Full disclosure

I feel a little bit like a hypocrite recommending St. Francis de Sales' "Introduction to the Devout Life" to you in my previous post. The reason for this is that I have never actually finished reading it myself.

Why have I never finished reading this classic of Catholic spirituality? Because, like Gollum, I am not ready to detach myself from the sins I hold onto so dearly.

When I began "Introduction," I recognized that in reading it, I was going to have to take action, either to change my sinful ways and enter into a deeper union with Christ or to reject it, to do nothing, and therefore reject Christ.

I decided to pretend that I hadn't read what I had read and to try to resume sleepwalking through my spiritual life. I closed the book less than halfway through.

Writing the previous three posts has led me to realize that it's all well for me to encourage you to make a radical commitment to the Lord, but I am a hypocrite because I have not done so myself.

This Lent, I am going to go to work on incorporating St. Francis de Sales' advice into my life. It's time for me to sh!t or get off the pot so to speak. I am afraid of hell. That will have to be the beginning motivation for me to turn closer to Christ. Pray for me that I will one day turn to Him out of sheer love for Him, not because I fear the justice I deserve.

Prayer request

My niece has come to stay with us for a time. Would appreciate you throwing a prayer to the Lord on her behalf, on behalf of her parents, and on behalf of our family as we all get used to having each other around!

Novena to St. Monica

St. Monica's feast day is August 27. In case you don't know, St. Monica is the mother of St. Augustine. Augustine was the original enfant terrible who famously lapsed from the faith. He credits the intercessory prayers of his mother with bringing him back to the Church. Indeed everything we know about St. Monica was told to us by Augustine.

Today I'm starting a novena for the lapsed members of my family and yours. There are several novena prayers you can choose. Whatever prayer you choose will be OK. Pray for the members of your family who have lapsed from the faith.


Novena To Saint Monica

Exemplary Mother of the Great Augustine,
You perseveringly pursued your wayward son
Not with wild threats
But with prayerful cries to heaven.

Intercede for all mothers in our day
So that they may learn
To draw their children to God.

Teach them how to remain
Close to their children,
Even the prodigal sons and daughters
Who have sadly gone astray.

Dear St Monica, troubled wife and mother,
Many sorrows pierced your heart
During your lifetime.
Yet you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence and profound faith,
You prayed daily for the conversion
Of your beloved husband, Patricius
And your beloved son, Augustine.

Grant me that same fortitude,
Patience and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
That God may favorably hear my plea
For

(mention your petition here)

And grant me the grace
To accept his will in all things,
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God forever and ever. Amen.

Warming up!

Get your lists, ready, ladies and gentlemen, the Novena to St. Monica starts on Thursday. As many of you know, through the intercession of St. Monica, the Lord brought my mother back to the faith after many years in the wilderness. Take the next couple of days to pray about who the Lord wants you to pray for, write their names down and get ready to start your novena on August 19.

You can definitely do this novena anytime you want, but it's especially appropriate in the 9 days leading up to her feast.

See you back here Thursday!!

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!

Today is the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. I have always loved this saint, even before I knew he was a Dominican.

One of the things I like about him is that when he was in seminary, everybody called him "The Dumb Ox" because he was fat and didn't talk a lot. Their teacher, St. Albert the Great (even better in Latin: Albertus Magnus!), said about him: "We call this young man a dumb ox, but his bellowing in doctrine will one day resound throughout the world."

His parents were wealthy, influential Italians who wanted him to become a Benedictine, thinking that they could probably arrange for him to become the abbot of Monte Cassino, the original monastery that St. Benedict founded. But when Thomas heard about St. Dominic's upstart Order of Preachers, he wanted to join them.

But Thomas really wanted to join the Dominicans. He tried to run away from home, but his mom and dad sent his brothers after him and locked him in one of their palaces. Mom and Dad sent one of their daughters to talk some sense into him, but he talked her into becoming a nun. They tried to send a woman of ill repute to tempt him, but he chased her out of the room with the poker from the fireplace! After 2 years, his parents gave in and let him join the Dominicans.

He was really smart. How smart was he? They say he could dictate 5 books on 5 different subjects at once! He wrote songs that we still sing in church (mostly at Adoration: Pane Lingua). His philosophy is still studied by Catholic and non-Catholic scholars alike!

This is his deathbed prayer (from the Catholic Encyclopedia):

The end was near; extreme unction was administered. When the Sacred Viaticum was brought into the room he pronounced the following act of faith:

If in this world there be any knowledge of this sacrament stronger than that of faith, I wish now to use it in affirming that I firmly believe and know as certain that Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, Son of God and Son of the Virgin Mary, is in this Sacrament . . . I receive Thee, the price of my redemption, for Whose love I have watched, studied, and laboured. Thee have I preached; Thee have I taught. Never have I said anything against Thee: if anything was not well said, that is to be attributed to my ignorance. Neither do I wish to be obstinate in my opinions, but if I have written anything erroneous concerning this sacrament or other matters, I submit all to the judgment and correction of the Holy Roman Church, in whose obedience I now pass from this life.

A Prayer for Guidance by St. Thomas Aquinas:

O creator past all telling,
you have appointed from the treasures of your wisdom
the hierarchies of angels,
disposing them in wondrous order
above the bright heavens,
and have so beautifully set out all parts of the universe.

You we call the true fount of wisdom
and the noble origin of all things.
Be pleased to shed
on the darkness of mind in which I was born,
The twofold beam of your light
and warmth to dispel my ignorance and sin.

You make eloquent the tongues of children.
Then instruct my speech
and touch my lips with graciousness.
Make me keen to understand, quick to learn,
able to remember;
make me delicate to interpret and ready to speak.

Guide my going in and going forward,
lead home my going forth.
You are true God and true man,
and live for ever and ever.

--St Thomas Aquinas, 1225-74

Veterans Day

Thank you to all of the brave men and women who have fought for our country on any field of battle. If you, like I, have never served in the military, please take time today to think about the sacrifices these folks have made to serve us and keep us safe. Think of the doughboy who made his way overseas for the first time, digging trenches in France, shells exploding over his head. Think of the WACS and Joes who went back 30 years later to fight in WWII, arriving on the shores of France like in the photo above. Think of those who went to Korea to stop the spread of communism. Think of those who served in the steaming jungles of Vietnam and Central America, who sweated in the deserts of Iraq, who climbed in the mountains of Afghanistan, and all other places their President has sent them. They went willingly, bravely, to meet an uncertain future and they returned, asking nothing but for us to every once in a while to stop and say thank you. Ponder the sacrifices they and their families made and I dare you not to choke up a bit.

I love how Veterans Day falls on the feast of St. Martin of Tours. When Martin was 10 (326 AD), over his parents' objections, he wanted to be baptized and began to be taught. He eventually joined the Roman army and was stationed in Gaul (modern-day France) where he was born. One day, by the city gate, he saw a beggar with hardly any clothing. Without much thought, he cut his cloak in half and gave half to the beggar (see picture at right). That night, he had a dream were he saw Jesus wearing his half cloak. He finished his religious training and became baptized. After he left the army, he became a priest, and eventually the bishop of Tours. As a bishop, he passionately defended the Church against the Arian heresy. He died in 397 AD.

St. Martin is the patron saint of soldiers, which makes Veterans Day on November 11 so very cool.

Heavenly Father, through the intercession of St. Martin of Tours, I beg your blessings for those men and women who are veterans of the wars the United States has fought. Please bless them and their families for the sacrifices they have made for our country. Please bless the United States. Please let us be a beacon for freedom and good for the whole world. Mary, the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the United States, pray for us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

"...But they are dead; those two are dead!
Their spirits are in heaven!"
'Twas throwing words away; for still
The little maid would have her will
And said... "Nay, we are seven!"

From "We are Seven" by William Wordsworth


My friend and her husband lost their baby over the weekend. The little girl was stillborn. Today was the funeral.

The image of the infant girl's daddy carrying her tiny white casket down the center aisle of the church, weeping, his grieving wife at his side, is something that I will never forget.

It is a completely unnatural situation, that a father should bury his infant child.

I cannot pretend to know why the Lord permits the death of a child. I cannot pretend to know the depths of this family's grief. To carry a child to term and to deliver her stillborn....

I know that when the rawness fades for my friend and her family, when they can look at little girls who were born at the same time as their little girl and not weep, the knowledge of their daughter's place at her heavenly Father's side will comfort them. They will begin to call on her and ask her prayers before the Lord.

And you, I ask your prayers for the R. family and for the repose of the soul of their infant, B. Comments closed. Just offer a prayer right now.

Scott and I leave this Wednesday morning for New Orleans, where we will go with some of the students from the school where Scott works to rebuild houses. It's a University-run alternative Spring Break trip and we will be working with and staying at a local Presbyterian church in NOLA.

I am SO looking forward to this trip. Scott's main job while there is to take pictures and write a story to be submitted to a local paper. I'm going along for the ride. This takes away some of the sting I felt over the England workshops being cancelled.

The kids are staying with Scott's parents for the 4 days we'll be gone and they are really looking forward to that. I can't wait to show you guys some of the photos we take.

So, please pray for all of us who are going that we have a safe trip and please pray for those who live there. May we do good work next week.

Ladies, Gentlemen, we're being persecuted

Update: As of yesterday afternoon, this committee hearing was cnacelled because the sponsors of the bill came to see that it was possibly unconsitutional. Be on your guard, ladies and gentlemen. It is said by some that anti-Catholicism is that last acceptable prejudice. I am inclined to agree. Stand up for yourself. Stand up for your faith. Stand up for your Lord.

I would like to ask you to read this bill which up for a vote in a legislative committee in the state of Connecticut. This bill would remove all CATHOLIC pastors and bishops from any decisions regarding money and Church property in the state. Notice that this bill applies only to the Catholic Church.

You can read a rallying cry by Patrick Archbold of the Creative Minority Report here. You can read from Matthew Archbold of CMR here. You can read the call to action by Family Institute of Connecticut here. You can see the response by Bishop Lori of Bridgeport and what the Diocese of Bridgeport is doing here. Good stuff from the American Papist here.

This is an unacceptable violation of not only the US Constituion but the Constitution of the state of Connecticut (See Matthew's post above.).

What can you do? Email, call, PRAY!!!!!!
Following are the names and contact info for the sponsors of this terrible piece of legislation:

Senator Andrew McDonald: Capitol phone: (800) 842-1420; Home phone: (203) 348-7439 E-mail: McDonald@senatedems.ct.gov

Representative Michael Lawlor:Capitol phone: (800) 842-8267; Home phone: (203) 469-9725E-mail: MLawlor99@juno.com

Stand up for your faith. Stand up for your preists and bishops. Don't sit back and do nothing. This vote is tomorrow. Be heard!

Oh my Jesus, I trust in you!

You can sign the petition here.

Prayers, please

Scott's dad was diagnosed with ocular melanoma a few years ago and eventually lost one eye to the cancer. He has had clean scans for about 2 years now, but today he went for another round of tests and they found more melanoma behind his other eye. He's going for radiation on Thursday, so prayers to Sts. Lucy and Peregrine would be greatly appreciated. Grazie.

re-cap

We've hosted Thanksgiving almost every year since 2000 (we took '06 off since Scott's family was coming up from NC and his mom wanted to do the honors for her brother and fam. With a 3 month old at the time, I was most happy to pass the baton for a year.) I have to say that this was the least stressful Thanksgiving I have ever hosted. I even got to sit down and talk for a little while-even with not having an automatic dishwasher to help out! I was bummed out that no one stayed past six, though, especially since no one got to the house until 1:30. We ate around 2:30 and then it seemed like everyone just left. Which makes me wonder if my family nad I stay at other people's houses too long. Aimee, do we stay too long? You're the only one I know IRL whose house we may have overstayed at. Be honest.Tonight, we had Scott's friend D. over for supper. I made a ziti because we all have had enough turkey for now. D. works in Washington DC so we don't get to see him often, which is a shame 'cause he's a super guy. He got here at 4:30 and was gone by 7:30. Why do people only want to stay at my house for 4 hours? It's CLEAN (now). We're fun. At least we used to be fun. What's up?!

Also, I wanted to ask your prayers that God's will be done and made clear to us. Scott's applying for a new job and we just want to do God's will. Thanks!

Hope you all have a groovy weekend!

Fight FOCA

Here's a great post by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf about our changing times and what we as Catholics have to do to stand up for what we believe in. President-elect Obama has promised to make the Freedom of Choice Act law. If you don't know, FOCA would strike down any state laws restricting abortion. This website, Fight FOCA, has a petition online that you can sign, but all of us must contact our representatives and senators in Washington to tell them that we do not want this bill to become law.

It's a sad fact that most American support abortion rights, but the majority of Americans want some restrictions on this evil practice. FOCA will wipe away any restrictions, even ones that the Supreme Court has found constitutional, including parental notification laws.

I'm not a great pray-er. I have a load of excuses for why I don't pray the rosary. But I watched the video in Fr. Z's post and I have to do something. I mean, how am I supposed to stand before the LORD at my judgment and justify my inaction about this? I can't. So tonight, I commit to praying the rosary (with my family) daily to pray for the president-elect's conversion on FOCA. You have to, also. Let's get together on this one, people, millions of lives are at stake.

Did you hear?

It's election day! You can thank me later for reminding you. I thought you might have forgotten.


It's also the feast of St. Charles Borromeo. I think that's it's pretty apt that Election day happened to fall on his feast this year. The only way it could have been better is if we had Election day on the feast of St. Thomas More.



St. Charles Borromeo

Charles was the son of Count Gilbert Borromeo and Margaret Medici, sister of Pope Pius IV. He was born at the family castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore, Italy on October 2. He received the clerical tonsure when he was twelve and was sent to the Benedictine abbey of SS. Gratian and Felinus at Arona for his education.

In 1559 his uncle was elected Pope Pius IV and the following year, named him his Secretary of State and created him a cardinal and administrator of the see of Milan. He served as Pius' legate on numerous diplomatic missions and in 1562, was instrumental in having Pius reconvene the Council of Trent, which had been suspended in 1552. Charles played a leading role in guiding and in fashioning the decrees of the third and last group of sessions. He refused the headship of the Borromeo family on the death of Count Frederick Borromeo, was ordained a priest in 1563, and was consecrated bishop of Milan the same year. Before being allowed to take possession of his see, he oversaw the catechism, missal, and breviary called for by the Council of Trent. When he finally did arrive at Trent (which had been without a resident bishop for eighty years) in 1556, he instituted radical reforms despite great opposition, with such effectiveness that it became a model see. He put into effect, measures to improve the morals and manners of the clergy and laity, raised the effectiveness of the diocesan operation, established seminaries for the education of the clergy, founded a Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for the religious instruction of children and encouraged the Jesuits in his see. He increased the systems to the poor and the needy, was most generous in his help to the English college at Douai, and during his bishopric held eleven diocesan synods and six provincial councils. He founded a society of secular priests, Oblates of St. Ambrose (now Oblates of St. Charles) in 1578, and was active in preaching, resisting the inroads of protestantism, and bringing back lapsed Catholics to the Church. He encountered opposition from many sources in his efforts to reform people and institutions.

He died at Milan on the night of November 3-4, and was canonized in 1610. He was one of the towering figures of the Catholic Reformation, a patron of learning and the arts, and though he achieved a position of great power, he used it with humility, personal sanctity, and unselfishness to reform the Church, of the evils and abuses so prevalent among the clergy and the nobles of the times. His feast day is November 4th. I wish I weren't too lazy to take out all of those weird hyperlinks. I'll bet you do, too.


So, as you can see, St. Charles was an instrumental figure in the Counter-Reformation. He re-convened the Council of Trent and was a reformer. One order he tried to reform (and was eventually supressed) had 4 members that tried to assassinate him!


He led the Church in times of uncertainty and controversy. How excellent for us to have our election day fall on his feast day, when our country is going through a time of uncertainty and controversy! This is what my Magnificat says about him: "As both a civil and a canon lawyer, as well as a bishop, St. Charles understood the pastoral work of law-giving according to the model of Christ. His unflagging efforts to promote a Christian life and Church reform were prompted by a profoundly self-sacrificing love of Christ living in the Church."


Please pray that the people who are elected today also understand "the pastoral work of law-giving according to the model of Christ."


O, Blessed Mother! The United States is entrusted to you in your Immaculate Conception. Please intercede for us at the feet of your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. May His Will be done in our elections today. May we as a nation be able to go forth walking in His Light. Heavenly Father, please send the Holy Spirit upon all of us who are voting that we may be inspired to vote according to Your Will. Please send the Spirit upon those who are elected that they may do Your Will while they hold office. Keep our nation in Your Protection. Amen.

She understands

The Novena to St. Monica starts today. Her feast day is August 27, the day after her son, St. Augustine. Monica's life was hard. Her husband had a violent temper, her mother-in-law lived with her and constantly belittled her and her children wouldn't listen. Her son Augustine, became a heretic (he was a too smart for his own good), but he eventually came around.

St. Monica is a patron saint of wives and mothers, but she is also the one to ask for help when your family and friends have lapsed from the church. My original post about good St. Monica is here (also accessible from the sidebar). In the last two years, several people, mostly women with worries about their husbands and children, have stopped by this page and have left a comment asking for prayers. Please take a minute to go a read those comments. Please keep them in mind while you ask for the intercession of the woman whose tears were finally dried when he husband and son came to the Church. Maybe you are reading this today and you are so blessed not to have any particular person in mind to ask the intercession of St. Monica. Please remember the women who have posted here before and pray for their intentions.

Novena To Saint Monica

Exemplary Mother of the Great Augustine,
You perseveringly pursued your wayward son
Not with wild threats
But with prayerful cries to heaven.

Intercede for all mothers in our day
So that they may learn
To draw their children to God.

Teach them how to remain
Close to their children,
Even the prodigal sons and daughters
Who have sadly gone astray.

Dear St Monica, troubled wife and mother,
Many sorrows pierced your heart
During your lifetime.
Yet you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence and profound faith,
You prayed daily for the conversion
Of your beloved husband, Patricius
And your beloved son, Augustine.

Grant me that same fortitude,
Patience and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
That God may favorably hear my plea
For (mention your petition here)
And grant me the grace
To accept his will in all things,
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God forever and ever. Amen.

Independence Day

On July 4, a delightful man I know from church (he taught CCD and helped with our Confirmation prep class), John Lyp, was liberated from lung cancer and went to his eternal reward.  

John is just an amazing person.  He loved the Lord so much: with all his heart, with all his mind, and with all his strength.  He has left behind his lovely wife of 40 years, Ellen, and his 7 children and 4 grandchildren.  I know his daughter, AnneMarie, because she also taught CCD with us.  All of his kids are really fantastic.  

John's death was really sudden.  I saw him last on May 18 right after the 12:00 Mass at church.  He seemed totally fine.  By Memorial Day weekend, his name was on the list of the sick members of the parish for us to pray for.  Last week, John went into hospice care.  Lung cancer killed him, but he never smoked a day in his life.  It moved very quickly.  

It is a privilege to know someone as great as John Lyp.  He loved telling people about Jesus.  He preached the Gospel in everything he did.  In addition to the work he did with the men's group at the parish he volunteered with Covenant House in Newark.  I never saw this man down.  

There were so many people who came to the wake that the parking lot was full.  There were probably 150-200 people at the funeral Mass: family, friends, fellow parishioners.  All whose lives are enriched by knowing John Lyp.  

The Church's teaching on the Communion of the Saints is very comforting at times like this because John isn't really gone.  He may be in purgatory (here for more), he might be in heaven already!  But he's still with us and he's praying for us.  He's doing even more for his family now than he could do while on earth.  The priest said in his homily at the funeral Mass: "For the many of us who are here on earth who sadly say, 'There he goes,' how many more are in heaven, excitedly saying, "Here he comes!'"

John, pray for us.  We'll pray for you.  

Hey, Jesus, here he comes.   

Hello, it's me

I know.  I've been away awhile.  Allow me to update you.  In no particular order:

1. Bubba got himself a shiner on Monday night from tripping over a fan on the floor of his room and landing on the corner of his brother's open dresser drawer.  It's pretty.  I'll have to post a picture. 

2. Today, Bubba graduated from Pre-k.   He's officially a kindergartener now.  Primo finished 1st grade on Thursday.  Now the praying about the 2nd grade teacher begins.  

3. My confessor and sometime spiritual director was transferred to another parish and the farewell Mass and reception was last Sunday the 8th.  I chaired the committee for the party which caused some stress on my marriage.  Seems Scott likes it when I'm home.  He's fussy like that. 

4.  I had Jury Duty starting last Tuesday the 3rd.  I got picked for the case on Wednesday.  We returned the verdict on Friday afternoon.  It was a very pleasant experience.  I'm not even kidding.  I made a new friend.  (Hi, K.!)

5. My stepbrother, B. graduated from High School last Thursday the 5th.  His party was the day we handed down our verdict. 

6. After many visits to many doctors (including a horrible allergist right here in Linden.  Email me if you want to know whom to avoid. ) and dealing with symptoms that seemed like Congestive Heart Failure and an anaphalactic latex allergy, my mom went to an awesome internist and he figured out she has a...wait for it...B-12 deficiency that is exacerbating all of her MS symptoms.  Why her neurologist didn't figure this out is really sort of beyond me.  

7. I made it safely out the other side of Sacrament of Initiation Season (ie: the month of May) and I have learned the value of asking others for help.  

8. I anticipate a change in my work schedule that will make life better for all who reside in my home.  Full report when the contract is signed. 

9.  Our awesome next door neighbors, Hector and Diana, here on Diana's work visa, had to return to Colombia because her visa ran out and she couldn't find a new job.  After a lot of nonsense on behalf of the buyer's attorney that gave them 24 hours notice on the date of the closing (I am NOT kidding), they sold the house to a woman who so far has asked us to put out $3500 in cosmetic improvements to the exterior of our duplex (For those of you who don't know what a duplex is, we own one side of the building and she owns the other side.  We share a wall and if one is going to say, reside the house or reface the steps it probably ought to be done jointly so it doesn't look like Frankenstein house.).  This of course would not bother me if a. we had the money for it (we are going to do the siding since she "know[s] a guy"and b. I were confident she knew our last name (I don't know hers.) and c. She were not so gall darned freaking pushy about it.  So not only have good friends moved about 2000 miles away, they have been replaced by someone I don't like yet, but I hope that I will be able to like after she finally freaking decides to move in.  This probably deserves a post of its own.   

OK I think that's everything.  Back next week with some work related stuff I'd like you guys to help me with.  

What have you been up to?

Yesterday, one of our diocese's bishops came to the parish for Confirmation.  It was a great day all around for everyone.  I'm glad the stress of getting ready for this day is over.  But I wanted to share with you something that happened yesterday that made me just stand back and praise God.

In our parish, the Sacrament of Confirmation is conferred in 8th grade.  The kids are all 13 and 14 years old and they bring with them to their classes and other sacrament preparation all of the things that 13 and 14 year old people are into (and not into).  

There is one young man who I had the pleasure of working with one-on-one for some of his Sacrament prep.  And he seemed really serious when he and I worked together.  

Then there is his other personality: the one he has when he is with his other 13 and 14 year old friends.  This is the personality I am a little bit more familiar with.  The "Why do I have to stalk you to get you to turn in your paperwork" personality.  The "Can I go to the bathroom 50 million times so I can meet my friend in the bathroom to talk" personality.  This "split personality" is pretty typical of the teenage animal  (But indeed, when it comes to "God stuff," don't we all suffer from this a bit?).  It doesn't bother me as much as it used to.  

Well, it being Saturday, Confessions started at 1:00.  Confirmation Mass was at 2.  This young man was in church at 1:30, when the kids and their sponsors were to be gathering to process into Mass.  I was sort of taken aback.  I thought at first he was hanging out, but none of his friends were there.  I thought about telling him to go on downstairs, but I'm glad I didn't.  He was there for confession.  When I talked to his mom after Mass, she said that he wanted to get to church early so that he could go to Confession.  I was surprised that he even knew that confession was going on then.  

You've really got to hand it to mom and dad.  They are doing it right.  They have set an excellent example for their son and they ought to be quite proud.  

Let's pray for T. that he will use the gift of courage that he received sacramentally yesterday to stand up for what is right, to set an example for his friends to stay close to Jesus in His Church.  Let us pray for his mom and dad that they may never tire of doing the right thing by their kids.  

He's our God-Bun

Today was the baptism day of my best girl friend Aimee's son, Bun (not his real name. Please! What kind of weirdoes do you think I associate with? Wait. Don't answer that).

Everything she has blogged about this boy is true. He is a snuggly, chubby bunch of baby who fell asleep in my arms (ok, full disclosure, he fell asleep in everyone's arms, but I'm his godmother and it's my blog so I'm going to pretend he liked me best) and I just wanted to eat him up he's so cute (Isn't it weird to say a baby is so cute you want to eat him? But he has the chubbiest cheeks and I really did want to chew them up. And I think I could have eaten a pound of those cheeks and there still would have been enough left over for Aimee to nibble on too.).

So please welcome our little Bun to the Church. And pray for his mama and daddy and his brother and sisters. His godfather (my husband Scott) and I will.

Here's a picture of Scott with Bun, taken with Scott's camera phone. That's why it's fuzzy. Get a load of those cheeks.