Never too early for Advent

Now is the time to order the meditation book and CD from Belmont Abbey College!  Found this great deal on a link at insidecatholic.com

You save $9, so the final price is $1 plus shipping, and includes the CD.

In the Discount Box, BE SURE TO use the code "Inside Catholic" without the quotes to get the discount!  (I had to scroll a bit to find it, but it was worth it!)

Click here!

Want to see the Face of God?

I'd never of heard of Manoppello, Italy, but now I'd like to visit there sometime.  An ancient relic is there, a rare fabric imprinted with a face.

The face on this fabric matches the face on the Shroud of Turin.

The face on the Shroud of Turin matches the face of the Divine Mercy that St. Faustina had painted.

 Watch and visit faceofgodbook.com

Could you say a prayer?

After school today my son said that a kid in his class wasn't there today.  They were told that he's transferred to another school.  More investigation revealed that the kid, a junior in high school, got transferred to another foster home, while his sister stays here.

He's a nice kid, friendly, always has a smile.  I know it's not like we can just adopt him, it's not that easy.  But obviously, the kid's been hurt enough and needs to be loved, and I may never know where he ended up.

So, please, say a prayer for him and his sister, and their foster families.

We often forget that God sees the whole picture, so I hope I have enough trust in Him that things turn out OK. My our Blessed Mother adopt him, too!

Yippee! Save the date!

Save Thurs., Nov. 4, 2010 and go to Santa Maria Winery in Carroll to hear Michael Voris.  The founder of St. Michael Media can be found at realcatholictv.com and you can search for him at youtube.com.  Go ahead, check it out.  You'll see how much fun the evening will be!

The dinner and talk is only $20.  Talk only is $10, unless you show up at the door, then it's $12.50.  Mail your check to Santa Maria Winery, PO Box 1029, Carroll, IA 51401 or call 712-775-2013 to make your reservations with your credit card.  The event is sponsored by KYMJ Catholic Radio and Santa Maria Winery.

Social hour starts at 5:30, dinner is at 6:30, followed by Michael's presentation on "Fighting for the Faith."  We all could use lessons on that - but it might be easier with dinner and a glass of wine.

Next year, you need to go!

Four of us from the Sioux City Diocese attended the Endow Conference this weekend in Denver.  Not only is it an opportunity to learn about Endow, it's an opportunity to get spiritually renewed.

The weekend started with a Friday retreat with Fr. Scott Traynor from the Diocese of Sioux Falls.  If you have an opportunity to meet Fr. Scott, do it!

Friday evening, Archbishop Gomez opened the conference as the keynote speaker.  Saturday continued our path as we're Called To Be Saints.  We studied Dorothy Day, whose cause is up for sainthood, St. Teresa of Avila and Edith Stein.  There's much to learn about these saints, and we got off to a good start.

Our weekend ended with a wonderful supper Saturday evening.  I'd emailed seminarians from our Diocese who are attended seminary at Denver.  Three of them were able to join us that evening.

We were excited for the opportunity to meet the men who may be OUR priests some day.  A good time was had by all, including the extra Endow Conference attendees from Houston, TX and Tyler, MN who came with us!

Pray for these men, the seminarians who weren't able to join us, the seminarians who are studying across the country and pray for the women who are discerning their own call to holiness.

Then become the type of person who can add fuel to the spiritual fire of these new priests - the type of person that when they meet you, they say, I can't wait to be a priest!

Change isn't so bad, it's the adjustment that's hard

This is second week at the new job.  There is so much to learn in the office part, I feel I haven't done much in the DRE part.  Maybe it's because there are big statistics reports due - tomorrow.

It's different driving south to work, not north.  It's different driving past the nursing home and not stopping to see my mother-in-law.  But, nothing stays the same.

Tomorrow, as some in our diocese prepare for the Christ Our Life Conference in Des Moines, four of us from the Council of Catholic Women will start four days of girl time.  Tomorrow evening, we're driving to Westside to leave early Thursday morning headed for Denver, CO and the Endow Conference.  I wish everyone could go with us, but maybe next year!

Stay tuned - I'll make the others in the group post their experiences, too!

St. Christopher, pray for us.

Dear God, I Just Don't Get It - a book review

Dear God, I Just Don't Get It arrived in my mail on Monday.  I read it the same day.  Couldn't put it down, actually.  It's a wonderful story about sixth-grader, Aaron Ajax, who, when life seems to be going his way, realizes that he's taken his relationship with God for granted.  Where is God when parents can't find jobs? Where is God when we have to leave our best friends? How easy it is to have a comfortable relationship with God when things are going smooth.

This book teaches that God is in the details, and He is in charge.  And sometimes, His answers to our prayers aren't what we expected.  A wonderful story for 3rd through 6th grade Catholic kids, it even ties Catholic teaching right into the story.  There are questions and activities at the end of the book if you'd like to make it a study.  (Great retreat for Lent or Advent!)

If you Catholic school has an accelerated-reader type program, talk to your principal about making it a must-read. Use it for a night-activity with your own children (my friend has my copy now, she's reading it daily to her kids), then put it in your parish or school library.  This book is a wonderful example of a religious book that's actually quite fun to read - even for adults.

Another great book from Bezalel Books, also available at amazon.com

Luminous Mysteries

As long as I've known the Rosary, I've known the Luminous Mysteries.  Sometimes it seems that they're harder to remember because we only say them once a week.

I've found that for me, a great way to remember them is to put myself in the scene.  If I can imagine being there, it makes that Mystery come alive, and I recall it easier.  I also like to put Mary at the scene and often wonder what she was going through.

Read through these reflections written by Mark Shea.  This will help those Luminous Mysteries shine for you!

In Honor of Our Lady of the Rosary

Time to Evangelize?

I came across a stunning headline this week.  It read to the effect that Catholics know less about religion, including their own, than any other religious demographics in the U.S.

Frightening, that's what it is.

Guess what else!  Atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons scored the highest in the survey.

Time to evangelize.  Time to call the priesthood of the laity into active duty!  Read the whole article here.