NunEssential

I've been thinking a lot about worries. It's so easy, is it not? It's easy to ruminate about the future or lament the past, and before we know it, we are out of the present moment and stepping into an imaginary world of things that most likely will never come to pass. It's really no coincidence that Jesus spoke to His followers about anxiety, for He knows it's a struggle that we, as finite people, deal with on a daily basis. Mark Twain once said, "I have suffered many things in my life, most of which have never happened." We grasp at what we cannot control, and so out of our fear of living in the moment and living entirely in grace, we seek to construct a world in our mind that we can "control" or at least seemingly prepare some sort of defense. And it seems to me, the more I grow in wholeness and recovery, that worry is truly a choice I make. At any given moment, there are a million things I could worry about and freak out about and i spent ...

The priest today gave a great homily, in light of today's gospel wherein the disciples are arguing about who among them is the greatest. Isnt that tale of our hearts? Perhaps we are too sophisticated to argue outwardly over who among us is the greatest but we sure do make that argument interiorly! How many of us have thought, "why is she in charge? I am far more talented", "why is that person always promoted and recognized?", "I am way too good for this kind of work, I need to be doing something more admirable", "I am holier than that person, I go to daily Mass and pray often" etc. and ON and ON it goes! Ah, how little we really see. And I can almost picture that scene of Jesus and His disciples. I can see them arguing, completely oblivious to Jesus being present and probably other people too, and I can see Jesus just quietly reaching out to one of the innocent children who is sitting there in tranquility. I can see Jesus welcoming th...

needing some professional writing help.....

Sr. Miriam will be speaking in October at: St. Philamena, Des Moines, WA- Women's Evening of Reflection, the Beauty and Truth of Woman- Thursday SEPTEMBER 30th- 7-9pm St. Philamena, Des Moines, WA- Middle/High School Youth Group TOB Presentation- Sunday Oct. 3rd, 3-5pm Woodland, WA- Disciples of Jesus and Mary TOB Presentation- Sunday Oct. 11th- Noon-6pm Holy Rosary School, West Seattle, Parent Club Presentation- Thursday Oct. 14th- 7-9pm (Schedule will be updated as the month progresses)

I woke up this morning with this song in my mind by Neil Young. I think it really speaks about our own interior journey that we make in our lives. I think we are always searching for the goodness within ourselves, somehow we know its there, even if we can't always see it. We are miners who desire to give of ourselves and go deep within. But it's a long and difficult journey so perhaps we begin to seek for that gold in others, expecting them to fill us and satisfy us, but that never works. Or perhaps we seek that gold in our jobs or our possessions but these things are illusive and they fade away. So we keep searching within and hopefully we discover the truth, that we are indeed good, very good, created in the image and likeness of our Father and Jesus is our heart of gold.

So I just got back from another AMAZING Theology of the Body Conference in Tallahassee, FL. This particular conference was put on the The Theology of the Body Healing Center, run by the most holy and gifted Dr. Bob Schuchts, Ph. D. This conference and the TOB message, yet again, completely changed my life and I am most grateful to God and to the wonderful staff at the TOB Healing Center, including my friend Mario Sacasa. If you would like to know more about the TOB Healing Center, click here On the flight to Florida, which is about as far away as one can possibly get in the continental US, our plane was really flying through some rough air and it was not fun! Usually at this point, the pilot will change altitudes to find smoother air. But as the flight went on, it became apparent that we were at the same altitude, flying through this rough air, and I was beginning to wonder what was going on. Shortly after, the pilot came on the PA system and said something I have never heard a p...

I posted Mike Mangione's song Woman in Gown a couple of days ago with video footage of him singing his beautiful and touching song. Here is the song again, but with my own video creation. Bless you :)

This is an amazing video of former contestant on America's Next Top Model turned Catholic Speaker, Leah Darrow. She is a beautiful woman with a powerful message to women of today. She travels the world spreading the good news of hope and healing. Watch the video and read more about her speaking content on Jason Evert's website www.chastity.com  Visit her website at http://www.leahdarrow.com/

Happy Wednesday. Here's an old Sports Center commercial with Steve Irwin. God bless the man and his humor.

ok, so a couple of the ways that God speaks to me as a person is (if you cant already tell) through music and sports. With that in mind, I learn all sorts of eternal realities at times through this language which God knows I relate well. Many times I wake up in the morning with songs in my mind, some of which I do not know in their entirety and I must look up the lyrics and most of the time I am astounded at what God is saying to me. So the past couple of days, I have awoken to the song " Wait For You" by Elliott Yamin in my mind. It was a Top 40 hit on the radio a while ago but i don't recall paying much attention to it, so it wasn't something i listened to at all. However, as I read the lyrics, it reminded me much of a secular version of a song that I posted last week by the Christian band 10th Avenue North (who will be in Seattle next month). The song by 10th Avenue North is called, " These Hands That Are Holding You"- and its really a plea from J...

Check out the youtube channel of one of our awesome young priests, Fr. Samuel Medley . He has a lot of great stuff on there and does an awesome job working in the area of Theology of the Body. Rock on Fr. Sam!

The No. 1 tennis player on the face of the earth, Rafael Nadal, (and he earns fab bonus points for being left-handed, :) ) triumphed in the US Open today to win the final, which, because of weather, took 2 days to complete. To some it seems trite but to me, I love watching great athletes. I don't know much about tennis or soccer but watching great tournaments like the US Open or the World Cup is an amazing testament to perseverance, endurance and triumph. It often surprises me how, when I am having a difficult time enduring something in my life now, my mind will drift back to the days in college, pushing it out on the volleyball court. There were times during those hot, demanding and arduous days in the gym where I didn't think I was going to make it. My muscles were fatiguing, I was getting blocked by my opponents and I was exhausted on every level. Yet, I knew there was no giving up. Giving up was not an option. So you push through it, make it through and you becom...

It's been a while now that I have been studying Theology of the Body. A short while. But a profound while. Very. Profound. While. For me, I know it will be a life-long study and transformation. I will never have it "mastered" or "know it all". I hope not anyway, for that is a sure sign of death. When something is not growing and expanding, it is dead. But what I can say is that this study of John Paul II's teaching has changed, transformed and saved my life and my religious vocation. I do believe, and I say this often, that this teaching of Theology of the Body will heal the world. I have no doubt about that. And as I prepare for my fourth intensive course on TOB taking place next week and as I prepare for these days of recollection for women that I will be giving this month, my heart desires to plunge anew into the path of healing, freedom and truth. Truth. I was awake last night until 2am, nearly finishing the new book by Brian Gail entitled Fatherle...

happy saturday- here's a little more sports center humor for you. Hey, even anchors go through slumps and need to watch tapes of their own performance with a coach. lol :)

Here is some food for thought from Wikipedia. If you are wondering if what is going on in your life will last forever, it won't. It will pass. Everything on this earth passes, we were made for eternity. "This too shall pass" ( Persian : این نیز بگذرد , Hebrew : גם זה יעבור ‎, Turkish : Bu da geçer ) is a proverb indicating that all material conditions, positive or negative, are temporary.     History The phrase appears in the works of Persian Sufi poets, such as Sanai and Attar of Nishapur . [ 1 ] Attar records the fable of a powerful king who asks assembled wise men to create a ring that will make him happy when he is sad, and vice versa. After deliberation the sages hand him a simple ring with the words "This too will pass" etched on it, which has the desired effect. [ 1 ] Jewish folklore often casts Solomon as either the king humbled by the proverb, or as the one who delivers it to another.  In 1852, the English poet Edward Fitzgerald inc...

Ah, this is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. I openly wept when I first heard it live. The artist is Mike Mangione, an amazing Catholic musician who also writes his own music and is immensely talented. He also travels with Christopher West as they embark on a new project together- combining the beauty of Theology of the Body and the beauty of art. check out his website at http://www.mikemangione.com/ I am also posting the lyrics to this song "Woman in Gown"-- deeply piercing and healing. So beautiful. Thank you Mike for writing such an amazing song- Woman in Gown There is frost on the sheets when the sun went down There’s no place to lay your head. You stand in this valley of tears all around As he stands as your jury instead. He holds you in bribe as you try to hide What is sacred; he objects to dismiss. Oh, woman in gown, you were made for much better than this . We fashion our breath to the lowest of depth And let pleasure be the h...

ok, so we can't always be serious. Life is rather serious in and of itself but we gotta laugh too (of which I am a big fan) Here's a little Sports Center humor with NJ Devils Mascot

Someone made the comment the other day, "people want to know if their lives have purpose. They want to know why they are here on earth, if life has any meaning." How true this is. This question is at the heart of every person, whether we realize it or not. What is the meaning of life? How am I to find happiness in this life? What shall I do with my life? Pope John Paul II speaks beautifully and extensively about these questions, questions he himself pondered over the years, as he saw hardship, suffering and Nazi and Soviet occupation of Poland. Pope John Paul II encouraged young people and old as well, to drink deeply from the well of Jesus, to look within one's heart and in one's own life experience and see the truth that it is, indeed, only God who can truly satisfy us. No created person or thing or job can completely satisfy us. It's only our Divine Lover who can completely fulfill us. In the full version of the Serenity Prayer it reads "accepting ...

OK, here is what i am listening to this morning- on this first day of school with our little kids and facing a multitude of obstacles in my life. Who doesn't face obstacles? Shall we focus on the problem (troubles) or the solution (Jesus)? Let us pray to be Honest, Open and Willing. That's HOW we do it.... For all you soldiers out there, you are not alone. We are never alone on this journey of discipleship -- here are the lyrics- Happy Tuesday-- Won't Back Down (Tom Petty) Well I won't back down No I won't back down You can stand me up at the gates of hell But I won't back down No I'll stand my ground, won't be turned around And I'll keep this world from draggin me down gonna stand my ground ... and I won't back down Chorus: (I won't back down...) Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out (and I won't back down...) hey I will stand my ground and I won't back down Well I know what's right, I got just one li...

Here is Pope Benedict's Message for World Youth Day to held in Madrid next summer. He calls us all to break out of the ordinary and he goes on to say, " Christ is not a treasure meant for us alone; He is the most precious treasure we have, one that is meant to be shared with others. In our age of globalization, be witnesses of Christian hope all over the world. How many people long to receive this hope!" Do we not long for hope and something more? Do we not yearn for the infinite? in a world that tells us that more of the finite will satisfy us- which we have tasted and seen to be untrue, it's time for us to go to Whom our hearts long for. It's time to Rise.

ok more good music for you all-- here is a great acoustic version of the song called "Rise", written and played by Vince Scheuerman. This is a song he wrote in response to the tsunami that devastated East Asia a few year ago but i think its also a song about rebuilding in our hearts from wounds and loss. There comes a time in all of our lives when we must rise, like Jesus, and so we do. After the suffering, after the Crucifixion, we rise. Death is not the last word. Vince's band is called "Army of Me" and Vince's music is deep and personal and powerful- love it. You can hear him sing this song with his whole band elsewhere on youtube, but i like this acoustic version. and Vince is Catholic too! Lyrics: I've been reaching for the stars. I've been stretching out so far. Am I getting any closer than I've ever been before? I was lying in the gutter. I was crawling in the street. Now the servants are all sitting in the most distingui...

Lol, some of us saw the 3D version of "Despicable Me" today. lots of fun, haven't seen a 3D movie in like, forever. i do like the eternal story of how love makes us human. We can go through life with our hearts cold and isolated and then someone comes into our life and brings the sunshine and changes everything. That's the beauty of true love really, it sets us free to be the people God created us to be.

I mentioned yesterday that I have been thinking a lot lately about suffering and how Jesus to share His life with us. A friend and I were talking yesterday and were discussing the difficulties we all face as we travel on the journey of healing, this journey of holiness and wholeness and oneness with Jesus. How hard the path of discipleship is because it requires us to be honest, open and willing and very few of us seem to want to do that. It's not easy. We have to look within our selves and face our darkness and our greatness and both scare us immensely. I know in my own life, as I have looked back and journeyed through some deep wounds, I often wondered where God was and why He didn't protect me. Is that not the age old question? "Where was God when I was suffering?" This question has been asked down through the centuries. There are a number of answers to that question but I am not going to get into that here. Something more profound is perhaps this reality- th...

Howdy Folks. I am always on the lookout for good stuff and here it is- Speaking of good music, I have to put in a shameless plug for my friend David Thies- an authentic and powerful musician from Houston. He writes his own music and his voice is pure and sincere. check out his website at www.davidthiesmusic.com  check out his youtube channel-- David recently completed a summer tour in the south and his close friend James Mauer accompanied him on the journey. Their great adventures are published on David's youtube channel.  http://www.youtube.com/user/onebeautifuljourney You can also purchase his music on iTunes. His CD "Fall in Love" has some profound stuff on it. Here's a youtube link to a very famous song that David didn't write, but he sings it so well. Enjoy :)

I like all kinds of music but sometimes certain songs just grab your heart and make a home there. I LOVE this song by 10th Avenue North. I heard it twice today and I think God is trying to tell me something. Is He trying to tell you something?

You might really enjoy the blog of "media nun" Sr. Helena Burns- it's informative and funny and she has a lot of great stuff on it. The blog is aptly titled "Hell Burns" :)

Live Action has also documented Planned Parenthood covering up cases of reported sexual abuse. And they claim to care about women? I think they care about money.

For those of you who have been following Lila Rose and her exposition of the lies that Planned Parenthood promotes, here is another undercover video from their investigation. It truly is shocking how Planned Parenthood blatantly lies to vulnerable women and girls. View Lila's website at www.liveaction.org

Many of you have asked when I will be speaking at various events in the Seattle area. I (Sr. Miriam James) have two speaking engagements this month- both will be for women only with the topic being "The Dignity and Vocation of Women" Saturday September 18th- St. Mary's Church in Marysville- 9am-3pm Thursday September 30th- St. Philamena Parish in Des Moines, WA 7pm-9pm Please contact the respective parishes for more information. Hope to see all of you wonderful women (young and older) there!

Ah, much time has passed since the last blog. Sorry!! This has been a busy year but as the school year starts again, it's time for changes and new ideas. (and a new blog format) yea! Been thinking a lot about suffering lately. One of my friends shared with me a quote from their favorite Saint. When this particular Saint was suffering greatly, she said to Jesus, "How could You say you loved me if you never shared your suffering with me?" Isn't that so true. All of us have many friends who share our good times and joys with us. But I am guessing that most of us can count on one hand the friends we have in our lives with whom we have shared our deepest sufferings. It takes a special person to bear that kind of pain and intimacy. So it is with Jesus. How many of us really want to share everything with Jesus. We say we do, but do we really mean it? I ask myself this a lot. And yes, the good times bind us with each other but when we share our deepest sufferings with another...