St. Bernadette

Saint Bernadette

Feast Day: April 16

Died: 1879

On April 16, 1879, Bernadette -- or Sister Marie-Bernard, as she was known within her order -- died in the Sainte Croix (Holy Cross) Infirmary of the Convent of Saint-Gildard. She was thirty-five.

Born into a humble family which little by little fell into extreme poverty, Bernadette had always been a frail child. Quite young, she had already suffered from digestive trouble, then after having just escaped being a victim of the cholera epidemic of 1855, she experienced painful attacks of asthma, and her ill health almost caused her to be cut off for ever from the religious life. When asked by Monsignor Forcade to take Bernadette, Louise Ferrand, the Mother Superior of the Sisters of Nevers, replied: "Monsignor, she will be a pillar of the infirmary".

At least three times during her short life-time, she received the last Sacraments. She was gradually struck by other illnesses as well as asthma: among them, tuberculosis of the lung and a tubercular tumor on her right knee. On Wednesday, April 16, 1879, her pain got much worse. Shortly after eleven she seemed to be almost suffocating and was carried to an armchair, where she sat with her feet on a footstool in front of a blazing fire. She died at about 3.15 in the afternoon.

The civil authorities permitted her body to remain on view to be venerated by the public until Saturday, April 19. Then it was "placed in a double coffin of lead and oak which was sealed in the presence of witnesses who signed a record of the events". Among the witnesses were "inspector of the peace, Devraine, and constables Saget and Moyen".

The nuns of Saint-Gildard, with the support of the bishop of Nevers, applied to the civil authorities for permission to bury Bernadette's body in a small chapel dedicated to Saint Joseph which was within the confines of the convent. The permission was granted on April 25, 1879, and on April 30, the local Prefect pronounced his approval of the choice of the site for burial. Immediately they set to work on preparing the vault. On May 30, 1879, Bernadette's coffin was finally transferred to the crypt of the chapel of Saint Joseph. A very simple ceremony was held to commemorate the event.

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and let the lives of the Saints inspire you.

Running Late

Running Late

“You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” ~ Luke 12: 40

    Tonight I was cutting it close and being late to the mass for the Immaculate Conception. I got there and walked in just as the priest was walking down to the alter. I was so glad that I was not late to mass. As I stood there I thought about how blessed I am that I was not late to turn back to God and the church. With all the hype that some say that this is the year the world ends (side note: I do not believe this for a minute) I am  glad where I am. 

     I did not return to God and the church because of this by any means but it added to my thoughts on being late. What if I did not and the world did end? Would I stand before God and Jesus and say “ I was just about to come back, if you only extended this another year or two.” What would They say in return? It is that list of  cliches that rolled through my head : Should’ve Would’ve Could’ve, Hindsight is 20/20, If only I would have known I would have done things differently...etc... WIth all of them dealing with what was  and not what is, the last cliche that came to me was “ There is no time like the present”. 

     As the Gospel of Luke said “ You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,the Son of Man will come”. That fits very nicely with “ There is no time like the present”. We do not know when that day may come or when we will leave this earth. Salvation should not be a second thought in this life but that focus to have a continual life. That is the benefit of following and turning to God, Salvation. There will not be a countdown like on New Years Eve that will end this world or our lives. We have to get back on the right track in our lives and keep that focus on God. 

     I do not want this to be a blog of fear but one of a “reality check”. God does not want us to fear what can be but love what is. This is something that you do not want to be late to. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and set your clock and soul ahead so you will not be late. 

Immaculate Conception

Immaculate Conception

December 8th

It’s important to understand what the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is and what it is not. Some people think the term refers to Christ’s conception in Mary’s womb without the intervention of a human father; but that is the Virgin Birth. Others think the Immaculate Conception means Mary was conceived "by the power of the Holy Spirit," in the way Jesus was, but that, too, is incorrect. The Immaculate Conception means that Mary, whose conception was brought about the normal way, was conceived without original sin or its stain—that’s what "immaculate" means: without stain. The essence of original sin consists in the deprivation of sanctifying grace, and its stain is a corrupt nature. Mary was preserved from these defects by God’s grace; from the first instant of her existence she was in the state of sanctifying grace and was free from the corrupt nature original sin brings. 

When discussing the Immaculate Conception, an implicit reference may be found in the angel’s greeting to Mary. The angel Gabriel said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). The phrase "full of grace" is a translation of the Greek word kecharitomene. It therefore expresses a characteristic quality of Mary. 

The traditional translation, "full of grace," is better than the one found in many recent versions of the New Testament, which give something along the lines of "highly favored daughter." Mary was indeed a highly favored daughter of God, but the Greek implies more than that (and it never mentions the word for "daughter"). The grace given to Mary is at once permanent and of a unique kind.Kecharitomene is a perfect passive participle of charitoo, meaning "to fill or endow with grace." Since this term is in the perfect tense, it indicates that Mary was graced in the past but with continuing effects in the present. So, the grace Mary enjoyed was not a result of the angel’s visit. In fact, Catholics hold, it extended over the whole of her life, from conception onward. She was in a state of sanctifying grace from the first moment of her existence. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and take time to open yourself to Mary this Advent.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

  Music is very important to me and it can set or change my mood in no time. It also is something that goes straight to my soul. With that in mind I have decided to include music once a week up until Christmas and from there I may try and incorporate some great music that I hope will speak to your soul as it has spoken to mine.

     Tonights song is O Come, O Come Emmanuel by Jeremy Camp. It has to be my all time favorite song for Christmas. Even when I was away from God, I still had to listen it during the holidays. 

      The song speaks of us longing for the Christ child to be born. We are asking for Him to free us from Satan and open the Heavenly Gates. It is a song of hope and salvation. It is only through Him, can we achieve salvation.  Below you will find a video of the song.

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and let the song of salvation lead you to Christ.

Fever

Fever

Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ~ 1Corinthians 3:16

There are times we are not our normal 100% selves and a bit under the weather. It may have happen because we let our guard down and did not take our vitamins or wash our hands as much as we should have. There are ways that we can keep our immune system up and can fight off an illness or at least lesson the time of it. The same can be said about sin in our lives. 

   We can help ward off sin if we are spiritually healthy and have our guard up as well. You know the basic ways of staying spiritually healthy, go to mass, have a prayer life, read the bible, and find spiritual readings. Those are basic ways but what even goes further is to look around you. What and Who is around you? Do they support the life that you want to lead? If they do not then some things will need to change. This is not an excuse to get rid of people in your life but be smart about it. No one can make you sin but yourself. Other people can make it easier for you by presenting the sin but that is where it ends. 

    It is up to us to keep our guard up and be watchful for what is around us. We either allow or block those things that cause us to step over the line and sin. It has always bothered me when people blame others for their own sins. It is easier to do that then deal that it is in ourselves that allowed us to sin. We are human and there are times that we will sin. That is a fact of life because we are not perfect but it is in the way we handle the sins that define us. 

    If we hold onto the sins and not release them in reconciliation we can become spiritually unhealthy. It is easier to continue down that path of sin if we do not seek healing and turn away from it. This is a perfect time during advent to do this. It is a new beginning and a new year for you. Take this advent and make yourself spiritually healthier then you did during the year.

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and take your daily dose of God to keep your sin immunity up.

First Week of Advent

First Week of Advent

     With the new start of the church year and the start of Advent we start to get ready for the coming of Jesus. These four weeks we are to prepare our homes and our heart to receive Jesus. The first week we light the candle that symbolizes Hope. The hope of salvation and to be redeemed. 

      We are to prepare our hearts and souls so that Jesus can rest in us. We do this by cleaning out the debris of the past year to make room for Jesus. There will be reconciliation services over the next four weeks to help us to do this. We also need to go deeper into ourselves and search for that star that we may follow to find Jesus inside ourselves. Each day we can light that inner advent candle so that we may carry that hope each day with us. It will remind us what truly is important this advent season. 

     When we carry that light of hope with us in the world we are showing others what this season means and who is really coming on December 25th. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and let the light of hope be in you this advent. 

Advent Prayer

Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God,

the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ

with righteous deeds at his coming,

so that, gathered at his right hand,

they may be worthy to possess the heavenly Kingdom.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

St. Andrew

Saint Andrew

Feastday: November 30

Patron of Fisherman

Andrew, like his brother Simon Peter, was a fisherman. He became a disciple of the great St. John the Baptist, but when John pointed to Jesus and said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" Andrew understood that Jesus was greater. At once he left John to follow the Divine Master. Jesus knew that Andrew was walking behind him, and turning back, he asked, "what do you seek?" When Andrew answered that he would like to know where Jesus lived, Our Lord replied, "Come and see." Andrew had been only a little time with Jesus when he realized that this was truly the Messiah.

From then on, he chose to follow Jesus. Andrew was thus the first disciple of Christ. Next, Andrew brought his brother Simon (St. Peter) to Jesus and Jesus received him, too, as His disciple. At first the two brothers continued to carry on their fishing trade and family affairs, but later, the Lord called them to stay with Him all the time. He promised to make them fishers of men, and this time, they left their nets for good. It is believed that after Our Lord ascended into Heaven, St. Andrew went to Greece to preach the gospel. He is said to have been put to death on a cross, to which he was tied, not nailed. He lived two days in that state of suffering, still preaching to the people who gathered around their beloved Apostle. Two countries have chosen St. Andrew as their patron - Russia and Scotland.

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and live like a saint today.