Prayer is powerful...

and it's most powerful for the person who prays.

This Sunday please offer up prayers for the recently deceased David Koch, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who suffers with cancer.

A message for commie libtard:

If you wished for David Koch's last days to have been painful as Bill Maher did -  "F‑‑‑ him...I'm glad he's dead, and I hope the end was painful", understand that is a perversion of the virtue of hope and a grave sin.

Fletch Daniels summed up the commie libtard hate beautifully at the American Thinker today - and we thank him.

Left-Wing Institutions Mainstreaming Hatred

Have a wonderful day...

I will be back later. Much work to get done today. God bless you all....


*****Lent is really all about spiritual renewal. It is a time for us to walk with Jesus, die to self, and be raised up again on Easter. We are so lucky to be able to spend time every year focusing on our baptismal promises.

A Prayer for Spiritual Renewal

God, heavenly Father, look upon me and hear my prayer during this holy Season of Lent.
By the good works You inspire, help me to discipline my body and to be renewed in spirit.
Without You I can do nothing.

By Your Spirit help me to know what is right and to be eager in doing Your will.
Teach me to find new life through penance.
Keep me from sin, and help me live by Your commandment of love.
God of love, bring me back to You.

Send Your Spirit to make me strong in faith and active in good works.
May my acts of penance bring me Your forgiveness, open my heart to Your Love, and prepare me for the coming feast of the Resurrection of Jesus.

Lord, during this Lenten Season, nourish me with Your Word of life and make me one with You in love and prayer.
Fill my heart with Your love and keep me faithful to the Gospel of Christ.
Give me the grace to rise above my human weakness.
Give me new life by Your Sacraments, especially the Mass.

Father, our source of life, I reach out with joy to grasp Your hand; let me walk more readily in Your ways.
Guide me in Your gentle mercy, for left to myself I cannot do Your Will

Father of love, source of all blessings, help me to pass from my old life of sin to the new life of grace.
Prepare me for the glory of Your Kingdom.

I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and Holy Spirit, forever.

Amen

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Goals are for the future; values are for now.
Goals are set; values are lived.
Goals change; values are rocks that you can count on.

Restore Prayer
to
St. Michael

****When I was a girl, every Mass was ended by the congregation kneeling down and praying to St. Michael for protection against "the wickedness and snares of the devil." After Vatican II this prayer disappeared. I have no idea exactly when this worthy practice was swept away by the "spring time" ushered into the Church. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than I could answer that question.

****There is no doubt in my mind that the devil is alive and well and working his magic in our world. And yet most Catholics act like he doesn't exist, or was just some scary thing dreamed up to"keep us in line." After all, God is Love (He is), and He will protect us no matter what we do.

****Truth has become a concept we no longer understand or embrace. Tonight I have to teach a RCIA class about the eighth commandment which tells us we cannot lie. That's the "shall not" part of this commandment. But this commandment also tells us to say "Yes" to the truth.

****If the laity of the Catholic Church are not saying "yes" to the truth, much of the blame can be laid at the feet of the very people who are to guide us in the ways of God and lead us to everlasting salvation. When was the last time your priest stood up in the ambo and spoke out about abortion, birth control, homosexual "marriage", or any subject they might consider to be inflammatory? Some of you are blessed with a wonderful priest who is not afraid to speak the truth, but many of us do not have that luxury.

****It's time we got on our knees at the end of Mass and recited the prayer to St. Michael, not only for our souls, but for all the souls ensnared in the deceitful web of the evil one.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him we humbly pray;
and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

Read the long version

I suggest you print out the long version and make it part of your daily prayer. And ask your priest why you can't say the short version of this prayer after Mass. I know I will be doing that very thing.

Moment of Silence in Ill. Schools Ruled Unconstitutional

CHICAGO – A federal judge has ruled that a state law requiring a moment of silence in public schools across Illinois is unconstitutional, saying it crosses the line separating church and state.

"The statute is a subtle effort to force students at impressionable ages to contemplate religion," U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman said in his ruling Wednesday read more

****Dear God, oooops sorry, we wouldn't want impressionable kids doing anything as damaging as contemplating religion. Why it would take time away from their studies of gay, lesbian, and transgendered issues.


PELOSI SAYS BIRTH CONTROL WILL HELP ECONOMY

*****"Unbelievable. Nancy spouted this nonsense yesterday morning. read more from my friend Christine at A Catholic View

Prayer

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****Two sites worthy of recommendation are the Online Ministry resources of Creighton University and Sacred Space, run by the Irish Jesuits.
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****I'm one that needs direction in my prayer life. Left to my own devices nothing would ever get accomplished. I'm sure there are others like me. Take a few minutes and investigate these sites and see if they would be a help for you.
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Prayer

Re-post from December 17, 2007

****Prayer as a subject keeps coming up because we in the blogoshere seem to be forever talking about it. We ask for prayers, offer prayers, tell others to pray, and relate what we are praying about.

****Many of the people reading this may feel pretty inadequate when it comes to their prayer life. The word "Pray" comes from the Latin word precari, which simply means to entreat or ask. Our Catechism lists five types of prayer: Blessing and Adoration, Petition, Intercession, Thanksgiving, and Praise. These types of prayers can be accomplished in the form of vocal prayer, meditation, or contemplative prayer.
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****For years, I have attempted to read every book on prayer, including some by excellent Protestant authors. After all, Catholics don’t hold a patent on praying. And the result of all this reading? A whole lot of information and very little praying. Spending too much time analyzing and not enough time doing will produce prayer that will become a duty and a chore. Take a look back at the five types of prayer. Take a few moments each day to simply bless and adore God for who He is. Ask Him for what you need and forgiveness for what you may have done. Of course, don’t forget to thank Him for what He has already given you, ask for help for your friends, and simply recognize who He is – the one who creates and sustains all life.

****If you don’t think you are getting what you need from your prayer, or you are not praying well enough, you are too focused on yourself. We live in a society that promotes the concept of the importance of self. When we complain about our prayer life, we may be searching for an “experience.” We think we are not “holy enough” if something dramatic doesn’t happen. If you recall Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, you will “see” many dramatic things taking place, none of which included an obvious answer to all His prayer. There were no bolts of lightning or exploding rocks. If anything, God the Father seemed pretty quiet. Should we expect more than the Son of God?

Pray for Emilie and her Family

Emilie passed away on December 23rd after a battle with cancer. She was a young mother of two boys and wife to Stephen. Read his post on her passing and Emilie's last post "the next... and probably.... last chapter in my life" on December 19th.

May God grant her peace and joy and bring healing to her family.

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*H/T to Tracy at A Catholic Mom in Minnesota

Pray for Critter

****Critter is the owner of Tom in Vegas and he has developed a rare condition called Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation. It was unexpected and he is in critical condition. Critter has already had transfusions and will, I believe, be getting another one. He was perkier today but his condition is still touch and go.

****Stop by and give Tom your support in this difficult time. For many of us our pets are so precious to us and bring us so much joy. Even though I have never been able to hold or pet Critter just to look at his dear little face makes me happy.

****After the scary time I just had with Elle I know how alone and helpless Tom feels in this time just before we celebrate the birth of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

PRAYER FOR ABORTED BABIES

****Heavenly Father, Thou hast given us the gift of freedom to love and to follow in Thy ways and commands.

***Some parents choose to abuse this freedom by destroying the gift of life which Thou hast given to their offspring.

***Please forgive those who destroy human life by aborting their unborn babies.

***Give these unborn children the opportunity to enjoy Thee for all eternity, if it according to Thy ordinance.

***Assist me in being one in solidarity with Thy little ones by taking to heart the words of Thy Son, "whatever you did for one of these least brothers of Mine, you did for Me." (Mt. 25:40)

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***Therefore, allow me today, Father, to adopt spiritually an unborn child and to offer my prayers, works, joys and sufferings for that little one, so that child will be able to be born and live for Thy greater honor and glory.

***We pray this in Jesus' name, in union with the Holy Spirit one God forever and ever.**Amen.

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.

We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

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We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!' ***Billy Graham

****Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called "One nation under God."

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Study Jesus

for

Personal Growth

This past summer my pastor went as usual to his priest reflection days, or whatever it's called. What did they study? The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.

The religious beliefs of Covey are Mormon. They are not Christian. A study of Covey's writings reveal the Mormon ideas and beliefs behind many of the principles found in 7 Habits. Churches and religious organizations should seriously reconsider whether it is appropriate to use a personal growth program that is written by someone who believes these false doctrines. They also need to decide if they want to promote Covey as an expert on personal growth and development that Christians should follow.

Throughout another of his books "The Divine Center" (this review from a non-Catholic source), Covey openly denounces Christianity as "incorrect" and praises the Mormons. He also admits to taking Book of Mormon scriptures and making them "generic" to reach the masses.

Couldn't Bishop Driscoll find anything of a Catholic nature to use? Just sayin'....................
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;Ignorant Redneck proposes we fast and pray for three days before the election. Good idea! I suggest we start now and all join together in earnest for those three days.
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Ancient Rome - Eat Your Heart Out

BOSTON (Reuters) - The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex marriage on Friday in a victory for gay-rights advocates that will allow couples to marry in the New England state.

The court found that the state's law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation.

Connecticut is now the third state in the country to allow gay marriage, following neighboring Massachusetts, the first state to allow it, and California.

and in "lighter" news:

Washington State (my closest neighbor) wants to kill old and sick people. Oooooops, sorry - allow them to die with dignity

By my estimation, if we kill them in the womb, dispatch them early when they become a burden, and have same-sex marriage, we should become an extinct lifeform on earth in no time.

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Just for Fun Sunday

My Prayer Table

I dragged a shelf in from the barn this evening to replace one that was just too small. Very girlie prayer area. Sort of Shabby Chic meets Our Lord.

Our Lady of Grace was rescued from the church storeroom. She was teetering on the top shelf just waiting to fall. The tip of her nose has a tiny chip so I told Father I would take it home and do repairs. That was 8 years ago. I think she found a new home. Oh yes, the chip? Still there...

I made a tiny little flower crown with ribbon streamers for May. I liked it so much I decided Our Blessed Mother could wear her crown all year.

My Mother has pride of place on Our Lady's right side. She has two angels that watch over her.

The "prayer bowl" with prayer cards of people I pray for every day. Most of these cards were purchased on ebay. For you newer readers I do have an adoption program for these people. Just drop me an email with your address and I will send you someone to pray for. Most of these folks passed away 30 - 60 years ago and probably don't have anyone praying just for them. As you can see the bowl is overflowing with wonderful people. I call them my "bowl people." God understands...

This is a beautiful framed French holy card that I picked up in a shop on Grand Ave. in St. Paul about 7 or so years ago. The glass is curved and the back of the frame is solid metal.

This is where I keep my incense. I did this covered bowl when I was learning to porcelain paint and gave it to my father. When he died I brought it back home with me. Learning to porcelain paint after doing quite a bit of oil painting was nerve wracking. You paint the foreground before the background and even worse you have to fire it between painting sessions. This piece was fired about 8 times before it was completed.




Stuffed Prayer Bowl

The incense burner. Yes folks - I'm one of those "smells and bells" kinda people. Can't get any incense at church so I just burn it at home when I pray. I have those cute little charcoal thingys that start themselves and I buy my incense at a church supply or online. One night I was really getting into the incense and not only had the burner cranked up but also fired up a few extra sticks of some special hand-dipped incense. I was praying away when all of a sudden my eyes started to just drip and run. I looked up and saw a layer of smoke just floating about midway between the floor and the ceiling. It looked like flying into Denver on a bad day.

My favorite picture of The Good Shepherd. Yes, I know this would not be considered "fine art" but I love the image of the black sheep in Our Lord's arm. See the little black sheep peeking from behind His robe? That would be me......

My grandma's rosary is on the top shelf. She died when I was 9 and I still miss her. Before my Mom died she told me that not a day went by that she didn't miss her mother (my grandma.) I was 36 when my Mom died. And guess what? I have missed her everyday for the past 26 years.

And, of course, a picture of hubby.

I would love to see some of your special prayer tables or altars.

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Holy Spirit 101

I was quite advanced in age before I had a fairly firm grasp of the importance of the Holy Spirit. When I was confirmed, I certainly knew that the Holy Spirit was going to confer all sorts of wonderful gifts on me. I knew He was the third person of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son. And I knew He was worshipped and glorified because I said so every Sunday at Mass.

I never thought much about what the Spirit’s part was in my baptism. Since I was an infant at the time of baptism, I just grew up assuming all things were in order. Pretty soon, I came to see the work of the Spirit in the creation and Pentecost, and moved a bit beyond the idea that the Spirit looked like a dove or tongues of flame on the heads of the apostles, although those are valid and very fine images.

But what does the Holy Spirit do? Just as the Holy Spirit is the last person of the Trinity to be revealed, so it was also last to be understood by my mind. One day in what could only be called an epiphany, I knew what the Holy Spirit did. My faith and my knowledge of the Father and the Son were only possible because of the Holy Spirit. It was the Spirit that communicated these things to me.

The Holy Spirit is like the UPS deliveryman of heaven. God has a warehouse full of gifts for me, and He entrusted their delivery to the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who reveals the Son. Because of this, the missions of the Son and the Spirit are inseparable. We see Christ, but it is the Spirit who has revealed Him.

It is on that day we call Pentecost that the Holy Spirit is fully revealed to us. The Spirit prepares us just as he prepared Mary to be the Mother of God, and made it possible for John the Baptist, still in the womb of St. Elizabeth, to recognize Christ in Mary’s womb. When we pray, it is the Spirit who opens our hearts and minds. St. Paul tells us that we cannot even say, "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:3).

It is the Spirit we encounter in the sacraments. Baptism makes us temples of the Holy Spirit, and in the Eucharist, we pray to the Father, "Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ." In Confirmation, the bishop anoints us with oil and says, "Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

If you are having a hard time in prayer or feeling discouraged, you must become “like a little child” and allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life. When you are in the state of grace, it is the Holy Spirit who lives in you. Let the Spirit fill you with the love of Christ.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.

And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray. O God, Who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord.

Additional reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church: I Believe in the Holy Spirit, EWTN – Holy Spirit

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

It has come to my attention that St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Boise will be implementing liturgical dance in some of their Masses. I refuse to comment other than to urge us, once again, to pray for our priests and bishops. H/T to Dominican Idaho

Diane at te Deum Laudamus has an excellent post on the Rise in Contemplative, Monastic, Cloistered Vocations. Do yourself a favor and make this part of your Lenten reading.

“For the last forty years, we have seen a decline in Mass attendance, in the sacraments - most especially confession. In some quarters, baptized Catholics are electing not to have their babies baptized and do not encourage Confirmation. Within the Church there are disoriented theologians who are constantly trying to get the Church to follow the world.” Excerpt from Diane at te Deum Laudamus.

And, finally - Why we should sterilise teenage girls ... temporarily at least, (you'll have to scroll up for start of article) from Daily Mail in the UK. To quote my friend Jennifer who sent me this. "How sick is this?"

Lenten Journey

Of all the liturgical seasons of the Catholic Church, Lent is my favorite. It is the time when Holy Mother Church tells us to slow down. We are to remember that the joy we celebrated at the birth of Our Lord is going to end in His death and resurrection. I’m convinced that if I have a lousy Lent, the whole rest of the year will not unfold as it should.

The Church has these liturgical seasons for a reason. If left to our own devices, we would wander about and waste lots of time trying to figure out how to grow in holiness. Each year we are able to follow and meditate on the life of Our Lord. And each year the Church provides us with the means to expand and enlarge our understanding of the mysteries of our faith.

Lent represents a time of growth for us. The church maintains an attitude of quiet. Bells are silenced and alleluias are not heard. There is less to distract us from our mission of prayer and fasting. In the quiet, hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, acting through the Church, as it calls you to conversion of heart and mind.

Urgent Prayer Request

Please join with us in praying for Melissa. Go to the Daily Grotto and read her story. Pass this on to your readers if you have a blog. Thanks to Tom in Vegas for bringing this to our attention.

Super Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

I don’t think it is purely coincidental this year that Super Tuesday falls on the day before Ash Wednesday. Lent will be a wonderful time for a symbolic purification after being subjected to the blathering and just plain ugliness of political campaigning.

We have just a few days until the beginning of Lent. On Wednesday we will be anointed with blessed ashes symbolizing several different things. In the Old Testament, ashes symbolized mourning, mortality and penance. Today, we think in terms of prayer, penance, and almsgiving. All of these things are worthy of our consideration in a special way during Lent.

This year’s Lenten message by Pope Benedict XVI is focused on the theme of almsgiving. If we are living our Catholic faith, almsgiving is a given, not to make a pun. Perhaps, what our Holy Father is saying is that we should stretch just a bit. If you give up your Starbucks for Lent how about doubling the amount you would have spent and give that money to a worthy cause? That would be stretching.

Search your soul for defects of your character that separate you from God. Take notice of the times you escape into self-pity, greed and envy. Let go of any arrogance you may harbor. Recognize that without God you are nothing more than the ashes that were placed on your forehead.

Some good spiritual reading is always a good idea for Lent, as well as being more consistent with your prayer life. Lent is a wonderful time to read the Gospels and join yourself to the passions of Christ.

Don’t wait for Ash Wednesday to think about the things you may like to do for Lent. If you do, you will wake up on the eve of Easter and wonder where Lent went. Make Lent a part of your conversion journey and plan accordingly as you would for a vacation trip.

Marks of the Church

About a week ago, Father V. over at Adam’s Ale had a post about the Creeds. It made me reflect on the importance of our most well known prayers; The Lord’s Prayer, The Hail Mary, and The Apostle’s Creed. When St. Thomas Aquinas gave a series of Lenten sermons on these three prayers back in 1273, he recognized that they contain a complete Christian education.

Every Sunday at Mass we stand together and recite the Nicene Creed. We announce to the world what we know to be the unchanging truth professed by the Catholic Church. The Nicene Creed is a summary of the Deposit of Faith as handed on to the Church from Christ Himself through His Apostles. Toward the end are the words, “I believe in the one holy catholic and Apostolic Church.

These words refer to what are traditionally known as the “Four Marks of the Church.” It is these marks that make it possible for us to recognize it as the one true Church, willed by the Father, founded by Jesus Christ, and forever guided and protected by the Holy Spirit.

Because these “marks” of the one true Church are so interrelated, they can be considered inseparable. They form a coherent ideal of what Christ’s Church must be. The unity, or oneness, of the Church is a universal unity of faith and hope; it is apostolic unity and a unity of holiness.

The Church is one whenever we all join together to profess the same faith. We are united through the saving sacrifice of Christ offered during Mass. We celebrate the same sacraments and are joined together under the leadership of the Holy Father.

As the visible sign and sacrament of Christ on earth, The Church is holy because Christ is holy. It teaches what Jesus taught and it calls each of us to holiness. Through the sacraments, instituted by Christ, and celebrated in unity, we receive the graces to live a Christian life.

The Church is “catholic” which means universal. It exists for all people and teaches the same doctrines. Geographical location and local custom do not change the doctrines entrusted to the Church.

Finally, the church is apostolic. The mission of the Church was given to the Apostles. These Apostles in turn appointed successors who appointed more successors and so on, until the present. When we call the Church “apostolic”, we are really saying the teaching of Jesus Christ, given to the apostles who were “sent forth”, is the very same as we teach today.

When reflected upon, these marks of the true Church strengthen our faith and give us hope. Next Sunday, take Father V’s advice and really listen to what you are saying while reciting this profession of our faith, and know that the Holy Spirit is guiding and protecting the Church Christ founded for our salvation.

God Calling

In previous posts, we have talked together about the different ways God makes His presence known to us. Some of the ways God has “called” us is through scripture, our conscience, divine inspiration, and the created world.

Through faith filled prayer, we have begun to discern how God may want for us to live our lives. Our current 12 days of Christmas is an excellent time for us to explore some other ways to allow God to draw us closer to Him.

Spiritual journaling is a practice some people find very helpful. Many of our greatest Catholic saints and mystics kept journals. It is a wonderful way to “reflect on paper” not only about the good times, but also the bad times. Journaling helps us slow down our thoughts and give them order. If we become tired or distracted in the middle of our prayers, writing them down can help bring a bit of order to our disorder.

As part of the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life (SEEL), we kept a spiritual journal. Sometimes I drew pictures or wrote in a bit of Scripture I found to be of particular help. Over time, I discovered I was able to look back and see the times God was working in my life even when I thought He had deserted me.

How you journal is up to you. There is no right or wrong way to record your thoughts. Any book you are comfortable with will work. Some may prefer something grand like a leather bound book, while others will prefer a Snoopy notebook from the five and dime. This is your journey so embark on it however you please.

So why the picture of the pen? That pen was my Mom’s most prized possession. My Mom died 26 years ago and the pen was missing for many years. I located it quite by accident many years after her death. I’ve used it for years now to write in my spiritual journal, but recently it became apparent that some major repair work had to be done.

I sent it off to Main Street Pens, and to the able ministrations of Ron Zorn and his lovely wife Robyn. I received it back just days before Christmas, and it was like a new pen. If you are a lover of fountain pens, please keep Ron in mind for your pen repairs. He also has some beautiful pens for sale – I’m already lusting after some of them.

Don't permit your misery or defeats to depress you. Rather let them be steps by which you descend the deep mine where we find the precious gem of holy humility.
-- St. Paola Frassinetti

I bumped into this quote yesterday quite by accident, and it made me stop what I was doing and ponder the meaning. During the Christmas season, we see so much depression, due in part to setting such high standards for what we expect to happen. Craving a picture perfect “Brady Bunch” holiday, we often get “The Munster’s Wreck Christmas.” We are tired from all the running around, and Christmas day itself becomes a let down.

We alcoholics know this well and always plan round-the-clock AA meetings during the major holidays. It is a chance for people of like mind to gather together and share the spirit of Christmas.

Barring a medical problem, for which one needs to see a good physician, what we call “depression” is really dissatisfaction and disappointment, which is a submersion into self. When we turn inward, without intending to seek improvement, or when we want to blame others for our disappointment, we are practicing a perfect prescription for unhappiness.

Take time to examine the areas of your life that could use some improvement. Also, take time to recognize when God has been working overtime to bless and keep you safe. Recognize the struggles for what they really are – a time of growth in holiness

The Twelve Days

For many people, Christmas is over. They “shopped till they dropped”, ate a huge meal, and some even made their yearly pilgrimage to some church. For Catholics, however, the Christmas season is just beginning. The twelve days between December 25 and the feast of the Epiphany on January 6 is our Christmas season – or at least it should be.

When I was growing up, the day after Christmas was always a quiet day. It was a day to play with our new toys, eat leftovers, and just relax after the hustle and bustle of the days leading up to Christmas day. Unfortunately, this is not a possibility for most people, as they must return to their jobs, or to other responsibilities.

On Christmas day, we welcomed our Savior into our hearts and we began a new period of spiritual growth. A wonderful way to keep this Christmas season would be to spend the days leading up to the Epiphany as a time of renewal – a type of mini-retreat.

Make an effort to slow down and think about the wondrous things God has done for us. Try out a new spiritual practice or start a new family ritual of prayer. Journey with the wise men as they follow the star. Our faith must be rooted in our daily life. If our life has no “room in the inn”, we will miss the opportunity to grow in knowledge of Our Lord.

“Heaven is not a geographical place in space, it is a geographical place in our hearts.” Pope Benedict XVI