NunEssential

Perhaps you have seen this video clip already but i just saw it for the first time the other day and I was so struck by the beauty of it. in it, this little boy has just learned how to ride a bike and his dad is asking him how he feels about learning this new skill. The little boy's response is precious and inspiring as he mounts the grassy patch to give a speech about perseverance. I love it. but as i thought about it, what the little boy is really rejoicing in is his father's love. Out of the love of his father, this little boy learned how to ride a bike. This little boy became free in a new skill because his father loves him and he is secure in his father's love and strong in it. it's so captivating. this is indeed what we really desire. we desire that our Father finds us and embraces us and never lets go. When we know who we are to our Father, that He has never forgotten us, that He pursues and seeks us, it gives us the freedom to live in truth and to extol Hi...

Love this commercial :)

Here is some beautiful music for you on this pleasant Tuesday morning. Lyrics-- You'd have a wonderful day If you could see how lucky you are Now don't get carried away with your heart You're better where you are You're not the only one Who's had to hang on to a moving star Now don't be sorry, what's done now is done And this is who you are These days feel numbered and long There's no one to speak of, there's no one at all But you're not the reason that everyone's gone That's not how they are There is no system to change No conditions are made, no permissions to start Now don't go drawing lines in the sand That's not who you are Sometimes a high wall is just a wall Sometimes it's only there to make sure you feel small Or maybe there to save you From the depths of a much deeper fall The truth will not set you free It's okay to believe that you're not good enough God is not angry, not b...

In light of the many things that are happening in the Church and in the world, I was pondering the necessity of personal conversion. There is no substitute for that personal relationship with Jesus. There is no substitute for the work we must do in allowing Jesus to come and heal our wounds and our sins so that we can be set free. No one can do that work for us and no one else's work in this area can take the place of our own. Perhaps this idea can seem rather daunting-- like the Christmas presents that read "Some Assembly Required" which perhaps should actually read, "this box contains five million small pieces of plastic and one sheet of directions written in five languages. Good luck!" However, as we see in the parable of the wise vs the foolish virgins, the reality become clearer. In the Gospel of Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus tells a parable of the five wise virgins and the five foolish virgins. When the bridegroom showed up, the five wise virgins had eno...

our fierce furry friend protects the novices from "the dark side" on Father's Day...very manly of you Beary!

We have repeatedly tried to tell our furry guest what life in the convent is like, but he just doesn't seem to be getting it....

Now you're talking...

So, last night, I was somewhere in the city, minding my own business, when I heard this conversation between two men who were standing behind me. (my thoughts during this conversation re-enactment will be in parenthesis) Guy 1: Dude, did you hear that Julie is pregnant with her third child? (gasp! not a THIRD child! nooooo!) Guy 2: No way! Was it an "opps" pregnancy or was it planned? Guy 1: It was definitely an "oops" pregnancy, her oldest kid is like only 2 1/2 (interesting reference to the child as an "oops") Guy 2: Yeah, -laughing- that's definitely an "oops" thing (oh the horror!) Guy 1: Totally....-laughing- Guy 2: Man, after me and my wife have our second kid, we are definitely getting the surgery to stop everything -laughing- we aren't gonna mess around with that stuff anymore... (ah, this is a very sad conversation, to sterilize yourself or wife as if you are mere animals, that is the horror...) Guy 1: Yeah.... T...

There comes a time (or many times) in our life when hanging on to our ego and selfishness is far more painful than letting it go and entrusting it to God. Perhaps we are most stressed out in life when we are clinging to our personal ideas of "how things are supposed to be" vs living life on life's terms. So often we are set free and we gain so much more when we let go... Just a thought. Happy Wednesday :)

Giant stuffed bears also increase their intelligence by studying at the school library...

This commercial really got me. I saw it one day and read the fine print on the bottom of the screen as the commercial was playing. This commercial is promoting some sort of botox-like injection that promises younger looking skin. Okay...... So, it opens with some photos of beautiful women and on the bottom of the screen it says "not actual users" and as the narrator speaks about the product not being a quick fix, the words on the bottom of the screen say, "for the correction of smile lines and facial wrinkles as a treatment consisting of up to four injections" The entire commercial only shows one actual user, and the disclaimer on the bottom of the screen reads, "treatment outside the smile lines has not been studied, should not be injected around eyes or lips" then the commercial goes back to showing fabulous beautiful women and the small print reads, "individual results may vary, not actual users" eek! then after one of the versio...

Happy (late) Pentecost folks. As this Monday morning arrives, the Easter Season is over now (wailing and gnashing of teeth all around). BUT, just because it is "Ordinary time" now again in the Church, doesn't mean that God isn't still pouring out His grace and mercy upon us. As I was pondering Pentecost yesterday, I am still amazed at the change that took place in the Apostles after they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit. These men, whom were so afraid of suffering and death that they will literally hiding behind locked doors, went out and transformed the whole world after they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. In the Acts of the Apostles (5:15) we read that people brought the sick out into the street so that St. Peter's shadow might at least fall upon them. That is astounding. Who is this Holy Spirit? Why don't we see these things happening today? Is God impotent? Are these things just stories of long ago?  The truth is that the Holy ...

Does this legally count as a carpool? just wondering....

Apparently large stuffed bears get their news from internet sources as well.....when they think no one is looking.....

this is fun :) (this is my little song) play your own guitar song today on google.com

This is a very beautiful article from Priests For Life director, Fr. Frank Pavone. He speaks openly and honestly about the pain of miscarriage in a woman's life. Miscarriage Fr. Frank Pavone National Director, Priests for Life The wound comes from well-meaning people. "Well, it wasn't that far along." "You can always have another child." "Lots of people go through this." Miscarriage is a tragedy that so many people misunderstand. They are not quite sure how to console a friend or relative who has suffered this loss. While there are no magic formulas, there is one fundamental truth that needs to stay front and center: a miscarriage is the loss of a child who is just as real and has just as much value as any other child of any age. A woman who has a miscarriage is a parent who has lost a child, as is the father of the child as well. In a society which continues to have a legal and cultural blind spot for the unborn, many suffer fro...

A friend and I were talking the other day about Our Lady and her beauty- how beautiful she is, and how her beauty crushes the darkness of evil. Her beauty slays the ugliness of sin because her beauty is the beauty of grace. The sword of her beauty destroys sin. Her beauty, the true beauty of grace, pierces the glamorous facade of monstrous ugliness, which is sin. Sin is the epitome of ugliness. No matter what package sin presents itself as, when unwrapped, the hideousness is revealed. There is a saying "ugly as sin" and this is true, for sin is very ugly. Humans weren't made to live in ugliness, we were made for beauty- eternal beauty. It was Bishop Doyle (not Archbishop Fulton Sheen, my mistake) who said that a person cannot continually live in sin and continue to pray the Rosary-- one will eventually go. Either sin will go or the Rosary will go. Beauty and ugliness cannot long co-exist, one will eventually leave. I love the statues of Our Lady where she is c...

What did St. Paul say? Something along the lines of, "those who do not work...."

Here is David's brand new song- What's In Your Heart?

I absolutely LOVE this song written and performed by David Thies. I wept the first time I heard it. Rock on David! Check out his summer tour schedule here (sorry about the earlier posting mix up! David does not look like Eddie Vedder....ha ha!)

Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder (and his guitar!) sings an acoustic version of Tom Petty's Won't Back Down Cool stuff :) love how the crowd sings along-

Some of you have asked to see the show from last week-- here it tis! thanks to all of you for your kind support :)

From www.medjugorje.com  regarding Our Lady's message to Mirjana on Jun 2nd- a day of prayer for non-believers: "By 7:00 a.m., thousands of pilgrims could be seen in every available space possible, and still more and more pressed in up to the moment of Our Lady’s apparition to Mirjana. Mirjana arrived at the Blue Cross around 8:40 a.m. The apparition began at 8:47 a.m. and lasted five minutes. The following is Our Lady’s message: “Dear children! As I call you to prayer for those who have not come to know the love of God, if you were to look into your hearts you would comprehend that I am speaking about many of you. With an open heart, sincerely ask yourselves if you want the living God or do you want to eliminate Him and live as you want. Look around you, my children, and see where the world is going, the world that thinks of doing everything without the Father, and which wanders in the darkness of temptation. I am offering to you the light of the Truth and the Holy Spirit...

Our weird dinner guest stayed for breakfast....at least he has good taste in coffee...

This weird dinner guest showed up....he was rather quiet but became unbearable.....

The irony over the death of Dr. Jack Kevorkian is certainly not lost on me. The 83 year old advocate of physician assisted suicide died of natural causes last night. What a mystery. May God have mercy on his soul. I wonder if he was ready to meet God, to meet The Truth? Would Doctor (should we even refer to him as such?) Kevorkian be able to tell God that he felt he had a better plan to "alleviate human suffering"? hmmm..... But let us not be led astray by seeming arguments for "compassion". People do not need a law to be free to commit suicide, as we well know. What we must understand is that "physician assisted suicide laws" are merely forerunners for more insidious things to come. We must know the Truth and what the Church teaches and what true compassion really is. Read more about this from author Mark Shea

Check out EWTN this evening to see the show Life on the Rock , 10pm eastern time :) Or stream it here: www.ewtn.com

A few years ago, the singer Fergie (who, incidentally, was raised Catholic and was recently married in the Catholic church)  had a number one song titled, Glamorous Some of the lyrics said: We flying first class Up in the sky Poppin' champagne Livin' the life In the fast lane And I wont change... The song goes on to talk about where she came from in her life and how she still has problems but is making it through the hard times. I have been thinking about that word "glamorous" lately. It's interesting that we use that word in the formula of our Baptismal promises-- but not in reference to God. In the formula of our Baptismal promises, we are asked, "Do you reject the glamour of evil and refuse to be mastered by sin?" Interesting.....reject the glamour of evil...... What does the word glamour mean? dictionary.com says (and this was very interesting to study this word): glam·our [ glam -er ]    –noun 1. the quality of fascinating, ...