— 1 —   This Week’s Post:  Mr. Online Man  If you are participating in on-line dating, check out my recommendations for how to respond to men!  If you are not participating in on-line dating, check out my reasons for giving it a try!

— 2 —  This Is BIG!  I have a guest post coming up next week that is amazing, powerful, beautiful and life-changing.  I believe everyone will be blessed by reading it. Look for it on Monday!!

— 3 —  Attention Youth Ministers, Priests and Parents:  Are you interested in Evangelizing and growing your Parish community?  My parish, St. John Francis Regis, has hosted a Summer Program for the last 3 years. Enrollment has grown to over 250 kids per week with almost 300 registered for the week of Vacation Bible School.

It is so popular that they are now employing over 50 College-age instructors.  The Instructors are not just any old college student.  They are College age instructors who are very strong in their faith and use their talents in support of the program goal.  What is the program goal, you ask?  Evangelization!  Is it working?  Yes!  These College instructors love the Lord, His Church, the Eucharist, the Sacraments, Adoration and kids!  The Instructors attend daily Mass and Adoration is available every day.

The classes include Sports, Arts, Math and Science.  Here is the list of classes offered.

Why am I telling you this?  Because we want to share the good news about what the Lord is doing and we want to give you the opportunity to start a Summer Program at your Parish.  How?  Contact me and I will put you in touch with the right people.  You can do this!

— 4 —  How To Increase Your Vocations:  Oh, I am not done bragging about our Summer Program.  Take a look at our Vocations Wall.  Do you see all those holy faces?  Each one has, at one time or another, been a Summer Program Instructor.  Remember….daily Mass and Adoration!  They are listening for and hearing the Lord speak.

St. John’s Vocation Wall

— 5 —  Attention Youth Ministers:  If you would like to visit us and check out this amazing Summer Program, please send me an email to be considered.  You will need to get yourself here but then Gregg and I will host you for a couple of days while you get to know the Program and the fantastic Instructors. Seriously, this Program is too good to keep to ourselves!!  p.s.  Female Youth Ministers will stay at my house and Male Youth Ministers will stay with another host family. 🙂

— 6 — Spotlight On:  This week’s spotlight is on Laura from Catholic Cravings for her honest post from the Not Alone Series.  The topic this week was “What I love about being single.” 

Speaking of the Not Alone Series, the award for highlighting the best thing about being single goes to Nikki from A Catholic Heart For Home.  What did she say was the best thing?  Not having to shave your legs.  Amen, Sister!

— 7 —  A Letter To Our Priests And Bishops:  Did you see this post by Emily Stimpson?????  I know that we, the laity, have a lot of work to do but she gracefully lets our Priest and Bishops know that we need their leadership to spur us on to holiness.  Emily is such a gift to us.  Thank you, Emily.  

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!

— 1 —   This Week’s Post: Is He Just Practicing?  Either way, your response is clear!

— 2 —  Vacation Report:  We just returned from our vacation visiting family in Kansas!  We stayed at The Great Wolf Lodge (which I would highly recommend!).  Have you stayed at any of these Lodges? This one is located within The Legends mega-complex next to the Kansas City Speedway.  I am not much of a swimmer so I mostly hung out and watched Gregg and our son ride the amazing rides in the indoor Water Park.

Staying at the Lodge was a surprise for our son.  We did not tell him about our lodging plans until we were getting ready to check in.  He thought we were staying at Gregg’s parent’s house the whole time (which is also fun; complete with tractor rides).  But, riding the rides and slides at the Water Park was a completely new experience for him. We even let him ride the rides by himself.  He practiced his swimming skills in the pool and is a lot more proficient with his strokes. Worth every penny!

— 3 — Name Change:  I noticed during the vacation that our son is now calling Gregg and me “Mom” and “Dad” instead of “Mommy” and “Daddy.”  Sigh.  I think riding the park rides “independently” resulted in him feeling a little bit more grown up.

— 4 —  Me and Flying:  I love it.  And, it scares me.  I literally need to remain in a state of denial while in flight.  What I mean is that while we are soaring above the clouds, I pretend that I am not really that high up in the air.  I can’t even conceptualize it.  I have fear of heights.

Oh, you ask how I can possibly have a career in Naval aviation while at the same time be so freaky about flying?  I don’t know.  I find it exhilarating and terrifying.  I pray with each bump.  I look at my child with a smile of complete confidence on my face. I answer his aerodynamic questions with ease.  “Yes, this aircraft is designed to take lightning strikes.  Oh, and it is inherently stable so it would be very difficult for it to do anything but fly straight.”  I do a lot of self-talk.  I remind myself about the infinite number of airplanes that take off and land safely every hour of every day.  But still I have to remain in denial about my actual location during the flight. 

— 5 —  Taco Bueno: OMG. This place has the best food!  We ate there twice while we were in Kansas and I am sad that the closest one to my home is an airplane ride away.  I am not sure I will ever be satisfied with Taco Bell again after eating at Taco Bueno.  Delicious!!

— 6 — Spotlight On: This week’s spotlight is on The Crescat for her post called “What Employment History Reveals About Your Date.”  I agree with her 100%!

— 7 — St Joseph:  Have you heard that we will be saying 5 additional words during Mass?  The new words, “with blessed Joseph, her spouse,” follow a mention of Mary in the Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass and are included in three different versions of the prayer.  Yay for St. Joe!

Pope Francis said this at his Inaugural Mass:  “St. Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak, but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love.“

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!

— 1 —   This Week’s Post: Is it possible to not talk about that new potential suitor?  I offer you a challenge here:  Self-Containment ~Explained 

— 2 —   Spotlight On: This week’s spotlight is on Emily Stimpson for her post about Pornography and what it does to relationships.  I really feel for those afflicted by this addition.  Notice I did not say the “men” afflicted.  Yes, this addiction affects women too.   Here is the part of Emily’s post that is most disturbing:

“Men who regularly use porn report growing dissatisfaction with the bodies of their wives and girlfriends. Many, like the Don Jon character, start to prefer pornography to real life intimacy. They’d rather be alone with their porn than deal with the messy complications of loving a real, live person.”

Do you fear that your future husband will become dissatisfied with your body?  One concept I plan to talk more about is Superabundance because it is this fruit of marital chastity that was so compelling and reassuring to me.

— 3 — Superabundance:  If you fear that your future husband will become dissatisfied by your body, Superabundance from marital chastity is your answer. Go Here to read more.  Here is what I propose Superabundance does in chaste marriages:

“The physical imperfections are there but the wife is at peace with herself and radiates that peace.  Average women are lifted to a higher level.  They become pretty because of their interior radiance.  And, their husband’s love for them grows rather than diminishes with time.  My observation is that women in chaste marriage confidently remove themselves from the competitiveness often found in other women.  Women in chaste marriages don’t hate their bodies the way other women seem to. They are not hormonally influenced by the birth control pill nor are they rendered neutral through voluntary sterilization. Their bodies are seen as life-giving and miraculous rather than flawed and in need of manipulation and fixing.  They feel free to allow their hair to go gray, or not, and see it as a sign of their mature achievement in life. They are proud of their age and don’t struggle against the clock as much or talk about themselves or other women in a degrading manner. They have endured and have peace with their bodies and themselves.”

— 4 —  Not Alone Series: Discernment:  Morgan and Jen’s latest topic in this series is Discernment.  I really enjoyed reading the various posts from the contributors to this series.  Here are a few of my favs:

Morgan from Follow and Believe highlighted that sometimes discernment can be mistaken as a status symbol rather than a way of really knowing God’s will.  And she aptly points out that:  “you’re not fully “discerned” until you’ve taken vows, whether they be to another person or through ordination/entering an order.” 

Britt from Proverbial Girlfriend wrote something that aligns with my experience. Her discernment includes the question: “What am I called to do right now?” It was my experience that my vocation to marriage was revealed to me ‘as it was happening’.   I never got any hints. 🙂

— 5 —  Not Alone Series: Discernment:  More great stuff from the series:

Raquel from Story of a Rose provided a list of ingredients she believes are needed to discern one’s vocation.  My two favorites:  Healing and the Sacraments.

Claire from Everything Is Grace wrote:  “Discernment is never straight-forward, and if it is then you’re super-duper lucky! If you are nodding your head the whole way through reading this post then I feel you girl!!!”

— 6 — Not Alone Series: Discernment:  All of them were great but here are two more from the series:

Jordan from Occasional Humor wrote:  “So where am I at in my discernment process? I’d say I’m at a point of contentment and growth. I know that God has amazing things in store for me and that He’ll reveal them when the time is right, and I’m taking steps to be ready when that actually happens.”  Beautiful!

Sarah from Footprints on My Heart wrote something that made me realize that I really, really like her spiritual director 🙂 :  “My spiritual director kindly, yet strongly reminded me of this not too long ago: “As a woman, it is not your job to pursue a man.  It is his job to pursue you.”  He mentioned that since I need not worry about chasing men, I ought to content myself with simply enjoying life and falling in love with Christ since that should be what attracts a man to me anyway. ” Excellent insight!

— 7 — Little Consolations from the Lord: I received at least four badly needed consolations from the Lord this week:

1.  I was feeling overwhelmed.  Then, someone really surprised me with a compliment.  You know how when someone says just the right *important* thing at the right time that pulls you out of your funk?

2.  I was walking into a restaurant with Gregg, again feeling overwhelmed.  This girl gave me a big smile and said, “I love your outfit!” It sounds shallow but it was just the right pick me up at just the right time.  #wasfeelingblahaboutmywardrobe

3.  I provided some advice to a girl this week that went something like “break up with him. He is not honoring you.”  Well, I got an email from that same girl’s Mom thanking me.  It was an unspecified ‘thank you’ but I have a feeling it was because I confirmed exactly what her Mom has been wanting this girl to do.  My advice was just the thing the girl needed to give her the courage to do what she knew she need to do.  Amazing.  Our Counselor, the Holy Spirit lives!

4.  Last Saturday was my birthday and something arrived in the mail which we had ordered way back in November.  We have been following her progress along but it was amazing that she was placed in our home on the date of my birth.  Isn’t she gorgeous?  We commissioned (aren’t we fancy?) a real artist to paint her for us after seeing Our Lady of Sorrows on the web.  This photo does not do her justice. This is the talented artist.

Our Lady of Sorrows

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!

— 1 —   This Week’s Post: Is Your Smile is Like Honey ……All you need in order to flirt with a guy is your smile!   Enjoy!

— 2 —   Spotlight On:  This week’s Spotlight is on Morgan from Follow and Believe and Jen from Jumping in Puddles.  They are the co-hosts of a new series started this week.  It is called the Not Alone Series and it is a weekly link-up where Single girls participate and blog about various subjects unique to the Single Girl’s life. This week included an Introduction post by each blogger and next week they are discussing Discernment.  I checked out the first set of contributors and the series went International right away!  What a powerful way for single girls to link up, support and encourage each other. If you have a blog, Morgan and Jen will graciously welcome you.  If you do not have a blog, head on over with a cup of coffee and enjoy the links!

— 3 — Made In His Image:  Goes viral!  Did you hear about it this week?  Maura’s site got something like 130,000 hits (I think that is what I read) and blew up 2 servers.  Way to go Maura!  I had to include this part of her post:

“..Where does the power come from? It comes from the Sacraments and spending time with God in Adoration. Speak to our loving Father tonight, ask Him to help you. Ask Him for grace, tell Him your fears, joys and sorrows. Let the Healer hug you. Hold onto Him. Cling to the Cross, for this is where our sanctification rests.”

— 4 —  Magnifikid:  My Mom got our son a subscription to Magnifikid magazine for his birthday.  It includes these awesome little weekly missal type magazines.  The magazine includes the whole Mass, including the readings for that week as well as games and stories about Saints.  It has greatly improved our son’s participation in the Mass.  He loves it.  What a great gift!

— 5 —  Corpus Christi Mass:  Our Mass included 16 Altar Boys, 2 Seminarians, 1 Deacon and 1 Priest.  I almost cried at the sight of all those Altar Boys kneeling at the Communion Rail, all receiving on the tongue.  The Reverence overwhelmed me.  The incense filled the sanctuary.  My hair smelled divine.  Have I mentioned the number of vocations coming out of our County?  A lot.  The Holy Spirit is on the move and we are so blessed to be caught up in the fire of His love!

— 6 — This Week’s Readings:  The readings this week from the Book of Tobit reminded me of a post I did back in October. The post is called “Does God Arrange Marriages.” I was a relatively new little baby blogger when I wrote the post but it seemed to be inspired.  What do you think? 🙂

— 7 — Old Testament Girl:  I love the Old Testament!  My current Bible study is the book of Isaiah.  I love Genesis and Exodus and the Book of Wisdom.  I love it all.  Heck, I even like Leviticus!  Today, I will leave you with a little something from the Book of Sirach:

“He plumbs the depths and penetrates the heart; their innermost being he understands. The Most High possesses all knowledge, and sees from of old the things that are to come: He makes known the past and the future, and reveals the deepest secrets. No understanding does he lack; no single thing escapes him.”   Book of Sirach 42:15-25.

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!

— 1 —   This Week’s Post:  Asks the question:  Do Men Need Help?  Enjoy!

— 2 —  WORD: Last Saturday I spent a good part of the day writing several future posts.  But, when I woke up on Sunday, the document was gone.  I mean nowhere to be found on the computer.  Even Gregg, my computer guru, was perplexed.

I arrived at Mass in a sour mood.  My mind was occupied trying to figure out what happened.  I kept saying, “Lord you know how hard I worked on that document!”  Then, the readings started.  First, the reading from Proverbs:

“…When the Lord established the heavens……..when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep….when he made firm the skies above….when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth..”

Followed by the reading from Romans 5 where we are instructed to “boast in our afflictions which lead to character.”  Here I was, worried about my little document and it was like the Lord was saying, “Where were you when I was creating the heavens and the skies and the earth?”  

It gave me peace about the fact that if He wanted that document to be found, it would have been found.  I work for Him.  He does not work for me.  So, this week’s post was delayed until Thursday because I had a heck of a time recreating my thoughts and writing in the evening after work is difficult for me.  I pray that I allowed the Holy Spirit to speak through me!

— 3 — Angel Baby #59:  This story was heart wrenching!  Did you see his sweet little face when he was finally freed from the sewer pipe?

— 4 —  Spotlight On #1: This week’s first spotlight is on JC Sanders for his insightful post on Ignitum Today.  He draws a distinction between abstinence, chastity and purity.  These words have gone viral lately and he puts it all in perspective.  Great job, JC!

— 5 —  Spotlight On #2:  Gotta shine the light on another fellow blogger. I have shared posts from Brantly Millegan from Young, Evangelical and Catholic before. He knocked it out of the ballpark with this post about how he and his wife became convinced about the immoral nature of contraception.  He is doing a series and this is part 2. 

— 6 — Spotlight On: #3  This post by Amanda Mortus was viral worthy.  Get it, viral Worthy?  🙂  Anyway, every girl needs to read it. Please,  Raise Your Standards, Ladies!  Excellent post, Amanda!

— 7 — Guest Posts:  I have all kinds of guest posts lined up for this Summer!  I am really excited to share with you the wisdom from these other bloggers!  If any of you (bloggers and non-bloggers) would like to do a guest post, I would welcome that!

• Are you married and can you see, in hindsight, the concept of The Veil?
• Did it seem that all other men (or women if you are a guy) were unable to see you but once you met your husband (or wife) it was like a veil was lifted?
• How about marital chastity?  Are you experiencing the power of Superabundance from marital chastity?
• Anyone out there had a change of heart concerning contraception?
• Reverse vasectomies?  (Seriously, this is an amazing grace…the stories of renewed marriages are epic!)
• Finally, if you are single, does it seem like you are invisible?  Have you experienced a feeling that the guys you are dating can’t see you?  They like you but something is preventing them from moving forward toward marriage?

I would love to hear from you!!  Of course, your guest post can be anonymous.  🙂

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!

— 1 —   This Week’s Post:  Is……an oldie but goodie.  Check out The Chase.  May you be blessed!

— 2 —  The Latin Mass:  My family and I went to our first Tridentine Latin Mass on Pentecost Sunday.  I was in awe of the reverence and the heavenly chanting and divine incense.  Ahhhh. We all loved it!  All one hour and forty-five minutes of it!  It did, however, make me appreciate the Novus Ordo  Mass (the one we normally attend).  I began to replay the beautiful words of the Mass in my head this week: “Blessed are you Lord God of all creation.  Through Your goodness.  Holy, Holy, Holy Lord.  Heaven and Earth are full of Your glory.  Through my fault, through my most grevous fault.”

— 3 — Matt Maher:  Have you heard his song “It is Good” from his new album?  It is so Old Testament and makes me want to get up and dance!

“It is good to praise the Lord;  And make music to the name of God 
To  proclaim your love and faithfulness; All the day and through the  night
Get your hands up;  Get your hands up;  Get your hands up;  Get your hands up”

— 4 —  Spotlight on: This week’s spotlight is on Brianna Heldt!  Did you see this amazing post, Are Men Born To Cheat?  She is seriously one of my favorite bloggers. 

— 5 —  Yesterday’s Mass Readings:  Were sooo beautiful!  First we have the Book of Sirach 5:1-10.  

“Rely not on your wealth; say not: “I have the power.”  Rely not on your strength in following the desires of your heart.  Say not: “Who can prevail against me?” for the LORD will exact the punishment. Say not: “I have sinned, yet what has befallen me?” for the LORD bides his time.  Of forgiveness be not overconfident, adding sin upon sin. Say not: “Great is his mercy; my many sins he will forgive.”  For mercy and anger alike are with him; upon the wicked alights his wrath.  Delay not your conversion to the LORD, put it not off from day-to-day; For suddenly his wrath flames forth; at the time of vengeance, you will be destroyed.  Rely not upon deceitful wealth, for it will be no help on the day of wrath.” 

— 6 —  Then We Have:  The first verses of Psalms:

“Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, 

but delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night. 

He is like a tree planted near running water, That yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers.” 

— 7 — Finally We Have: This meditation from Saint Thomas Aquinas:

“Merciful God, grant that I may ardently desire what is pleasing to you, prudently seek it, truthfully acknowledge it and perfectly fulfill it to the praise and glory of your name. 

Order my life and grant I may carry out what you wish me to do as is fitting and serviceable to my soul’s salvation. May I come to you, Lord, by a way that is sure, direct, pleasant and ordered to its end; a way that does not wander aimlessly between prosperity and adversity; that I may thank you when things go well and keep patience when they go badly, neither letting myself be raised up by the former nor cast down by the latter. May nothing bring me happiness nor make me sad except those things that either lead to you or draw me away. May I neither desire to please nor fear to displease anyone except you alone. May all passing things become as worthless in my eyes because of you, Lord, and may I hold dear whatever touches you nearly and you yourself, O my God, more than all… May I desire nothing besides you…

O Lord my God, grant me an understanding that knows you, an eagerness that seeks you, a wisdom that finds you, a life that pleases you, a perseverance that waits for you with trust and a trust that holds you fast until the end. Grant me to be afflicted with your sorrows through penance, to make use of your blessings along the way by your grace, and above all to rejoice in your joy through glory in your homeland, O You who, being God, live and reign through all ages.”

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!

— 1 —   This Week’s Post:  Is……Emotional Chastity!  Visualize your freedom in Christ!

— 2 —  This Week’s Other Post:  The Very Inspiring Blogger Award!  Check out who inspires me and who I nominated for the Award.  Also, please help me congratulate Amanda  on the publication of her book, Worthy!

— 3 — She Knows:  Did you see this article by Rebecca Frech?  It was a note of encouragement to her teen daughter about chastity.  She provided an excellent perspective on the importance of parents being open to life and how marital chastity is the best witness and support for our children in their goal of living chastely.  Kudos Rebecca!

— 4 — Prison Mass: I loved this!

— 5 —  Spotlight on: This week’s spotlight is on Rachel Allen!  She works for a retreat ministry called the REAP Team, where it is her full-time job to talk about sex, love, dating, and chastity.  Check out this post and follow her on Twitter.  Thank you, Rachel for your important ministry!

— 6 —  Childless on Mother’s Day: This article by MaryBeth Bonacci mirrored how I felt at Mass on Mother’s Day.  I know the priests have the best intentions.  Motherhood today is under attack so our sweet Knights of Columbus men wanted to honor us Moms with a carnation. We stood and were applauded by the rest of the congregation.  It felt uncomfortable to me.  Here we are with the greatest blessing possible (a child) and we were being applauded.  I guess I just want to turn the honor over to our Creator. Maybe as an alternative, they can give carnations to all the females in honor of the feminine genius?  Anyone else feel this way?

— 7 — The Peace of God: Saint Padre Pio de Pietrelcina (1887-1968), Capuchin wrote:

“God’s Spirit is a spirit of peace; even after our most serious failings he makes us feel a sorrow that is peaceful, humble and confident, precisely because of his mercy. The spirit of evil, on the other hand, agitates, irritates and makes us feel a sort of anger at ourselves when we have failed. Yet it is very much to ourselves we should be practicing charity in the first place. So, when you are bothered by certain thoughts, the agitation never comes from God but from the devil, since God, being a spirit of peace, brings you serenity.”

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!

— 1 —   This Week’s Post:  Is……He Will Rule Over You.  What?  Who will rule over me? Please check out the post and find out!

— 2 —  Our Son’s First Holy Communion: Was on Saturday.  The Mass was perfect and profound and all that we could have hoped for.  We successfully entertained 50 people at our house after the Mass including lots of kids.  He received some amazing gifts. Oh, and the readings were excellent!

• Acts 2:42-47
• 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
• Gospel of John 6:51-58

— 3 — Matt Maher: Have you heard his new song?  It is called:  Lord I Need You

*sorry my site is not allowing me to embed  links so you will have to click on it to go to YouTube

— 4 — Duggar Girls On Dating:  Say whatcha want about the Dugger Family but I think these girls are amazing!  Someone is doing something right. Check them out talking about purity and protecting your heart.  Again, please click on this link…

— 5 —  Spotlight on:  This week’s spot light is on one of my new blog followers E.G Norton over at Trenchcoatintrospective.com.  I am so encouraged by these young faith-filled Catholics!  Oh, and did I mention she is a convert!  I particularly liked this post about Chastity and this post called Waiting for Tobias.  In the first post, she says of her beloved:

“I love him. I haven’t met him yet, but I love him. And I want to be the woman he deserves.”

She concludes the Waiting for Tobias post with this:  “Our time will come, single ladies.”

—6 — Twitter:  I actually like Twitter and have “met” some great people.  I can’t tell if I like it more than Facebook.  What I do not like about Twitter is the time sink.  I just weaned myself off of Facebook during Lent and now I have this other thing waiting to devour my soul.  Ha ha.  A little dramatic, yes.

— 7 — Father Greg Shaffer:  A couple of weeks ago I promised you a photo of the DC Hood basketball team (made up of priests and seminarians).  Here they are! Aren’t they Holy and handsome!

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!

— 1 —   This Week’s Post:  It is about the all-too-common problem of Fantasy Relationships.  May you be blessed!

— 2 —  Our Son’s First Holy Communion:  Is tomorrow!  We have invited over 70 people to our house to celebrate. Yay and Yikes! We are only expecting about half to join us but our goal was to make this a big deal…..because it is!  I was planning on keeping it low-key but Gregg was like “Oh, we need to celebrate big time and invite our family, friends, neighbors and co-workers!”  Gregg is so awesome.  Some of the folks we invited are fallen away Catholics so I am excited to see the Lord work through the celebration of such an important Sacrament.  Come Home everyone!  Jesus is waiting for you at Mass where Heaven meets Earth!

— 3 —  My Lord:  As we were driving home yesterday, our son said, “Two more days and I get to receive my Lord!”  He is so excited about his First Holy Communion.  That little sentence made his entire tuition to Catholic schools worth every penny.

— 4 —  Where Heaven Meets Earth: Restoring the Sacred:  Did you watch this special on EWTN this week?? Wow!  The Sacred Mass is a glimpse of Heaven and we should treat it as such.  Go give Father Cook and the folks at Story Tell Foundation some love!  Here is a teaser:

“A Glimpse of Heaven”

Father Cook quickly set out on a mission to restore the sacred at St. Peters. He began celebrating parts of the mass in Latin, which he included in both Spanish and English masses. In all that he did, he sought to reestablish the mystery, awe and wonder of God, and did so by bringing reverence and sacred music to the ceremonies, traditions and liturgy of the Catholic Faith both in the sanctuary and in the community as well. So the masses, the sacred music, and traditions like the Corpus Christi procession demonstrate what the Cook is trying to do is to give people, in his own words, “A glimpse of heaven.”

— 5 —  Spotlight on: This week the spotlight is on Anthony from the Evangelical to Catholic blog.  First, Anthony is a wonderful guy and in this article he shares the story of his conversion to Catholicism.  But, but, but!  He also shares a little bit about his courtship with is soon-to-be-wife (June 1^st), Jackie.  I invited Anthony and Jackie to do a guest post and I pray that they do (once they are settled into married life, of course.)  In the meantime, go, go go read his post!  I think their story is such an inspiration for single folks.

—6 —  CCD Teacher Moment:  Gregg and I were shopping in a new grocery store last week and an employee walked up to me and said, “Hey, you used to teach me CCD!”  Turns out this young man (now 23 years old) was a student in my 7^th Grade CCD class about 11 years ago.  He was sort of a troubled kid (he admitted this) and had even been in jail as an adult. But, he was so happy to see me!

So, you know me, I said, “So, how is your relationship with the Lord?”  He said it was ‘just alright.’ Then, I said, “Are you living a Sacramental life?’  He isn’t.  But, he wanted to talk to Gregg and me about the Lord and getting back to Mass!  And, going to Confession!! He was searching and hungry.  He asked us to bring him books and he felt really inspired to get on the right path.  He has little children (not married) and I think he realizes his need for God and a life of Grace.

This was a very moving and emotional moment for me.  I taught for about 10 years (about 200 students) and virtually all of them are now adults.  I often wonder how they are all doing.  Do they love the Lord and are the living a Sacramental life? Do they remember what I taught them about Chastity? Even though this young man was (admittedly) away from God, it proved to me that God chases all of us.  What a privilege for me to plant seeds in the lives of all those children. Praise Him!

— 7 — Liebster Award:  Sweet Amanda from the Worthy of Agape blog nominated me for the Liebster Award.  I was nominated by another blogger a couple of months ago and was surprised to be nominated again.  My plan is post the response to my Liebster Award nomination on May 14^th.  Why May 14^th you ask?  Well, that is the day Amanda’s book, Worthy, will be published and available.  If you cannot wait until May 14^th, you can pre-order your copy.  Thank you, Amanda! Please go congratulate her and give her a big hug!

God love and bless you!

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For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —  This Week’s Post:   I Knew.  Yes, I knew that it was only a matter of time.  May you be blessed!

— 2 —  Father Greg Shaffer: Last week I promised you a photo of Father Greg Shaffer. He is part of the DC Hood basketball team (made up of priests and seminarians) who came to play against the parents from my parish (The Chain Gang) in a game of b-ball.  Father Greg was not able to make it but I have been promised by a parent photographer that they will send me a photo of the DC Hood team.  These priests and seminarians are awesome and so athletic!  When I receive the photo, I will share! In the meantime, here he is!

Please go here and support Father Shaffer!!

–3– Wonderful Wednesdays:  I was adoring our Lord in Eucharistic Adoration a couple of weeks ago and got an inspiration (or nudge).  The word the Lord wanted me to ponder was “Indulgence.”  In other words, He was telling me that my life had too many forms of indulgence and that I needed to reduce this aspect of my life.  One way to do this would be to commit to daily Mass one day a week and pack a lunch on that day rather than eating out.  Yes, Gregg and I eat lunch out every day. This area of our lives is very indulgy.  So, for the last couple of weeks we have been attending Mass on Wednesdays and then eating our packed lunch in the car.  It is so simple and can be done in an hour because daily Mass is offered right on the military base where we work. Amazing. The Lord does speak when we are in His presence!

–4– Fathers:  Whenever we attend Mass on the base, we see all these wonderful men, both civilian and military, attending daily Mass.  There is this one civilian man who also attends our home parish.  He has kind of a ‘high ranking’ job yet he spends his lunch hour at Mass. One day he told us that when he goes home, his kids ask him “How was your day, Dad?  Did anything exciting happen?”  His answer is always, “I went to Mass today.  It doesn’t get any better than that.”  By the way, this same man has a son who is entering the Seminary in the Fall.

Please don’t underestimate the impact of the Father’s commitment to our Lord; to Him that makes Himself food for us in the Eucharist.

–5– Spotlight On:  Regina is in the spotlight again!  This time, for her amazing post on the virtue of……….Chastity!

–6–  Hang The Veil Of Chastity:  I keep seeing this quote by St. Isaac the Syrian and it makes me feel connected to the roots of our Faith :

“It is not necessary to roam heaven and earth after God or to send our mind to seek Him in different places. Purify your soul, O son of man, remove from yourself the thought of memories outside of nature; hang the veil of chastity and humility before your impulses. By means of these you will be able to find Him who is within you.”

Saint Isaac the Syrian  ~ 7th Century Bishop and Theologian

–7– The TB Virus Cures Cancer:  I know!  Isn’t that crazy?  My sister has bladder cancer and they are curing it with the TB virus!  No chemo, no radiation.  They just removed the tumors and through a series of treatments, are flooding the bladder with the TB virus.  The virus attacks the cancer cells. Isn’t that cool?  We are so thankful and love her so much! 

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!