Praying for AJ

Earlier today I got the news that the health of a great guy/friend/classmate from the St.Lawrence Center has taken a turn for the worse. AJ has been suffering from health conditions for the past year has just been diagnosed with a rare blood disease that the doctors say appears to be untreatable. It is estimated that he will only have a few precious days to live.

The St.Lawrence Center community has coordinated a prayer chain at 5pm everyday for AJ. We will be praying both a chaplet of divine mercy and a rosary. At this point, our prayers are most valuable so if you have a moment to offer up a prayer for him we would all be so thankful.

I am awfully proud to be a part of St.Lawrence and I have definitely let it be known on this blog. But I have never been filled with such joy to be a part of this group as I was today when reading the reactions pour in with prayers and intentions for him.

I'd like to share some of them here with you now.

• I had no idea. I'm in Costa Rica but am headed to the neighborhood church right now. Please please PLEASE let me know if there's anything else I can do…praying for aJ and his family and friends.
• Im in new orleans for the next week. im so sorry to hear this news but i will definitely keep the prayer chain going.
• I am in Texas but will try and get up there by Wednesday and will be more than willing to take people over there (to visit him)
• Be assured of my prayers on my drive back to Lawrence tomorrow as well as the rest of the week.
• This is obviously a very difficult time for everyone, but already it has been a truly beautiful witness of the power of Christian community. From one day of being present at the hospital, I can attest that AJ, his family, and his loved ones have received many blessings in the form of our presence and prayers, and I have great faith many more blessings will shine through this time of uncertainty as we unite for this more than worthy cause. Thank you all for your prayers and support, and continue to entrust AJ's well-being to the will of God. We can take consolation in knowing that he his much closer to heaven than we and that we may soon have a powerful saint to intercede on our behalf as we make our own way to our eternal destiny...
• St. Lawrence has truly shown through today! I've been able to see AJ as well today and in the midst of some of the greatest trials and sufferings I've ever experienced, there has been much fruit! Keep praying! See you in the Eucharist or on the battlefield (the kind that we fight on our knees) with AJ until he makes it home!
• Sending prayers!
• It is beautiful to see the unity and love of the St. Lawrence Center and friends coming together. Please know there are lots of prayers for AJ coming from Texas. The Aggie Catholic Center will also be lifting up the St. Lawrence community in prayer as well.
• My prayers are with you all! I'm afraid I probably won't be able to make it up, but please pass my blessings and prayers on to AJ and his family. I cannot imagine how difficult this must be for everyone.
• Definitely keeping AJ's Family in my prayer!!! Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for us!
• AJ and all of the family: you are in my deepest prayers. We all love you so much.
• storming the gates of heaven for AJ!!!..
• stay strong! my prayers are with you!

The St.Lawrence Center is doing great things and it is evident in the community that it has established. Check out this article from the NCR about the St.Lawrence Center and the community that it is providing for us.

Koinonia is greek for community and that's exactly what we are; a community, a family. And that's exactly what AJ is a part of, our community of love for each other and for Christ Jesus.

Our Lady of Lourdes, patron of bodily illness, Pray for us!

Be a Witness in All things

So we lost, 9-15. 
Second co-ed intramural softball game of the season. 
Life doesn't get much better than playing softball with my favorite people from St.Lawrence.
Our record is now 1-1. 
We were tied at 9 going in to the last inning and the other team turned up the heat. 
So the game ended. 
Our 10+ fans (that's about 10+ more than the other team had) clapped and cheered because that's what you do, even if you lose. 
We gathered our stuff out of the dugout, circled up and took a knee. 
Talked about the goods (the girls were hitting the crud out of the ball) 
The not so goods (base running/shaky defense).
Then we called over our 'Super-Athletic Chaplain' and gave a little glory to God and reverence to Our Blessed Mother. 
And it just felt right.

Our Lady of Victory, Pray for us! 

Why Saint Genevieve?

This is a question I get quite often.

When it came time to pick a Saint for my Confirmation this was not something that I took lightly. Just ask my mother, I spent days in front of the computer looking up the life stories of every Saint under the sun to find the PERFECT one.

There are many websites out there that can tell you the life story of Genevieve which was remarkable in itself, but there were a few inspirations and one story in particular that led me to choose Saint Genevieve to be my Patron Saint.

Inspiration #1

St.Genevieve was born in the year 422 as a peasant girl in the small village. (I'm from a small village!) When She was 7 years old St.Germanus made a stop in Genevieve's village where crowds flocked to welcome him. He was drawn to Genevieve's devotion and thoughtfulness. Before he left the next morning he renewed Genevieve's consecration, blessed her and gave her a medal with a cross engraved in it. This was to remind her of her dedication to Christ and she was to wear it instead of pearls and gold necklaces or bracelets. For those of you that know me you may recollect that I rarely wear jewelry but it would be rare for you to catch me on a day where I'm not wearing my St.Genevieve medal and Holy Spirit dove around my neck.

Inspiration #2
She liked to go to church alone at night, praying by candlelight. One night, a gust of wind blew out her candle, and she accredited this to the devil trying to frighten her.  It's a well known fact that I'm a night-owl so it shouldn't come as a surprise that some of my most fruitful prayer comes in the middle of the night when darkness is around me. It is nice to know that when I ask she is there in the night praying for and with me

Inspiration #3
Genevieve was devoted to works of charity and practiced multiple mortifications including a vegetarian diet and fasting on all days of the week except Sundays and Thursdays. She drank only water and her meals included small amounts of bread and beans. She followed this diet until she was 50 when she was counseled that it would be best for her to eat more frequently so she added only milk and fish to her diet. I fail miserably with mortification. I guess that's the point right, mortification isn't supposed to be easy. Genevieve lived this as a part of her daily life. When I am struggling to make it even one day I turn to her prayers and support.

The story that led me to choose Saint Genevieve
In the year 451 when the Huns were marching towards Paris the citizens were ready to run in terror. It was Genevieve who persuaded them to stay. God had spoken to her and she told them that if they kept their faith in God, fasted, prayed and performed penance than the city would be protected by heaven and their lives would be spared. Some of the citizens did not believe her and when the Huns got closer to the city they fled out the back way which connected with a road that completely bypassed the city. Saint Genevieve and a group of people chose to stay. When the Huns arrived at Paris they decided not to take the city but to continue on the road that went around the city.

Because of Genevieve's trust in God she was saved. For this reason I chose her to be my Patron Saint. So many people were frightened and left. You could say it was the 'popular' thing to do. Genevieve knew that God would protect her and chose to stay. I pray that through the intercession of Saint Genevieve I will be able to listen to God, to do His will and to trust in Him to the extreme that Genevieve did. I pray that I may not succumb to what the world says is right as opposed to what the Lord says is right and know that no matter what if I do the will of God He will not lead me astray.

Her feast day is actually the same day as my oldest brother's birthday January 3rd!

GREEN!

 I L.O.V.E. St.Patrick's day!

There's so much green and happiness and pinching and green! I LOVE GREEN!

Let's not forget why St.Patrick has a day in the first place, he gave his life over to the will of God and God did wonderful things with it.

St.Patrick was actually born in Scotland and lived in Britain until the age of 14 when he was captured and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep. While he was there he learned the practices and language of the people that had taken him and turned to God in prayer 

"The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same." "I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain."

God saw St.Patrick's dedication to him and after 6 years of being enslaved God gave St.Patrick a way out. In a dream St.Patrick heard God telling him to go to the coast and there would be a ship there ready to take him home.

He soon started studying for the priesthood and when he was ordained he was sent to bring the Gospel to Ireland. For over 40 years he preached to Ireland converting many, kings, queens, entire kingdoms to Christianity.

St.Patrick was a humble, pious, gentle man, whose love and total devotion to and trust in God should be a shining example to each of us. He feared nothing, not even death, so complete was his trust in God, and of the importance of his mission. 

May we all be as willing as he was to follow Gods will and trust completely in his plan for us.

St.Patrick's Breastplate

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through the belief in the threeness,

Through confession of the oneness

Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today

Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,

Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,

Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,

Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today

Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,

In obedience of angels,

In the service of archangels,

In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,

In prayers of patriarchs,

In predictions of prophets,

In preaching of apostles,

In faith of confessors,

In innocence of holy virgins,

In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven:

Light of sun,

Radiance of moon,

Splendor of fire,

Speed of lightning,

Swiftness of wind,

Depth of sea,

Stability of earth,

Firmness of rock.

I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me:

God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to look before me,

God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak for me,

God's hand to guard me,

God's way to lie before me,

God's shield to protect me,

God's host to save me

From snares of devils,

From temptations of vices,

From everyone who shall wish me ill,

Afar and anear,

Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,

Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,

Against incantations of false prophets,

Against black laws of pagandom

Against false laws of heretics,

Against craft of idolatry,

Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,

Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ to shield me today

Against poison, against burning,

Against drowning, against wounding,

So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through belief in the threeness,

Through confession of the oneness,

Of the Creator of Creation.

Day 23: A picture of your favorite book

I LOVE to read, unfortunately I don't have a whole lot of time for that while I'm in college. 

Among the Hidden is my FAVORITE book from when I was in grade school. I read it so many times I think I probably have it memorized. I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it when I purged the books from when I was little so it's still sitting on a shelf above my closet. I like to think that I'll get around to reading it again eventually.

Saintly Solutions to Life's Common Problems is my current favorite book. I started reading it when I worked Totus Tuus this summer. There was never a lot of time to read but each short chapter addresses a common problem that we face as humans and gives examples of how the Saints dealt with these same problems in their own ways.

It goes through everything from Argumentativeness, Boredom, Envy, Gossip, Illness, Pride, Temptations and everything in between. It's inspiring to know that those that the church recognizes as Saints went through some of the very same problems that I deal with and found away to persevere through them with God instead of letting those problems turn them away from Him. I may never be done reading it but I like to pick it up and when I have just a few minutes and take it to prayer when I need a little guidance.