NunEssential

Check out this cool vid of my friend David Thies opening for Mike Mangione. The song playing on the video is sung by David and it's called "Somewhere Safe", very beautiful. It's so encouraging to see awesome people out there doing great things for God and spreading the Good News :) rock on!

Check out this AWESOME article by Christopher West on Holy Week and the Spousal gift of Jesus on the Cross...

This article is so outrageous it's almost laughable if these people weren't serious about pushing this agenda.  The Earth given "human rights" status? um....how about recognizing the God given human rights of little babies? seems to me that's a great place to start... Note to Mr. Morales- capitalism is not the "central enemy" of mother earth. We as humans are given the job of subduing and caring for the earth, not worshiping it. We care for the earth as God's creation, using responsibly the resources that He has given us. The earth is not to be put above God or humanity.

Hello to you all- Happy Holy Week So, here we are, into the home stretch before the Triduum and the celebration of Easter. Is it just me or were there 650 days of Lent this year? maybe it's just me..... I have been reading Love and Responsibility by Pope John Paul II all during Lent and it is ROCKING MY WORLD. whee! that book is absolutely amazing, i am in awe of it. As i was reading yesterday, the Holy Father was writing that it's in the time of trial when our true love is revealed. He was saying that in the encounter of love, our loved one's weaknesses and sins show up but this is not a cause for us to run away, but to love all the more deeply. This flies in the face of the societal idea of "love", which is heavy on the emotional/physical reaction to another person or their body but doesn't go the distance of the integration of love- which always goes to the heart of who a person is, not their compilation of attributes. Perhaps we find ourselves in...

Here at our mission, we have had the distinct privilege and honor to participate in the 40 Days For Life prayer vigil at a local Planned Parenthood during this Lent. Of the several hours we have been there, we have had many experiences. Located on a busy street, many people stopped at the stoplights, stared and pointed at our signs and presence. Often they waved and smiled at us. Many times we were given the "one-finger salute" and had other vulgar things shouted at us. Two young women walked by and told us that we were disturbing the peace and that they would pray we would "get smart" about life issues. But something a woman shouted from her car yesterday made me ponder it all day today. Going through the stoplight, a middle aged woman leaned out of her car window and shouted, "Mind your own business!" Mind your own business? hmm.....mind my own business.... about..... I am guessing that what she really meant was that we should "mind ...

Check out this article on Taylor Swift who is publicly speaking out that she will not pose nude for any pictures. God bless you Taylor! Thank you for embracing true beauty. May God protect you always.

This is one of the most beautiful pieces of music that I have ever heard. Wow. So amazing. It is written by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak, who composed during the Romantic Period (my favorite- so rich and complex and deep, like Rachmaninoff, Chopin and Debussy) This particular music comes from his Symphony No. 9 "From the New World", he wrote this work after visiting America. I am posting two clip of it- the first is the original symphonic version (this video features breathtaking views of planet Earth as seen from space, set to the music)  the second is the same piece arranged for the human voice. Both are astounding. I just want to thank God for the gift of music and for giving us creativity and desire. I pray that this gift of music brings some beauty your way today. Bless you :)

This entire article just broke my heart. While surface "fixes" may give some momentary "relief", at the root of our struggles is a matter of our heart and soul.  No matter what we do to our appearance, true acceptance and transformation takes place by the healing power of Jesus in the depths of our heart and soul. Bishop Fulton Sheen said something along the lines of "the beauty on the outside never permeates within, but the beauty within radiates on the face." May we all know that we are truly beautiful because God created us that way. It takes a lot of courage to live and be the people God created us to be- but, is there any other way to really live? I heard a song lyric that stated, "everybody dies but not everybody lives"

The last of three talks that I gave in August 2010 at the Faith on Fire Conference

Woke up this morning with this song in my heart-- Happy Friday-

Sometimes we are plagued with the lie that we have to "be someone" to do something great in the world. I came across this beautiful quote yesterday by Henri De Lubac: 'The best Christians and the most vital are by no means to be found either inevitably or even generally among the wise or clever, the intelligentsia or the politically minded, or those of social consequence. And consequently, what they say does not make the headlines, what they do does not come to the public eye. Their lives are hidden from the eyes of the world - yet these are responsible, more than anyone else, for ensuring that our earth is not a hell on earth.' Many of you have asked how you can get in contact with me. You can do so by leaving a comment on this blog with your question and contact information. Please know that I will not publish your comment with contact info. God bless you :)