at halftime where a priest or religious sister talks to the young people present (as well as their parents) about their call. Although the ‘HOOD doesn’t always win (but actually does most of the time), it’s always a great event for families and the promotion of vocations.  My family went last year and we plan to go tonight.  I will try my best to get a picture of Father Shaffer for next week’s 7QTs!

–4–  Sunday’s Mass Readings:  Weren’t they beautiful! Acts of the Apostles Chapter 5 “We must obey God rather than men.”  “They left rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name (of Christ).”  Revelation Chapter 5  “Worthy is the Lamb to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing”  John Chapter 21 “It is the Lord!!”  “Even though there were so many (fish) the net was not torn.” (I read that the fact that the net was not torn was an indication that the Church must remain schism-free. One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church) 

–5–Spotlight on:  Morgan from Follow and Believe wrote a post called “You Are Just Fine.” In it she shares the difficulties of being single when everyone else seems to be getting married and people often ask her when she is getting married.  I loved this part of her post:   “You are not broken. You are not lost. You are not left behind.”

She gave me a sweet shout out too. 🙂 Thank you, Morgan.  You are more than just fine!  And, oh my goodness, you are so, so, so young!!  I look forward to following your journey!

–6– The Journey Home:  This week’s The Best of The Journey Home episode was with Dr. Thomas Howard and his wife Lovelace.  Dr. Thomas Howard was raised in a prominent Evangelical home.  His sister is well-known author and former missionary Elisabeth Elliot.  Dr. Howard became Episcopalian in his mid-twenties and then entered the Catholic Church in 1985 at the age of fifty.  I could not find the YouTube video of the episode but boy is he smart! And Lovelace is wonderful!

I remember reading his books back in the 90’s, including “Evangelical is Not Enough” and “On Being Catholic.”  I highly recommend these books for those of you who are feeling sleepy about your Catholic faith.  As a convert, he shows us what we sometimes take for granted about being Catholic.

I met Elisabeth Elliot back in the 90’s when she was a speaker at a Catholic Charismatic Renewal Conference.  I followed her around until I was able to say hello and thank her.  She was, as expected, extremely gracious.  Her book, Passion and Purity was a life line for me and many other girls.

–7–  Our Computer:  Remember last week I shared that our computer had something wrong with it?  Well, it was a serious problem.  But, Gregg somehow fixed the computer and recovered all my files (including my book) and all our photos.  I am happy to report that I did not hyperventilate (very much) during the repair job and I fulfilled my role as the trusting wife.  I think it is because I have confidence in Gregg.  It is also because I know full well what my house would look like if I were still single.  There would be stacks and stacks of computers because I would have no idea how to fix them!

         Thank  you, Gregg!

God love and bless you!

If you have enjoyed my blog, please “like” my Facebook Page, The Veil and sign up to receive my blog posts automatically by clicking the rectangular “Follow” button. Please check me out and follow me on Twitter too! Thank you!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!  Congratulations on your new baby boy, Jennifer!  We are praying for him!

— 1 —  This week’s post:  For all those who have dated Mr. Almost Right, this week’s post is for you!  As Marianne Dashwood said in Sense and Sensibility:  But Not Enough  May you be blessed!

— 2 — The Journey Home:  Okay, okay.  I have a slight addition.  But, it is a good addiction!  I am hooked on Marcus Grodi’s The Journey Home.  This week I watched David and Kirsten MacDonald tell their journey home story and I was riveted to the TV!  The part that really stuck with me was when David said that he had indulged in all the worldly pleasures yet found that none of them could satisfy him.  And, that the more he indulged, the more of that indulgence was needed to feed his addiction.  Here is the link to The Journey Home episode with David and Kirsten.

He and Kirsten met late in life but they looked as young and vibrant as a couple could be. The story of how they met is great and did I mention that they are converts to the Catholic Church!?!  Now, they are building bridges between Catholics and Protestants.  They run an apologetic apostolate where they reach out and respond to Protestants who want to know more about Catholicism.   Here is their website and here is their facebook page.  Please go give them some hugs!

— 3 — Lapsed Catholics Lured Home?:  So, we have all these amazing converts to Catholicism who humbly enter the Church by seeking after truth. On the flip side, you have the lapsed Catholics (LC’s) interviewed in this article from NBC news.  Somehow the LC’s think that Pope Francis is going to come in and make the changes they think need to be made (blessing contraception, homosexuality, women priests).  Then and only then will they grace us with their presence at Mass.  Sigh.

— 4 — Spotlight on:  This week’s spotlight is on Brother-and-soon-to-be-Father Matthew P. Schneider.  I noticed him because he now follows me on Twitter. 🙂  I have several Priest following me on Twitter which is really exciting to me.  Anyway, when I went to his blog, 22nd Century Catholicism, this is what I found:

“…If the Catholic Church does not improve its youth ministry today, by the 22nd century it will only be a shell of what it is today. On the other hand, if we create dynamic youth ministry today, the 22nd century could be the Catholic century. This is a blog about youth ministry, fully Catholic youth ministry. The goal is not just to provide games to fill up your youth ministry program. Instead this blog strives to be a repository for ideas that transform youth ministry…”

You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter.  Please go encourage him in his important ministry! 

— 5 — Evangelization is like dating:  I think I know how a guy feels when he wants to ask a girl out.  He wants to but he is afraid of being rejected and humiliated because she might think he is a fool.  I want to evangelize but I am afraid of being rejected and humiliated because I look like a fool who needs God.

— 6 — Computer Issue:  Our computer started acting up last night.  I thought we had a nifty program that backed up our data daily.  But, it appears that may not be true.  Soooo….I may have lost my book in the crash.  I have put this in the Lord’s hands and have been relatively calm about it (well, for an Italian/Irish girl).  All I really care about is our son’s baby photos.  Losing them would break my heart.  Gregg is on a mission to fix it and I have confidence in him.  Thy will be done, Thy will be done, Lord.

— 7 — A Flash of Mental Energy:  St Augustine wrote:

“….”We did not make ourselves, we were made by Him who abides for eternity” (Ps 100[99],3.5) – if after this declaration we were to keep silence, having directed our ears to Him that made them, then He alone would speak not through them but through Himself. We would hear His word, not through the tongue of flesh, nor through the voice of an angel, nor through the sound of thunder (Ex 19,16), nor through the obscurity of a symbolic utterance. Him whom in these things we love we would hear in person without their mediation… and in a flash of mental energy attain the eternal wisdom which abides beyond all things… Is not this the meaning of: “Enter into the joy of your Lord”? (Mt 25,21)….”

God love and bless you!

If you have enjoyed my blog, please “like” my Facebook Page, The Veil and sign up to receive my blog posts automatically by clicking the rectangular “Follow” button. Please check me out and follow me on Twitter too! Thank you!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!  Congratulations on your new baby boy, Jennifer!  We are praying for him!

— 1 —  This week’s post:   He Is Not The One.  May you be blessed!

   ***Please keep Jennifer and her little baby in your prayers.  I believe she is due to deliver on Monday!***

— 2 —  Freedom From Facebook: I decided to give up our personal Facebook for Lent. I still peeked every once in a while but, for the most part, I missed all the birthdays and photos that I normally enjoy. However, I did not miss the time wasted or the scrolling. I also did not miss the voyeuristic nature of Facebook and being able to see into other’s thoughts, activities and lives. I feel very free as a result of this Lenten practice of abstinence. And, now that Easter is here, I still feel free from the draw of Facebook. Mission accomplished!

— 3 —  Welcome Home!: To all the new Catholics who entered into the Church from all over the world at the Easter Vigil Saturday! We visited my family’s parish (where I received all my Sacraments) on Easter Sunday. St Joseph’s had 96 new Catholics who received their Sacraments for the first time. 96!! The priest said that the Vigil Mass went into the wee hours of the night. St. Joseph’s parish started as just a little Mission church in 1926. Today, the Church is huge and each Mass is completely packed, praise God! In addition, St. Joseph’s School (which opened in 1978) is the largest Catholic school in the Diocese with over 600 students. Grateful to be Catholic!

— 4 —  New Evangelist Monthly: Don’t forget, tomorrow, April 6th is the first Saturday of the month so it is time for the New Evangelist Monthly round-up! Check out this “informal, dynamic, crowd-sourced “meta-magazine” showcasing the best posts faithful Catholic bloggers publish each month. Here you will find many different, but faithfully Catholic viewpoints, insights and perspectives.”

— 5 —  Spotlight on: This week’s spotlight is on Brantly Millegan from the blog Young, Evangelical and Catholic. He and his young wife are converts and you know how I just rave about converts! On his Twitter page this week, Brantly tweeted this video in honor of the 8 year anniversary of the death of Blessed Pope John Paul II.

I remember the day that Blessed Pope John Paul II died. Our little son was just 8 weeks old and we were getting ready to leave my in-law’s house after visiting for Easter. We were all very teary due to the departures taking place. Namely, our departure back home and Pope John Paul II’s departure into the arms of God.

“Perhaps I love you more.” Blessed Pope John Paul II

— 6 —  I Condemn Myself: Pope Francis’ words from Good Friday’s Stations of the Cross really struck me:

“Sometimes it may seem as though God does not react to evil, as if He is silent. And yet, God has spoken, He has replied, and His answer is the Cross of Christ: a word which is love, mercy, forgiveness. It also reveals a judgment, namely that God, in judging us, loves us. If I embrace His love then I am saved, if I refuse it, then I am condemned, not by Him, but by my own self, because God never condemns, He only loves and saves.”  Pope Francis

— 7 —  Handwriting On The Wall: The stories in the book of Daniel are great! Just last night I read the “writing on the wall” story from Daniel Chapter 5 to my family. The best part? This line:

“Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.” Daneil 5:27

God is funny. God love and bless you!

If you have enjoyed my blog, please “like” my Facebook Page, The Veil and sign up to receive my blog posts automatically by clicking the rectangular “Follow” button. Thank you!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary! We are praying for you and your little baby, Jennifer!

— 1 —

This week’s post: For all of us who have asked this question: Dear God, What do You want from me?  May you be blessed!

— 2 —

Spotlight on Maura Byrne:  Maura was our guest speaker during our County Youth Day this past weekend! Maura has a fast growing apostolate called Made In His Image.  As promised during my 7QTs last week, I am reporting back and putting the spotlight on her!  Here is a little bit about Maura:

“Maura has an immense yearning to inspire others to choose to see beauty in their suffering and in the ambiguity of life. It is her desire to use her story, to foster hope and healing in the lives of all she encounters. Maura is dedicated to educating women about their inherent dignity as daughters of God, created in His image and likeness and the love of God the Father.”

She is wonderfully gifted!  She is compassionate!  She is Catholic!

— 3 —

She Is Wonderfully Gifted:  Her audience consisted of 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade girls.  It is a long story but we had to redirect her talk from a ‘Chastity‘ talk to a ‘Modesty, Sacramental, Become a Saint’ talk at the last-minute.  When she accepted our invitation to speak 4 months ago, she was told that it was a Chastity talk and to “talk about whatever you want.”  The organizers realized the night before Maura was about to get on the airplane that the parents of the middle school girls had not been notified that it was a “Chastity” talk and therefore we had to ask her to revamp her presentation!

As you can imagine, it was a little stressful.  But, she knocked it out of the park!!!  She hit every talking point we requested and most importantly, kept their attention the whole time.  This age group has about a 25 minute attention span, however, after about an hour, we had to wave Maura off the stage because the talk was going so well!  She captured their attention and their hearts.

— 4 —

She is compassionate:  Maura has been through a lot and is an inspiring example of a healthy survivor.  I feel certain the girls in the audience knew that Maura understands their struggles.  She initiated a discussion about how the media portrays us women versus how God views us.  The girls quickly and easily named every falsehood and media must be’s:  skinny; perfect skin, teeth, hair and make-up; ‘full’ in certain areas; dress in the latest style.  Maura understands that these girls (as young as 11 years old) are under pressure to be perfect. She conveyed to them that the idea that we need to be perfect is a lie and that our worth is from our Father in heaven because we are made in His image and likeness.

She also talked to them a bit about how hurtful our words can be.  We as women can sometimes have the most biting comments towards other females.  She encouraged them to watch their words.  Overall, Maura was able to convince them that she understands the questions these young girls are dealing with:  Who am I?  What is my purpose? Who are You, God? Do I matter?  Am I enough?

 — 5 —

She is Catholic:  After college Maura worked for Varsity Catholic, which is a subdivision of FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students). She worked as a Catholic missionary to bring the love of the Gospel to student-athletes on college campuses.  She completed a mission trip to Kolkata, India to serve with the Missionaries of Charity.  She loves the Sacraments and the Rosary and Mary and Eucharistic Adoration.  She believes in the healing power of Confession.

Please do yourself a favor and beg your Youth Minister to invite Maura to talk to the girls in your school or Parish! We have these young, talented, on-fire-for-the-Lord-and-His-Church, Catholic speakers who have given up the comfort, security and stability of the corporate world to be Disciples of our Lord.  Sure, they cost money but you have to remember that they have car payments and need health insurance too.  Those things cost money!  Let’s support them.  The value of their impact on the lives of our young Catholics makes them worth every penny.

Thank you, Maura!  We loved having you here and it was an honor to meet you! 

 — 6 —

Beautiful Susanna and the Lusting Peekers

Old Testament Reading:  Did you happen to notice the Old Testament reading from Monday’s Mass? It was from the Book of Daniel, Chapter 13.  You know how sometimes you hear scripture and you say, “Hey, I never heard that before!”  

The story is about Susanna, “a woman of great beauty” (and a God-fearing woman) and how Daniel saved her from being executed for adultery.  See, these two judges (who fell into lust) were peeking at Susanna while she was bathing and tried to trick her.  They said, “…give in to our desire, and lie with us and if you refuse, we will testify against you that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you.”  Susanna refused (again, a God-fearing woman) and they testified against her. 

She was about to be executed and (here comes the good part!) “God stirred up the Holy Spirit of a young boy named Daniel.”  Daniel separated the two judges and asked them to describe the tree in which the alleged adultery took place.  One judge said, “mastic” and the other one said, “oak.” Busted! 

How many times does God try to “stir up the Holy Spirit” in us?  Imagine the impact we could have in His name!  Come Holy Spirit!

 — 7 —

My Dream Come True:  Well sort of.  I don’t watch a lot of TV but……have I mentioned how much I love Marcus Grodi’s show, The Journey Home?  The problem is that his weekly show and The Best of The Journey Home are only on a couple of times a week.  Well, I knew that there were all these YouTube videos of the shows that I could watch but I did not want to sit at my computer to watch them.  I wanted to sit on my comfy couch next to my sweet man and watch them. So, Gregg listened to my plea and of course he found a solution.  I am not certain how he did it but after purchasing and installing an $80 device, we can now watch YouTube videos on our TV while sitting on our comfy couch.  Gregg is awesome.

God love and bless you!

If you have enjoyed my blog, please “like” my Facebook Page, The Veil and sign up to receive my blog posts automatically by clicking the rectangular “Follow” button. Thank you!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!  We are praying for you and your little baby, Jennifer!

— 1 —

This week’s post:   The idea of writing a post specifically for Teens has been on my mind for a while.  Recently, several parents have asked me what I think is the best approach for reaching teens with the wisdom and power of Chastity.  I believe Teens are a tough crowd because they lack perspective (not their fault).  I imagine that whatever I say will be met with skepticism because they have not yet experienced enough of life to be able to apply the message.   

I fear they will look at me and think I know not of what I speak because I have not been a teenager for quite some time.  I am easily old enough to be their mother. I think they would have a hard time relating to me and honestly, I might have a hard time relating to them.  The pressures today seem much more intense than when I was a teen.   

But, one thing I believe is that because of the way God designed us, the longings of the human heart stay constant.  In the same way, Satan’s ‘bag of tricks’ contains nothing new.  Although his tricks may be better supported by today’s culture, they still amount to the same old, same old (doubt, envy, need for attention and affection, body image distortion, immodesty, pride). 

If you are a Teen or a Mom with a Teen, please let me know what you think.  Here is the post:  Dear Teenage Girl  

— 2 —

Pope Francis:  Wow, I thought I was a minimalist!  Pope Francis takes the bus, cooks his own food and insists on living in a modest dwelling.  He even washes and kisses the feet of AIDS patients!

In a word, he seems detached from the world and all its trappings of power, comfort and prestige.  I don’t think Pope Francis is going to be easily pushed around.  I mean, what method would one possibly use to try to persuade him to go against his conscience?  You can’t take away his car.  He takes the bus!

I am trying not to go overboard on the ‘Pope love’ because honestly I don’t know much about him.  The Holy Spirit picked him and that is good enough for me.  But, so far, I see so much potential.  He is already shaking up the definition of social justice and extracting the misplaced liberal theology that has infected some segments of Catholic teaching.  I can see him infusing the truths of marriage, life and the Priesthood into their proper place and zapping any notion that equality and charity can be confused with same-sex marriage, contraception, abortion and women/married priests.

I also think that Materialism, Instant Gratification and their sister Relativism are shaking in their boots.  

Bravo, Holy Spirit, bravo!

— 3 —

Maura Byrne:  Speaking of Teens, our county will be having their County Youth Day this weekend!  Our guest speaker is Maura Byrnes from Made In His Image.  I am very excited!  I will report back next week!

— 4 —

Spotlight On: This week’s “Spotlight On” segment features 2 bloggers!  The first is Regina (affectionately known as Number 9) from Catholic Alcoholic blog.  I just loved this blog post.  

The second is Sarah Babbs from Fumbling Toward Grace.  She wrote an amazing article called “ Undoing Our Addictions During Lent”.  And this post which made me cry.

 — 5 —

Sunday’s Gospel:  As we stood for the Gospel last Sunday, a boy about the age of 6 reached his arms up to his Dad and his Father picked him up.  The boy wrapped his arms around his Dad’s neck and snuggled into his Dad’s neck.  Yes, the boy was a little old for it but my immediate thought was, “Oh someday that Father will long for these days because that boy may become the prodigal son.” 

Then I thought of my own parents and how they had to deal with my time away from my Catholic faith.  My haughty attitude must have been excruciating for them to put up with as I declared that I had “become a Christian” and had been “saved.”  (ugh) The truth was that I was away from home just like the son in the parable.  I was lost and needed to be found.

That was a long time ago but because I am now a parent, the pain and betrayal that they must have felt is very real to me.

I am so sorry, Mom and Dad.  Thank you for the gift of the deposit of Faith and for your faithful prayers.

 — 6 —

The Eucharist:  I went to the best talk tonight on the Eucharist given by Father Larry Swink!  Wow, just Wow!   He was passionate about the fact that the Eucharist is Jesus and therefore we should change as a result of receiving Jesus.  Amen!

He guaranteed us parents that if our children received the Eucharist every week then the moral evils awaiting them in this world will flee from them.  Awesome!

 — 7 —

Gungor:  Did you read about Gungor, the Evangelical Protestant musician, this week?  He was performing at a Catholic Youth Festival in Louisiana and witnessed Eucharistic Adoration for the first time.  You can read about his experience here and here!  These are the quotes the everyone was talking about:

“Honestly, it made me want to be Catholic again…..It was Heaven crashing into earth.”

Many young Catholic on-fire-for-the-Lord-and-His-Church bloggers reached out to Gungor and invited him to continue on his journey to the fullness of the Faith. And Gungor responded graciously to their invitation to discuss our faith over a beer. I even reached out to Gungor on twitter and thought I was super cool.  But, you young Catholics are so far ahead of where I was at your age.  You are amazing.  Thank you!

Rise Up Young Church!

God love and bless you!

If you have enjoyed my blog, please “like” my Facebook Page, The Veil and sign up to receive my blog posts automatically by clicking the rectangular “Follow” button. Thank you!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!  We are praying for you and your little baby, Jennifer!

— 1 —

This week’s post:  My guest blogger this week is….Gregg!  He shares his perspective on “Attraction” and includes insights on the following:   Trust, True Beauty, Don’t Be Hot, What is Wrong With Men?, Where Is My Husband? and The Veil

May you be encouraged and blessed! 

— 2 —

Liebster Award:  As you may have read in my other post this week, C.C. from Sacred Sharings For The Soul nominated me for the Liebster Award!  This award started in Germany and the goal is to recognize other bloggers.  It is sort of like a chain letter which is funny because I always broke the chain with actual chain letters (remember them?).  But, I was more than happy to participate and then nominate Kalondu, Jeannine, Laura and Amanda (who is receiving the award for a….3^rd time!)  Congratulations to you all!

Here is a song for you, C.C (which is the song Gregg and I played at the end of our wedding reception to thank our family and friends):

Thank You by Natalie Merchant

— 3 —

Holy Name of Mary Secondary School:  A big shout out to the 9^th and 10^th graders from Holy Name of Mary Secondary School!  C.C. from Sacred Sharings For The Soul spoke to them this week about the powerful virtue of Chastity.  Awesome!!

 — 4 —

Spotlight On: Each week I am spotlighting a fellow blogger.  This week, Jeannine from Grace and Peace caught my attention with her 7QTs. Jeannine shared about a book called, “Wonder” which she and her 12-year-old son recently read.  Because my son loves to read and I want him to be reading good things, I put the book in my Amazon shopping cart.   I can’t wait to read it!

I really like Jeannine’s blog because she discusses the challenges of Fatherlessness and provides the hope found in our true Father.

 Thank you, Jeannine!  

 — 5 —

Sunday’s Readings:  How about the stern warnings against pride and presumption revealed in Sunday’s readings?  Yikes.  I am not sure how the false teaching of “once saved, always saved” can ever survive given these words from sacred scripture:

“Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.”  1 Corinthians 10:12

“But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did.” said Jesus in the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, Chapter 13

 — 6 —

Rosary With The Cardinals: I was home Wednesday from work and had the privilege of participating in and praying the Holy Rosary with the Cardinals during their prayer service and Eucharistic Adoration in Rome.  Come Holy Spirit!  Enkindle in us the fire of Your love!

 — 7 —

Silliness:  I don’t even know who Chelsea Handler is but she felt the need to say this about Taylor Swift:

“My theory about Taylor Swift is that she’s a virgin, that everyone breaks up with her because they date her for two weeks and she’s like, ‘I’m not gonna do it,'” continued Handler, who once penned a book called “My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands.” “And they’re like, ‘Oh, well, forget it. Then I don’t want to date you.’ Every guy thinks they’re going to devirginize her, and they’re not. She’s never going to get devirginized, ever, ever, ever, ever.”

I will encourage you, dear Chelsea, with this:

“Often times Chastity is resented by those souls not wanting to do the work and make the sacrifices that are necessary to grow in virtue— any discussion of the virtues can be like a mirror showing them their own moral laziness.”

Blessed Pope John Paul II

God love and bless you!

If you have enjoyed my blog, please “like” my Facebook Page, The Veil and sign up to receive my blog posts automatically by clicking the rectangular “Follow” button. Thank you and God Bless!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!  We are praying for you and your little baby, Jennifer!

— 1 —

This week’s post: Unless our bodies and our souls are harmonized, it is impossible for us to relate to the opposite sex! As promised, this week’s post provides insight and suggestions on how to merge and reharmonize your body and your soul.  May you be blessed!

— 2 —

First Reconciliation Report:  Hallelujah!  Our son’s First Reconciliation was awesome! As we were leaving the church, he did one of those “yee haw” side kicks.  Then, we all went out to lunch to celebrate.

He is like a new man.  I am serious!  All week he has been a little more obedient and mature.  Anyone else notice such an obvious work of grace in their child upon receiving this wonderful Sacrament?

Our church encourages Parents to also go to confession while their children are receiving their “Second Sacrament.”  So while Gregg was overseeing, encouraging and coaching our son (Gregg is so awesome), I went to Confession.  There was another Dad in line in front of me who was in the confessional for quite some time, praise God!  I was expecting him to come out sort of hanging his head or with a stressful expression on his face.  But, no! He had a little ‘giddy up’ in his step and a smile on his face. Like a prisoner set free!  Isn’t that what we are, praise the Lord?

I was grateful for the extra time to examine my conscience because it allowed things to surface that felt really good to confess. It is so good to have grace to strengthen my resolve. God knew we needed this beautiful and powerful Sacrament.  Thank you, Lord!

— 3 —

New Evangelist Monthly: Tomorrow, March 2^nd is the first Saturday of the month so it is time for the New Evangelist Monthly round-up. Check out this “informal, dynamic, crowd-sourced “meta-magazine” showcasing the best posts faithful Catholic bloggers publish each month. Here you will find many different, but faithfully Catholic viewpoints, insights and perspectives.”

 — 4 —

Spotlight On:  Stefanie from A Dreamers Wife blog listed The Veil of Chastity on her February Bloggers in the Spotlight post last week!!  I was more than thrilled to be among bloggers like Jen and Hallie!!  It was great to meet new friends like Biltrix. 

So, I decided to spotlight a fellow blogger each week on my blog.  This week, Mrs. Mary Virginia’s blog, Couch of Red is in the spotlight for her 7QTs, mostly because of this hilarious video:

I think anyone with a child who has tried to teach them math will find this funny.  God bless all you teachers out there.  I have no idea how you do what you do!

 — 5 —

NASCAR Rant:  Pretty exciting Daytona 500 last Sunday, huh? To be honest, I have become less and less of a NASCAR fan over the years simply because it seems to be so commercialized.  They seem to drum up drama just so that they have a story to tell and generate ratings.  That is a big turn off for me.  But do you know what is really a big turn off to me?  The people they allow (hire?) to sing our beautiful National Anthem.  They almost always ruin it.  Nails down a chalkboard. Ugh.

 — 6 —

 Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI:  I just love him.

 — 7 —

The Lord Speaks: Don’t ya just love when the Lord speaks to you just at the right time?  This week lesson for me was about showing mercy to others.  Just when I needed to learn this lesson, the reading for that day was presented to me: 

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6:36-38

“Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

Gulp.  Okay, putting my blinders on and minding my own business now! 

God love and bless you!

If you have enjoyed my blog, please “like” my Facebook Page, The Veil and sign up to receive my blog posts automatically by clicking the rectangular “Follow” button. Thank you and God Bless!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!  We are praying for you and your little baby, Jennifer!

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This week’s post:  I had the privilege of guest blogging this week for the Catholic Marriage Series over at the Catholic Cookie Jar blog!  The title of my guest post is “Happy Wife, Happy Husband.”  Thank you to Caitlin for allowing me to participate in this wonderful series!

— 2 —

First Reconciliation:  Our son will receive this wonderful Sacrament tomorrow.  He was really, really nervous a couple of weeks ago about it (to the point of tears).  I silently freaked out in my mind and imagined my son running out of the Church crying.  I panicked and told our Pastor that I think we may have a problem. 

But after attending the first Reconciliation workshop, our son feels pretty ready for it now.  We have been role-playing all week and I created a Steps to Confession cheat sheet for him on card stock. 

One Mom told me at the workshop that her son ‘could care less’ about receiving his 2nd Sacrament.  I realized that if I had to pick between the two, being too concerned may be better than not caring at all.  I will let you know how it goes!

— 3 —

My First Reconciliation:  You may be wondering why in the world I freaked and panicked over our son’s fear of Confession?  Well, it may have to do with my own experience a long time ago. All I remember about this Sacrament was my best friend coming out of the confessional crying and shaking (she was a shaker).  That set all of us little 2nd graders off and we all started to cry.  So, umm, yeah.  Not a good memory.

But, really, is crying over our sins such a bad thing? Doesn’t it take humility to admit that you have done wrong?  Is there any way to soften the blow to our egos? Nope.  Just gotta do it.  Then, once you have a relationship with our loving Father, the healing Sacrament of Confession is Awesome!

 — 4 —

Dear Me:  I may be way behind the Dear Me trend but I am going to share this amazing link up anyway.  I will be spending way too much time this weekend reading these blog posts in which each woman has written a letter to her teenage self.  Get the tissues!

 — 5 —

Oscar and Reeva:  I had no idea who these two were until my dear friend sent me this article.  Here is what jumped out at me:

• “Women in cohabiting relationships are far more likely to be abused or killed than married women — by a factor of 9, according to one study “
• “Sex implied things that neither of them could mean, even if, for fleeting moments, they imagined it did.”

Even though most women are not literally dying from unchaste behavior, I think most are dying inside.

 — 6 —

Worthy of Agape:  Remember my bloggy friend Amanda?  Well, she has a Big Announcement today!  Please go check her out!

 — 7 —

Pope Benedict XVI: Look at that sweet face. 🙂

Pope Benedict XVI as a boy

God love and bless you!

If you have enjoyed my blog, please “like” my Facebook Page, The Veil and sign up to receive my blog posts automatically by clicking the rectangular “Follow” button. Thank you and God Bless!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!  We are praying for you and your little baby, Jennifer!

— 1 —

This week’s post:  Is here!   Attraction is a mystery.  The gift of self requires the merging of our body and soul.  May you be blessed!

— 2 —

Our Beloved Pope:  Can you imagine the grace that will result because Pope Benedict XVI is investing his sunset season of life praying for us and offering up his suffering for us?  I also look forward to the treasure trove of wisdom that is unlocked as we study his writings.  It reminds me of how Humanae Vitae (Pope Paul VI) and Theology of the Body (Blessed Pope John Paul II) took years for us to grasp and appreciate.  Thank you, Pope Benedict XVI.  You are loved tremendously!

— 3 —

Apostolic Succession:  This entry was supposed to go into my 7QTs last week.  However, I think that considering the announcement by Pope Benedict XVI, the Holy Spirit may have moved me to save it for this week. 

The theologian Tertullian (c.155-220) wrote a prescription against the heretics which states that in order for a church to reckon (love that word!) themselves apostolic, they must be an “offspring” of the Apostolic Church.  These Churches must receive the ‘shoots of the faith and seeds of doctrine’ passed down from the Apostles who received the Holy Spirit directly from Jesus Christ. 

“They set out through Judea first, bearing witness to their faith in Jesus Christ and founding churches, and then out into the world, proclaiming the same doctrine of the same faith to the nations. Again they set up churches in every city, from which the other churches afterward received the shoots of the faith and the seeds of doctrine and continue to receive them every day, in order to become churches. By this they are themselves reckoned 🙂 apostolic as being the offspring of apostolic churches… These churches, then, numerous as they are, are identical with that one primitive apostolic Church”

 — 4 —

Downton Abbey~ Boo Hiss:  Oh, I know that this will not be well received by all the D.A. fans but let me just share with you what happened last Friday.  I had heard all about the series and thought I’d give it a try.  I ordered Season One.  My husband and I (and our son) really enjoy the Jane Austen A&E movies and I assumed this series would be similar.  I was also excited about the era (1912) being depicted.  Okay, so far so good.

So, with our child safely off to school, we cuddle up on the couch for some Downton Abbey.  And, we were really enjoying it.  Until. The. French. Kissing. Started…..ummmm between two dudes!!!! 

Oh look, I know same-sex attraction has always been a fact.  But, good Lord, do the agenda people have to stick their grubby liberal fingers in and ruin everything?  I mean, it totally took me by surprise (my husband saw it coming).  Thank God, our innocent child was not home.  I had to cover my eyes and my poor husband had to fumble and quickly grab the remote to turn it off.

Yes, we turned it off.  We were done.  I threw it in the trash. 

Why?  Am I a prude?  Maybe.  But, I would like to propose that it is about trust.  We can’t trust these people with their surprise attacks.  We would always be on guard for the next liberal agenda plug.

Also, what happened to the art of subtlety?  The plot would have been interesting if Mary was suspicious that the Duke was gay and had to grapple with what to do.  It would have been fine.  But, two dudes French kissing was not cool.   Our eyes were made for holy things and that was Not Holy.

 — 5 —

More Silliness:  I have this theory.  I think that premarital sex extinguishes the excitement that should be part of the wedding day.  So, brides and grooms have had to up the ante to make their wedding “memorable.”  This is and example of what they are doing. Lord help us and forgive us.

 — 6 —

God Bless You, Celeste:  Ike Ndolo is a popular Catholic musician and artist.  His brother and sister-in-law, Kemi and Corinna, went into the emergency room on Monday night, February 11th, and Tuesday night on the 12th, gave birth to their 23 week old little girl, Celeste. She stayed with them for three hours before going to be with God.

Donations for the Ndolo family are being accepted here.

Isn’t she beautiful.

 — 7 —

Infertility:  My husband sent this to me this week knowing that I would be moved by it.  It was written by Colleen Carroll Campbell.

Gregg and I have one miracle child on earth and at least two in heaven.  I have not experienced judgement from those with big families and in fact I find myself with a big smile when I see big families.  But, I have wondered if they think that we are contracepting or if we maybe only wanted one child.  I think the following is a good reflection for us all:

   “There’s a great deal that the Body of Christ can do to minister to women and men suffering from infertility. For starters, we can pay more careful attention to the way that we speak to and about childless couples and, particularly, childless women. We live in a contraceptive culture that regards children more often as burdens than as blessings, and tends to disparage or marginalize large Christian families. So those of us who move in committed Catholic circles often rebel against this mindset by going out of our way to show our pride in and appreciation for God’s gift of children. This is a good thing. But in their zeal to set themselves apart from the secular culture and its anti-child ethos, some faithful Catholics swing to the other extreme (usually unintentionally), focusing almost exclusively on how many children a woman has when gauging how serious she is about her faith. A Catholic woman with six or eight or 10 children is very likely one who has embraced Church teaching wholeheartedly; it’s true. But that woman in the back pew at Mass with no children, or only one child, may not be the contracepting, cafeteria Catholic you suspect. She and her husband may actually be buried in grief over the children they cannot conceive, clinging to the Cross for dear life as they try to survive the holidays, nosy questions from relatives and disapproving looks from fellow believers who have misjudged them. So when we think about ministering to those who are suffering the often hidden cross of infertility, the first thing we should do is remember to reserve judgment when approaching childless couples, as we may not know the full story.”

God love and bless you!

If you have enjoyed my blog, please “like” my Facebook Page, The Veil and sign up to receive my blog posts automatically by clicking the rectangular “Follow” button. Thank you and God Bless!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!  We are praying for you and your little baby, Jennifer!

— 1 —

Not Quite Ready:  This week’s post is here.  So sorry that the real post remains in draft form.  Such an important topic!  Please stay tuned!

— 2 —

Not Ready fo Lent:  Anyone else not ready? Colleen over at Martin Family Moments blog starts out this post with:

 “Raise your hand if you feel tired, run down, drained, depleted both physically and emotionally.”

I know the Lord wants to refresh me because I feel all those things right now.  He is the Source of our refreshment.  What I need to figure out is my part.  Speak Lord, I am listening.

Colleen ends with this:

“I usually view Lent as a time to give up what I like or what makes me happy.  But I think this year, I’m feeling a stronger urge to pause, take an honest assessment of life at the moment, and find a weak spot or two that could use some tweaking.  This will require discipline, sacrifice, facing and beating temptations, and growing closer to Our Lord.  Sounds like a fruitful Lent.  And by fruitful, I mean hard :)”

— 3 —

Spousal Grief: A couple of months ago I dedicated my 7QTs to a woman named Barbara Curtis.  Barbara died suddenly leaving behind her husband, 12 children and many grandchildren.  She ran a blog called mommylife.com.  Since her death, her husband Tripp has taken over the blog.  His posts are both beautiful, poignant and heart wrenching.  

As I read his post on Thursday, it reminded me of a Natalie Merchant song, My Beloved Wife.  I remember being single and wondering if I would ever be married and if I did get married, would my husband feel the way the man in the song feels about his wife.  The experience described in the song seemed like the epitome of how spousal love is supposed to be.  That two become one flesh concept must be excruciating as the one pulls away in death. 

Tripp’s feelings about losing Barbara are exactly what one would expect given the reality of the Sacramental bond.  And, thanks be to God for the possibility of this bond and of such feelings.  

— 4 —

One Love:  Yesterday we were driving home as a family and I was serenaded by my husband and our son. They were singing One Love by The Thirsting off the album, Universal Youth.  I am blessed and thankful that our son received my husband’s musical talent.

— 5 —

Contraception Correlations:  Elizabeth from That Married Couple blog posted a fantastic article that shows the correlation between contraception, divorce and abortion.  A good read.  Check it out.  Great job, Elizabeth!

 — 6 —

Wow, Ouch Hebrews!:  I never noticed that the Letter to the Hebrews is so convicting!  It is like you are reading along in your bible thinking, “God is love, I love God, la la la,” and then “bam!” you get scripture that makes you rethink your efforts in your journey toward holiness.  For example:

“In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. You have also forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons: “My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges.  Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as sons.  For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline? At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.  So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees…..”

— 7 —

Come And See Bible Study:  A few weeks back I shared with you that I had ordered a couple of the books from this bible study series.  Oh my goodness, it is such an awesome study!  I started with Moses and the Torah.  Even the gorgeous cover makes me smile.  I am always sharing my findings with my family, starting out sentences with, “Did you know…?”  I highly recommend this bible study series!

God love and bless you!

If you have enjoyed my blog, please “like” my Facebook Page, The Veil and sign up to receive my blog posts automatically by clicking the rectangular “Follow” button. Thank you and God Bless!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!