Rosaries

I started making rosaries in an effort to help me bring down my student loans and I wanted to share with some of you.  The Lord has been showering me with graces and miraculously the local Catholic store owner will allow me to place the rosaries for sale at her store.

If you would like to purchase one, feel free to send me an email or post a comment (it will not be published)  I am also working on a knitted quilt (hope that turns out good) that I hope to raffle off in a few weeks.   Pictures will be up as soon as they become available.

Making Him the focus

Image by Michael 1952 via Flickr

You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name.  John 15:16

I love seconds, whether it comes to food, engrossing myself in a book or watching a favorite movie.  The same is very true for the mass; I love the mass and always love seconds.  On Sundays I will sometimes return for the 7pm mass (the last mass of the day) or catch it the second time around on EWTN.  It is always interesting to hear different priests' homilies.  During the week, I attend mass on my way to work and would sometimes listen to the first mass of the day on EWTN hoping that a second homily will help me to better hear all the Lord has to tell me.

This morning, I rushed in church at the tail end of Monsignor Tugwell's short homily and was mentally regretting not being able to attend mass this afternoon (I am traveling to a weekend retreat)  On top of it all, I forgot my work laptop at home and had to go clear across town.  It was all I could do to stay focused on our Lord in the Eucharist.  As I was saying the Anima Christi after communion I started expressing to the Lord my gratitude for all of the graces He's bestowed on me.  All the while however, there was this weird lingering doubt in my mind over the fact that I couldn't do it and I was really starting to question whether my vocation to the religious life was genuinely from the Lord.

Well of course I couldn't do it, it's not I who does it it's the Lord.  I am merely an instrument which He uses for His Glory just like he used Our Lady.  At the time however, that was the last thing on my mind as I was so focused on myself and what I could or couldn't do.  Halfway through the drive back home to pick up my laptop I turned the radio back on (EWTN of course) and the Magnificat prayer was being said at the end of the Sonrise Morning Show.  I said it along with the prayer leader and started to realize that I was doing it again, making my call to religious about myself rather than about the Lord.  It is so easy to sometimes lose focus of the Lord in our day to day lives and I find it even worse when I lose focus of Him in the midst of my own discernment to religious life.

I turned off the radio after the prayer and started to think of the formation of a religious sister - this process can take years!  I kept pondering this as I carefully sped (oxymoron, I know) back to work.  The waves of doubt came back again: "what if I can't do it?" "I may not persevere" "What if the Lord is not calling me to live my years in this particular community"  All these questions in my head reminded me that I was not making the Lord my focus and that I needed to rely on Him now more than ever and would need to continue to do so especially during my formation years and the rest of my years as a sister.

I turned the radio back on and caught the reading of the Gospel (the Genealogy of Jesus) In his homily, Father Miguel pointed out that though Joseph was a just man and Mary born immaculate the genealogy of Jesus is not contained of all perfect people.  He pointed out Rahab, Ruth, Isaac, Jacob and other not so perfect members.  He drove home the point that in His divine logic, the Lord does not always choose the obvious ones.  "Peter denied Jesus three times and Paul persecuted the Church yet these two are pillars of the church" he reminded us.  With this he recalled John 15:16 "You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name."  

This bit came at the perfect time since I was so focused on being perfect that I became more focused on myself more than Christ.  The Lord called me and He has reason for doing so, though I do not yet know why he chose a sinner like myself to use for His Glory, I must strive to remember that the choice was His.  Living according to the Lord does not mean striving to be perfect but rather striving to be pleasing to Him in all that we do.  We are called not to be perfect but to live holy lives; something I need to remind myself of every day.  Yes strive to love perfectly and to grow in the virtues but in trying to be the perfect human I find that I become more and more imperfect because I forget the most important thing: to focus on my beloved and to rely on Him and follow His Holy Will.  In doing this will I be a better me, a me more and more like him who was the perfect one.

As we approach the end of the Advent season I invite you to join me and making Christ our focus everyday.

Pax!

The Virtue of Patience

It's been over a week since my last post and with things being so busy at work the time has flown by.  However, it has not gone by fast enough for me to lose sight of the fact that I am still waiting to hear from Mother about my entrance.  With joyful anxiety, I check the mail every day and eagerly answer my phone hoping to hear news from her.

As I reflect on the season of Advent, I think of the joy that is to come as we await the arrival of our Lord.  I am reminded every day of the need to be patient.  As I grow in my faith, I focus on growing in the virtues; especially the virtues of temperance and patience.  We all need to grow in the virtues; however I am sure in doing a deep self-examen we will find that there are particular virtues that we are most in need of.

Awaiting an official answer from mother is a gentle and sometimes painful reminder of the need for patience.  It all boils to trusting in the Lord which has been the theme for my discernment and my life.  The more I worry about where the Lord wants me to serve Him, the more I realize that I need to continue to trust in the plans that He has for me.

So as I pray and eagerly wait the arrival of our Lord, I also pray and await a response from the sisters and I look forward to the joys that I will experience when I learn where I am to live my yes.

Novena to the Immaculate Conception - Day Nine

Happy Feast day of the Immaculate Conception! The novena ended today and though I wasn't always faithful, I can honestly say that the Lord and our lady were faithful to me.  These past couple of weeks I have been struggling with arranging details for a fund raising dinner.  However, the Lord has been using many angels to show me that He has His hand in it all.

Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts and encouragements as I journey toward my vocation.  I will continue to keep you in my prayers.

PRAYER TO THE

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

O God,  who by the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son,
we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain,
so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession,  to come unto You.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ,  Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, world without end.

Amen.

Day Nine

 

O Mother of the King of the Universe, most perfect member of the human race, "our tainted nature’s solitary boast," we turn to you as mother, advocate, and mediatrix. O Holy Mary, assist us in our present necessity. By your Immaculate Conception, O Mary conceived without sin, we humbly beseech you from the bottom of our heart to intercede for us with your Divine Son and ask that we be granted the favor for which we now plead... 

(State your intention here...)

 
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will. 

Amen.

Recite the Litany of the Blessed Virgin (Linked Here)

Novena to the Immaculate Conception - Day Eight

PRAYER TO THE

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

O God,  who by the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son,
we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain,
so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession,  to come unto You.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ,  Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, world without end.

Amen.

Day Eight

 

O Most gracious Virgin Mary, beloved Mother of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, intercede with him for us that we be granted the favor which we petition for so earnestly in this novena...O Mother of the Word Incarnate, we feel animated with confidence that your prayers in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. O Glorious Mother of God, in memory of your joyous Immaculate Conception, hear our prayers and obtain for us our petitions.

(State your intention here...)  

 
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will.

Amen

Recite the Litany of the Blessed Virgin (Linked Here)

Novena to the Immaculate Conception - Day Seven

PRAYER TO THE

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

O God,  who by the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son,
we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain,
so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession,  to come unto You.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ,  Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, world without end.

Amen.

Day Seven

 

O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God, and my mother, from the sublime heights of your dignity turn your merciful eyes upon me while I, full of confidence in your bounty and keeping in mind your Immaculate conception and fully conscious of your power, beg of you to come to our aid and ask your Divine Son to grant the favor we earnestly seek in this novena... if it be beneficial for our immortal souls and the souls for whom we pray.

(State your intention here...)  

O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will.

Amen.

Recite the Litany of the Blessed Virgin (Linked Here)

Novena to the Immaculate Conception - Day Six

Happy 2nd Sunday of Advent!  Thank you all for the continued prayers.  Some new developments in my fundraising efforts (to be shared in a later post) that is convincing me that the Lord's hand is in it all.

Let us continue to hope and pray together as we await the Lord.

PRAYER TO THE

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

O God,  who by the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son,
we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain,
so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession,  to come unto You.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ,  Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, world without end.

Amen.

Day Six

 

Glorious and immortal Queen of Heaven, we profess our firm belief in your Immaculate Conception preordained for you in the merits of your Divine Son. We rejoice with you in your Immaculate Conception. To the one ever-reigning God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three in Person, one in nature, we offer thanks for your blessed Immaculate Conception. O Mother of the Word made Flesh, listen to our petition as we ask this special grace during this novena...

(State your intention here...) 

 
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will. 

Amen.

Recite the Litany of the Blessed Virgin (Linked Here)

Novena to the Immaculate Conception - Day Five

Day five of the Novena and I am somewhat tempted to just give it up; I have been struggling with saying it faithfully (I almost missed saying it last night!!)

I am thinking part of the reason for this struggle is because I had three novenas going (I need lots of help)  I had the St. Francis Xavier novena going along with the miraculous Christmas novena; I ended the novena to St. Francis yesterday and I eagerly wait to know the Lord's will, though I believe I am starting to see fruits.

Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I journey towards my yes to the Lord.

PRAYER TO THE

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

O God,  who by the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son,
we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain,
so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession,  to come unto You.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ,  Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, world without end.

Amen.

Day Five

 

O Lord, who, by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, did prepare a fitting dwelling for your Son, we beseech you that as by the foreseen death of your Son, you did preserve her from all stain of sin, grant that through her intercession, we may be favored with the granting of the grace that we seek for at this time... 

(State your intention here...)

 
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will. 

Amen.

Recite the Litany of the Blessed Virgin (Linked Here)

Novena to the Immaculate Conception - Day Four

In the fourth day of this novena I can honestly say that I am seeing the graces that the Lord is bestowing on me, I am being reminded of the power of novenas and I couldn't be more fortunate to have recourse to our Lady.

PRAYER TO THE
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

O God,  who by the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son,
we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain,
so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession,  to come unto You.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ,  Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, world without end.

Amen.

Day Four

 

O Mary, Mother of God, endowed in your glorious Immaculate Conception with the fullness of grace; unique among women in that you are both mother and virgin; Mother of Christ and Virgin of Christ, we ask you to look down with a tender heart from your throne and listen to our prayers as we earnestly ask that you obtain for us the favor for which we now plead... 

(State your intention here...)

 
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will.

Amen.

Recite the Litany of the Blessed Virgin (Linked Here)

Novena to the Immaculate Conception - Day Three

Day three of the Novena to the Immaculate Conception.

PRAYER TO THE
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

O God,  who by the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son,
we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain,
so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession,  to come unto You.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ,  Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, world without end.

Amen.

Day three

 

O Blessed Virgin Mary, glory of the Christian people, joy of the universal Church and Mother of Our Lord, speak for us to the Heart of Jesus, who is your Son and our brother. O Mary, who by your holy Immaculate Conception did enter the world free from stain, in your mercy obtain for us from Jesus the special favor which we now so earnestly seek... 

(State your intention here...) 

 
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will.

Amen.

Recite the Litany of the Blessed Virgin (Linked Here)

Novena to the Immaculate Conception - Day Two

Yesterday I started the Novena to the Immaculate conception and I must say I am excited and looking forward to see how the Lord's will unfolds.  I am trusting that whatever I need I will get though it may not necessarily be what I explicitly ask for.

Join me in continuing this novena.

First, recite the Prayer to the Immaculate Conception. Then, recite the appropriate prayer of each of the nine days.

PRAYER TO THE
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

O God,  who by the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son,
we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain,
so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession,  to come unto You.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ,  Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, world without end.

Amen.

Day two

 

O Mary, ever blessed Virgin, Mother of God, Queen of angels and of saints, we salute you with the most profound veneration and filial devotion as we contemplate your holy Immaculate Conception, We thank you for your maternal protection and for the many blessings that we have received through your wondrous mercy and most powerful intercession. In all our necessities we have recourse to you with unbounded confidence. O Mother of Mercy, we beseech you now to hear our prayer and to obtain for us of your Divine Son the favor that we so earnestly request in this novena...

(State your intention here...) 
 
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will. 

Amen.

Recite the Litany of the Blessed Virgin (Linked Here)