Updates for everyone!!!

Renee, our little friend with kidney cancer, is doing well. She is done with her radiation and is having a follow-up with the good people at CHOP this morning. I'll let you know what's happening with her tomorrow when I see her mom. St. Peregrine, pray for her.

My sister-in-law is home from the hospital now. She went into pre-term labor with my twin nieces a couple of weeks ago. She's on strict bedrest at home, but she is still having contractions. She is 28 weeks and 2 days. Adding to their stress, I found out last night, is that their hospital is an hour away (they're in Boulder, Co. The hospital is in Denver. Don't know why.). St. Gerard Majella, pray for her.

On a much lighter note, Primo is on a waiting list for Tee Ball. He's the first kid on the list and the PAL director said there are boys on teams who should be playing in the next league (slow pitch?), so it's very likely that he'll be playing ball this weekend. St. Sebastian pray for him.

Put me in coach

Just found out at 8:30 last night that Primo is old enough to play Tee Ball this year. Problem: First game is Saturday.

Baseball is the only sport the boy is interested in. His friends are playing soccer. Wanna play soccer, Primo? "Nah. Not really, mom." But your best friend is playing soccer. Don't you want to play with him? "No." Okay.

We are a baseball family. DH played inhigh school and briefly in college. DH's dad was a coach until this year (he retired). He took the high school team he coached to the state championships 4 times in 6 years and won the final games twice. He was the large North Jersey Paper's coach of the Year three years ago. He's in our county's baseball hall of fame. They bleed pinstripes.

I'm at work last night when I find out that signups are over, but we're going to try anyway. I call my DH, who is putting the boys to bed to tell him the news. He asks Primo if he would want to play baseball on a team. The excited-5-year-old-boy-giggling starts. "Yeah!!!!!" They are tucked in. DH is downstairs when he hears, "Dad! Dad! I have to ask you something!" Yes? "What team will I be on?"

Let's ask for the intercession of St. Sebastian, patron of atheletes, that he can get on a team.

I know. This has to stop

OK, so Tom Cruise is in Germany to promote "MI:3" with Katie Holmes about to go into labor any minute.

Cruise was in Germany to plug the film on the country's popular "Wetten Dass ..." ("I'll Bet ...") TV show. He said on the show Saturday that two pilots were at the ready to fly him home should Holmes go into labor.

Maybe Katie's family can whisk her away so she can get deprogrammed.

Cruise confirmed to Bild that he and Holmes planned to marry in the coming months.
"First the baby, then the film," he was quoted as saying. "Then, in summer, we want to get married. "

Come on, Holmes family, plenty of time to keep this marriage from happening.

"I won't let this woman get away."

A threat if I ever heard one. Please pray for both of them. Cruise is a former Catholic. See St. Monica Prayer below.

A post in which

the blogger realizes she failed to do her Catholic Blogger Duty by posting a reflection on the passing of Pope John Paul II on the anniversary of his death (yesterday).

All I can say is,

• I cleaned all day Saturday
• I had to staff a table after the 9, 10:30, and noon Masses yesterday for a ministry fair during which I spoke to 1 prospective catechist and lots of teens who want to help with VBS again
• Got home at 1:45 to cook up some Chicken Parm for the 3 college boys coming to the house at 3:30 (they didn't eat as much as one would expect 3 20 year old boys to eat. I now have 1+ lbs. linguine cold in my fridge and a full loaf of Italian bread. No sauce. How does that happen?)
• cleaned up dinner and passed out on the couch at 8:30.

So, no post on JP2. For those interested, here is a link to an archived bit from last year where I reflect on the election of B16.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

I worry for Katie Holmes

I know it is probably a sign that I am too much interested in the lives of celebrities. But, I am worried about Katie. I know, she's 26 and she can do what she wants. I think that what bothers me most is that she is Catholic and now she's getting into this Scientology cult. Yes. I said cult.

Anyhow, this via the American Papist: At In the Light of the Law, Edward R. Peters, blogging canon lawyer, says that it is not likely that the TomKat child could be baptized.

So, I'm publishing here a prayer from the St. Monica Sodality which was originally printed with the permission of the Diocese of Cleveland.

First, backbround on St. Monica. St. Monica is the mother of St. Augustine. St. Augustine, as you may well know, was not a model Christian youth. He was involved with heretics, had a child out of wedlock, and thought he was just too smart for all of this Christianity stuff.

Well, his good old mom followed him all around the Roman Empire pleading with him to return to God, bugging every bishop she could get to talk to her to talk to her son. One priest said to her, "The son of so many tears cannot perish."

Finally, she was able to work on St. Ambrose enough to get him to talk to Augustine and he turned around. Augustine went on to repent of his former life and become one of the Church's greatest saints.

My personal St. Monica glory story is that I prayed for her intercesssion for my mom and one of my brothers for a long time. Mom is now back in the Church and receives the sacraments regularly. My brother, well, he goes to Mass. Now, if I can just get her to work on my dad and other brother (they're tougher cases)....

So, here is the prayer. Use it to pray for Katie or for anyone else you may want St. Monica to work on to get them back to the Church.

Eternal and merciful Father, I give You thanks for the gift of Your Divine Son Who suffered, died, and rose for all mankind. I thank You also for my Catholic Faith and ask Your help that I may grow in fidelity by prayer, by works of charity and penance, by reflection on Your Word amd by regular participation in the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist.

You gave St. Monica a spirit of selfless love manifested in her constant prayer for her son Augustine. Inspired by her boundless confidence in Your power to move hearts, and by the success of her prayer, I ask for the grace to imitate her constancy in my prayer for (name(s)) who no longer share(s) in the intimate life of Your Catholic family. Grant through my prayer and witness that (he/she/they)may be open to the promptings of Your Holy Spirit, to return to loving union with Your Church. Grant also that my prayer be ever hopeful and that I may never judge another, for you alone can read hearts. I ask this throught Christ, Our Lord. Amen.