Minute Meditations

Jesus' Promise

As we notice where our hearts are most deeply drawn while pondering our life's direction, we may be able to hear and believe Jesus' ultimate promise: "Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).

The Eucharist

"The Eucharist is at the very center of our life; such was the teaching of Jesus. When commenting on the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves He told His apostles that He Himself is the Living Bread that came down from heaven. He called on the twelve for an act of faith and it was Peter who answered in the name of all: 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God' (John 6:69). Christian faith is faith in the Eucharistic Christ."

- Jean Galot, S.J.

Ash Wednesday

Dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.

Update on my mom

Mom came through her surgery with flying colors!! Everything went exactly as planned and she was sent home two days after her surgery (they get you moving fast these days!!)
Her sister Marcia took a week off from work and came to stay with my parents so she can take care of mom!! I went to see my mom yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to see her doing so well, up and moving around, of course some pain and she was coming off a pretty difficult night (the pain had been quite bad until the meds kicked in) mom is as always in great spirits and ready to go back to the doctor tomorrow to have some of her tubes removed, she is ready to start the next phase of her journey which will involved some chemo and possible radiation (but that won't be decided until after the chemo is all done, which will be a few months).

I thank you all so very much for your prayers for me and my mother and family, I have really felt all the love and prayers and have had such total peace in all of this.

Pet Scan Results

My mom found out her results late Monday ( I'm just getting to this now as I've been sick with the flu)

The scan showed two spots, one in her breast and one lymph node (both of which were expected and known about) and thank the Lord... no cancer anywhere else!!!!!

So, as it stands now, she will have a double mastectomy this Friday.

I thank you in advance for prayers that have been said and ask you to keep on praying for good results.

I'll write more when I'm feeling better.. which is hopefully very soon!!

Blessings!

Try, Try, Try.....

Lo and behold you can now "un delete your blog" and if your reading this you will see that is what I've done!

I can't make any promises, I love reading blogs but I don't have much to say as of late that seems worth blogging about. I do however have news... my mom has breast cancer... that ugly word... you never want to have to hear it and each time you do, you just never get used to it.
We are very thankful that this is a slow growing cancer with a high cure rate, of course even with that said.. my mom has cancer.. and that alone is like a punch in the gut!

My mom is one heck of an amazing woman.. such a fighter with the most positive attitude, this is making it bearable for me, as I take my cue from her.. if she became panicked I would as well, again.. she is my mama and knows me so well, if she is having those moments (as I'm sure she has and will) she keeps them from her anxiety ridden daughter... again.. what an amazing woman.. always thinking of her family first.

So, now we wait.. wait to find out the results of her PET scan to make sure that nasty cancer hasn't spread to any other area.. if it is contained to her breast then off they come within a week or so.. if not.. some chemo first... waiting, waiting, waiting... praying, praying, praying!!!

And then we have Alex... poor thing has been sick for six days with stomach flu... looks like he may finally be on the mend.. his appetite is still poor but he has finally been up and about today and playing some toys (always a good sign!) now if I can stay well.. then it will all be good!

So... I am back.. I am going to try to post more often and see if I can't find the joy that I used to from blogging... Peace to you all my dear blog friends!!

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Hebrews 2:5-12
Psalm 8:2ab and 5, 6-7, 8-9
Mark 1:21-28



A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

As we leave the Christmas and Epiphany seasons and return to Ordinary Time, our gospel readings begin in St. Mark at the very beginning of our Lord's ministry. In today's gospel, we read, "The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes." This is a very important verse from Mark as it reveals both the then-current state of the faith and what was yet to come.

The scribes, along with the other religious leaders of the time, taught as though they had authority to do so, but the fact is that their hypocrisy and false religion disqualified them from being the true teachers of the faith. When Christ appeared, He spoke with such obvious authority that the masses saw what had truly happened: they had been taught wrongly, in many ways, and the truth was now upon them in this message from the Christ.

When we read His sacred words, we need to remember that these are the words of the Almighty God and that they speak the truth with complete authority. There is no other truth on earth.

Baptisim of the Lord

This weekend, we celebrate the Lord’s Baptism, and reflect on the meaning of baptism itself. This sacrament gives us many pro-life lessons.

When we baptize a baby, it proves that God chooses us before we choose Him, for every life belongs to Him. And baptism is not just about that baby, but about the whole church welcoming her. All the members of the Church extend their hearts and arms in welcome of that new life. Baptism shows that we are always called to give a welcoming “YES” to life, and never the harsh “no” of abortion.

The so-called “pro-choice” message is that we choose whom we will care for. Baptism teaches us that we are responsible even for those whom we do not choose.

The obligation to vote pro life

The basic principle of pro-life voting is the following: being pro-abortion (or "pro-choice") disqualifies a person for public office. This includes those who claim to be "personally opposed" to abortion, but are unwilling to do anything to stop it.

The right to life is the fundamental human right, on which every other right depends. It follows that no matter how attractive a particular candidate's policies on other issues may be, if he is anti-life, he is unworthy of support.

Pro-lifers are often accused of being "single-issue" when it comes to voting. This is true, in a sense. If you believe that the killing of innocent human beings is gravely wrong, your conscience will not permit you to vote for someone who is pro-abortion - no matter what.

On the other hand, the "single-issue" accusation is quite false. Pro-lifers are concerned about a host of life issues which are distinct from abortion, like euthanasia and reproductive technologies - not to mention the spectrum of pro-family concerns which pro-lifers generally share.

No issue comes close to being as important as the abortion issue. Some people say that other "social problems" are equally important; but how many of those problems involve the deliberate killing of well over 100,000 Americans every year?

Sometimes it happens that there is more than one pro-life candidate, in such a situation, a pro-life voter should then consider other things: which candidate has the stronger pro-life record; which candidate is more likely to be elected; which candidate's overall platform is more attractive; and which party is more worthy of support.

Often it happens that there is no pro-life candidate , in such a situation, a pro-life voter might choose to mark each of the spaces, or, if space permits, write, "No pro-life candidate," (In other words, there is no pro-life candidate running for the party which that voter would otherwise support.)

This is not a waste of a vote. On the contrary, the party will take note if their candidates' support for abortion has cost them votes. And since "spoiled ballots" are recorded ,this act of conscience is not merely private. But even if this were not so, however, voters should remember that the only "wasted" vote is the vote cast for a candidate which the voter does not truly support. Choosing the "lesser of two evils," in other words, still leaves us with evil.

Whatever the situation, pro-lifers should go to the polls on election day. The absence of a pro-life candidate is no reason to stay away.

Yep, I'm a one issue voter.. and proud of it!

OJ & Suzanna McDowell » Blog Archive » In Defense of Being a One-Issue Voter: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"