Dear God;


Thank you.


Thank you for loving me all the time, no matter what I do.

 Dear God; Thank you for creating Earth, our home. I like it a lot. Most of it, anyway! ;)


Dear God; Thank you for those precious little moments, they are my favorite.


Dear God; Thank you for the sunrise. It's a brand new day.


Dear God; Thank you for flowers. 


Dear God; Thank you for open fields, closed forests, and sparkling oceans. They are all beautiful in their own special way.


Dear God; Thank you for colors. I'm very glad we're not all black and white.


Dear God; Thank you for whispering winds and trickling rain. They sing me to sleep.


Dear God; Thank you for the animals, with the exceptions of insects and rodents. When I get to see you, I'm going to ask you why you created them. Mosquitoes and Rats especially.

Dear God; Thank you for providing me with two loving, faithful, God-fearing parents.

Dear God; Thank you for blessing me with five, almost six younger siblings. My life wouldn't be the same without them.

Dear God; Thank you for giving my father a good, steady job, so that he can earn money to feed, shelter and clothe us.

Dear God; Thank you for a loving mommy. I don't know what I would do without her.

Dear God; Thank you for all my darling friends. They inspire me, comfort me and help me. I'd be lost without them. 

Dear God; Thank you for placing me in a free country, where I am able to worship you and profess my faith without being persecuted. 

Dear God; Thank you for letting me get to know Mary, the mother of your son. She is my role model.

Dear God; Thank you for forgiving me every time I sin. Even though I am one of the reasons your son was crucified, you forgive me anyway. 

Dear God; I'm sorry for all the times I've sinned. I'm sorry that I'm ungrateful, selfish and weak. I take comfort in knowing you forgive me.

Dear God; Thank you for letting me know and understand Truth.
Dear God; Thank you for sending your precious, perfect son down to our world to save us.

Dear God; Thank you for letting Him suffer cruelly, more cruelly than any human being, and die for my sins.

Dear God; I will try to deserve the awesome love you have for me. I will try to be like Mary, my mother and Jesus, your son.

Dear God; I'll pray. I know you're listening.

 Dear God; I love you. Nowhere near as much as you love me, but I love you.

Dear God; Thank you for the Miracle of Easter. Christ has risen! Hallelujah!


 Happy Easter, my lovely followers! Christ has risen! Rejoice! 

God Exists.


Do I know this? I'm going to disappoint you all and say;

No, I don't.


It's impossible for me to know for sure. I want to - oh, how I want to - but I can't. My physical self will always partially reject it. My physical self cannot understand anything beyond this world, and unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about it. I am stuck with my physical self, and my physical self only has a physical capacity to understand. My physical self does not understand how there could be a supreme being, and non-physical being. My physical being is the reason I have doubts. The reason I sometimes question God's existence, to myself. The reason I say; How? How can a being so powerful, so wonderful, and so good truly exist, and what's more, love me more than my parents?


It's the reason I stay up at night, trying to convince myself to understand, and to know. Because I so desperately want to know. And sometimes, I feel bad about it. I feel like an ungrateful child. I feel like I'm letting God down, by not accepting him and being done with it. Why am I so weak?


I ended up talking to my priest about it, in fact. I wanted to know if what I was thinking was wrong. He told me that without doubt, there is no faith. There is just knowledge. Knowledge and Faith are two different things.

If God wanted me to know, he would have created me without my physical self. Instead...
Instead, he gave me the ability to believe.
To know is to be 100% sure, and to understand.
To believe is to not necessarily understand, not be sure, but still be confident of the truth.


 In order to believe, I do not have to know. I do not have to understand. I just have to accept, and be content. I have to choose to believe, despite my doubts, despite my misunderstandings. And so;
I believe God is real.
I believe God loves me.
I believe He sent his beloved Son, to die for my sins.
I believe He sees me all the time.
I believe He knows me thoughts.
I believe He forgives me.


and the best part...
I believe He believes in me.


I believe that despite my faults, my failings, my sins...he still believes that I have the potential to be a truly good person, and that I can be happy with him in Heaven, if I try my hardest. And He will never stop believing in me. I may fall and stop believing in him, but he will always, always believe in me. Because he loves me so much, so completely, so amazingly, that I will never be able to even begin to understand it. All I can do is accept it, believe it, and try to deserve it.

So, despite my doubts and wonderings, despite my scepticism, I will choose to believe. I will realize that I will never completely understand God. But I will also realize that I don't have to. God is a mystery, He will always be a mystery, but oh! what a wonderful mystery He is!


God bless you all!

Yesterday's Epistle caught my attention;
Interesting, isn't it? St. Paul is saying that while once, we were children of the bondwoman -- children of the flesh -- Christ has made us children of the free woman -- children of the Spirit.


Isn't that amazing? Once, we were a worldly people, but thanks to Christ's saving Grace, we are people of the Spirit! We are not of this world, rather, we are simply living here, biding our time, until we are called home.


Christ is calling us, every one of us, to become a child of the Spirit. It is up to us whether or not we hear and answer the call. 
We are called to be "In this world, but not of this world." 
After all, who is the prince of Earth? Satan!


We are called to set the example for those who do not hear, or choose not to hear. By following Christ's example in all things, we show others the beauty of our faith. 


Christ loves you so very much, that he suffered and died for you. He is our Savior, the least we can do to thank him is to follow his Heavenly example.


And with that inspiring (for me anyway!) thought, I bid you all a good morning.
God bless,

Otherwise commonly known as Lent.

It is, at this time, when I start to feel like a really rotten person.
Why?
Because, I dread it. Instead of being a good, selfless girl and thinking; Oh yay! I get to make sacrifices like my Savior, and offer up my discomfort for the souls in Purgatory, I go; No! I have to make a what?! S-A-C-R-I-F-...but I don't wanna!!!!!


For example, yesterday, we were abstaining from meat, since it was Ash Wednesday.
In case, for those people who clearly don't know me very well at all, I love meat. I am a full-fledged carnivore.
I love veggies too, but I rely on meat to satisfy me, most of the time.

The ideal meal for me would be;

Breakfast - Bacon, bacon and more BACON.
Lunch - chicken salad sandwich, with cucumbers.
Dinner - Roast beef and potatoes and green beans




But anyway, moving on...
I was not in a good mood yesterday. I was growly and unpleasant. Everything got on my nerves, I was tired, and I was really impatient.
What a great way to start off Lent!

I went to Confession after Mass yesterday, and my priest told me to practice the work of service for Lent.
And I'm going to try. I really will.

This Lent, I'm giving up sweets. Since that's not such a huge sacrifice, I've also decided to do one work of charity or say and extra prayer each day.
 Today, my work is to obey my mother without complaining.
Hard...

But I still feel bad, because I don't feel like I'm really into the whole Lent thing. Isn't it about sacrificing willingly, and joyfully, in honor of Our Savior? But I'm such a brat, all I can think of is whine whine whine, I don't wanna.

So, I'm praying about that, and working on a better attitude. After all, imagine what the world would be like if Christ had a Gwenea-like attitude when he died for us!

God bless,


P.S. I've been thinking seriously about quitting blogger for a while. I feel like I have nothing good to post about, nothing good to contribute to the blog-world. I also feel like I'm wasting follower-space. I know that sounds stupid, but I do feel like I'm wasting everyone's time or something.
So, I'll be praying about that too!
xo

I am SUCH a whiner/complainer. And I may complain a lot verbally, but you have no idea what goes on INSIDE my head.

You know what? I shouldn't complain. I shouldn't whine. Sure, my life isn't perfect.
But who's is? There's always something, something that 'ruins' or disrupts our life.
But guess what?

THAT'S LIFE. 

Part of life is learning to accept the imperfection, put on a smile and deal with our problems. Because moping and complaining will never stop the imperfection. If anything, it'll make it worse. But when you try your best to work your way through, you almost always get positive results. Not always right away, and not always completely noticeable, but they're there, you can be sure.

I've found that I need to start saying to myself; "No big deal"

So, the kitchen's a disaster? No big deal. I'll clean it up.

So, the boys are running around screaming? No big deal. Count to twenty, then go and calmly give them something useful to do.

So, the boys aren't listening? No big deal. Calmly explain to them that if they don't listen, there will be consequences.

So, they still aren't listening? No big deal. They'll be dealt with by a parent, none of my concern.

So, it's late and I haven't even started dinner? No big deal. We'll eat late.

So, I'm struggling with math. No Big deal. (unless I'm failing) I'll study more and work harder.


The thing with me is, I tend to get overwhelmed really easily. I make a big deal out if things ALL THE TIME.
I get that feeling where you feel almost short of breath, and your patience is worn clean through and the slightest thing sets you off like a bomb.












{not my photo}






 So, when I feel like complaining, I will REMEMBER.

• When my brothers are driving me nuts, I will REMEMBER that there are millions of children who would give their eyeteeth to have siblings.
• When I'm hating my schoolwork, I will REMEMBER that there are millions of children who don't even have the opportunity to have a real education.
• When I'm grumbling because I really don't want to make dinner, or because I don't like what's for dinner, I will REMEMBER that there are millions of people who don't even get a decent meal once a day.
• When I'm annoyed because I don't have a perfect figure, I will REMEMBER that there are starving children everywhere who will never be as well fed as I am.
• When I feel depressed because I'm not beautiful, I will REMEMBER that beauty is only skin deep, and God doesn't care if I'm pretty or not.
• When I'm irritated because my bedroom is really cold, I will REMEMBER that I am very lucky to have heating, because there are millions who are cold all the time.
• When I'm angry at my parents because they won't let me do something, I will REMEMBER that there are thousands of orphans who would trade places with me in an instant.
• When I'm annoyed because I don't get babysitting jobs often and don't have money to buy the things I want, I will REMEMBER that things are just things, and I won't be taking them to Heaven.

When I feel 'too tired' to do chores, I will REMEMBER that I have no idea what tired is, and there are millions of children who have to do hard labor on little sleep and almost no food.

Lord grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.




Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.


                                                                             - Reinhold Niebuhr











God bless!

"At three o'clock, implore My mercy especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy for the whole world...in this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of me in the virtue of My Passion."



The story of This Novena goes something like this:



One day in the year 1938, Christ appeared to Sister Faustina, a Sister or Mercy in Poland, to re-teach us the story of His love even unto death, and His disappointment in us because if distrust in His mercy and goodness. He requested that Sister Faustina paint a picture of himself with the words "Jesus, I trust in Thee."She tried to sketch it herself, but failed miserably. Eventually, she ended up hiring a professional artist. Sister Faustina was disappointed, for it did not show show Our Lord as He had appeared to her-so full of goodness and kindness. She complained to Christ, but He said it would do. Our Lord desired the picture to be venerated and attached a promise to it:

"I promise that the soul that will venerate this picture will not perish. I further promise to that soul victory over it's enemies already here on earth and especially in the hour of death. I Myself, shall defend that soul as My own glory."






On Good Friday my family started a Divine Mercy chaplet Novena. It ends tomorrow, on Divine Mercy Sunday. For all of you who don't know what a chaplet is, it goes like this.

1 Our Father
1 Hail Mary
Apostles Creed

Say:
"Eternal Father, I offer you the body and blood, soul and divinity of your dearly beloved son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for the atonement of our sins and for those of the whole world"

Then, you say ten of these:

"For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world."

Repeat the Eternal Father prayer for four more decades.

Then say three times:

"Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world."

Say "May the heart of Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loves, with grateful affection, in every moment in all the tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time."

Since we are doing the Novena, we add:

"Let us Pray for those luke-warm souls who were the cause of dreadful suffering to Christ in the Garden of Olives.

Most Merciful Jesus, Who art Goodness Itself, lead unto the abode of Thy most compassionate Heart all lukewarm souls, who, like the decay of death, filled Thee with painful feelings of aversion and loathing in the Garden of Olives. Plunge them into the fire of Thy most pure love, and overcome their tepidity that they may be inflamed with an ever increasing fire if love and may praise continually Thy boundless Mercy.

1: Our Father
1: Hail Mary
1: Glory Be
Eternal Father, look with eyes of Mercy upon the luke warm souls. We implore Thee through the bitter Passion of Thy Beloved Son, and Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and through these three hours of agony on the Cross, to inflame these souls with a new zeal for Thy glory. Fill their hearts with true love so that, thus quickened, they may preform deeds of mercy on earth and praise Thy mercy for all eternity.


Amen!


Sp there you have it. We, as I said earlier, finish the Novena tomorrow. Note: Novena is a repitition of prayers during the duration on Nine days.



Oh yes, and Mariana is quite better. A bit out of sorts, but she's a moody gal, so it's hard to tell. No more fever or stomach aches though!!!!! Woohoo!!!


God Bless!

Most of us know what the Ten Commandments are:

1: I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have strange gods before me.

2: Thou shalt not say my name in vain.

3: Thou shalt keep the Sabbath day holy.

4: Honor thy father and mother.

5: Thou shalt not kill.

6: Thou shalt not commit adultery

7: Thou shalt not steal.

8: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

9: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife

10: thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.

but is this all they mean?
My priest tells me that each has a hidden message







1: I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have strange gods before me.

This means that not only are we not to worship false idols, but we must remember to put Our Lord before worldly things.

2: Thou shalt not say my name in vain.

This means that saying "Oh my God!" or "Jesus Christ" is unacceptable. It would be like taking a beautiful flower and throwing it the gutter, without even acknowledging it's beauty.

3: Thou shalt keep the Sabbath day holy.

This means we must attend Mass, and refrain from doing hard labor like mowing the lawn, or cleaning the bathroom. Cooking and cleaning up after meals if fine.

4: Honor thy father and mother.

We must remember to respect an honor our Parents by obeying them and loving them.

5: Thou shalt not kill.

This does not just mean we are not supposed to go up to a person and stab them with a knife. We are not to get physically or verbally abusive to anyone. Hitting your brother or calling your sister names is breaking this commandment.

6: Thou shalt not commit adultery

This means so much more than................yeah. Wearing immodest clothing also counts. Jesus says that when a man lusts after a woman, he has already committed adultery. Also, flirting and anything to attract the opposite gender in an immoral way, is adultery

7: Thou shalt not steal.

I think this is pretty clear.

8: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

This does not mean don't ever lie. While lying is mostly a sin, it can be used to protect someone e.g. during the Holocaust lying that there are no Jews in your home. Bearing false witness means lying about someone. Like saying that your neighbor is having an affair, just to get him a bad name. A good name, once lost, is nearly impossible to recover. And a bad name is equally hard to lose.

9: thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.

This means that you shall not lust. Even if the person is not married

10: thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.

This means you shall not envy your neighbor. Envy leads to anger, which leads to hate, which leads to physical actions

I do not pretend to know what God is telling us. My priest told me this, and I thought it was interesting.

God Bless

This week is Holy Week. The time of year when we remember Christ's passion, death, and resurrection, My mother tells me that it is the week when Satan and his Demons work their hardest. I'm not sure why =D
Maybe It's because He doesn't want us celebrating Jesus' victory over him?

Whatever the reason, I will be particularly careful this week not to be overcome by his temptation.

"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen"

Jesus, have mercy on Us!













Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us!













God Bless!

Not-so-fun facts about The passion, that I heard about on a CD, which while disturbing, I felt the need to let the world know. (some of this information was gleaned from The Shroud of Turin)

1: In the bible, is says that Christ bled sweat. Science tells us that this has actually occurred, and that when it does, it leaves the whole body feeling bruised. This means that his suffering was twice as horrible as ours would have been.

2: According to Jewish law, a man was only allowed to be whipped 32 times. Any more than that could kill a man. Christ was whipped 120 times. Remember, he had gone through the bloody sweat. Jewish law also only permitted whipping on the back. Christ was whipped on his back, legs, arms and shoulders.

3: Instead of a crown, a cap of thorns was put on Christs head. The thorns were 2-3 inches deep.

4: Christ had lost an insane amount of blood what with his sweating, whipping and head wounds. This would have made him very dehydrated. And he had to carry his cross all the way to Golgotha. (fyi, head wounds bleed. Alot. He probably wouldn't have been able to see)

5: The particular place on his wrist that the nail was driven through, many people have fainted from the sheer pain of wounds there. Do you need more proof that he was God????

6: Every time he breathed, he had to pull up with his arms, and push with his feet. While he was nailed to a cross

7: He talked while he was up there! a) to the soldiers when he asked for water, b) to his mother, c) to his disciple John, and d) to his father. And this involved a ton of breathing!

8: The burial cloth he was wrapped in was a fine linen, so expensive, that Cleopatra didn't have as nice cloth as Jesus when he died.

I understand that some people may find this extremely gruesome and/or disturbing. Christs passion was a terrible, bloody thing. But he did it for all of us. And I want you all to know how much he suffered.

God Bless!