Galactic Catholic Universe

Good Intentions

2012-01-12T20:09:00.000-05:00

I thought of many great things I could write about for my mini-blog over the holidays, but really I don't have time this school year. But when I might try to squeak out a complaint, I get a post from a page called iamviable, that I follow on fb. I added the quote because I want to hang this in my class room.

http://www.iamviable.com/

The Generosity of Mary the Mother of God

2012-01-02T18:19:00.002-05:00

The beauty of Mary the Mother of God is able to be seen in the faith of a child's prayer. With beautiful hearts those children that experience the love of Our Lady trust her as a child trusts a mother to bring food or care or help.

The other day while in the beautiful church of Our Lady of Mercy, I remembered the childlike love I had for her. I always credit my own human mother for the love that the Spirit grew in my heart for Mary because she is the one who told me to ask her for help when I was four.

Our Lady readily came to my aide in a very distressing series of nightmares. I didn't have those nightmares again for several years after. My faith in God grew from a simple act of a Mother telling her child to ask Sweet Mary for her help.

Ever since that time Our Lady has gently coerced me back to the loving arms of Christ and his saving love. I revere Mary as the Theotokos, the God bearer. But also as one great and first saint among us that as shown me the fruition of trusting in the will of God and not my own will.

Saintly Irony- Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T21:40:00.000-05:00

This is the night that we celebrate Christ’s birth as a man. God is all good and allowed his Son to come and open a door for humanity to know holiness.

I’ve just come in from a dark and rainy night to continue watching the Bears run the ball against the Packers and in my mind I ask the question: Is it better to try really hard or better to win in regards to sainthood?

In regards to football, most know that winning is the desire. There are some fantastic plays from the losers but the best end result is another win. I can relate a desire to holiness to a desire to win easily, but in the words of my dad, “There isn’t any ‘saint school’", so it is not so straight forward.

The answer has to come from within to know if you’re a winner. In my case, I am pretty bummed out that I have so far to go and reading about Saint Faustina being told she has far to go doesn’t give me too much hope in the holiness department.

Saintly life isn’t easy these days with what is on television and on the streets in the form of hate, sensuality, greed and selfishness. I wish there was a ‘Saint School’. That would be really cool, but the irony is the same for those who strive for MVP. You don’t seek after that stuff, you have to live it.

What is better in the end? Trying really hard counts when you are doing it for good reasons I think. Even though I won’t win the holiness game, I can play it and build up my yardage as I keep running the ball toward the goal. Even if life doesn't play fair with me, I am trying to do things for good and thinking of others.

Saint school is living life and learning from your mistakes to seek to do as Christ did. Don't try for MVP, play the game as if you are the MVP and inspire others to do the same. That is what holiness is, that is what Christ became man to do.

Happy Thanksgiving! 2011

2011-11-24T12:23:00.000-05:00

from www.ewtn.org

Daniel 3

62 Sun and moon, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

63 Stars of heaven, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

64 Every shower and dew, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

65 All you winds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

66 Fire and heat, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

67 Cold and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

Inspiration

2011-11-01T22:02:00.000-04:00

This year at school I really want to inspire the children like some of the great teachers I know. It makes me think of the times I have been inspired and how I can revive that in myself and bring it to others.

I always come back to music. I think music carries many people through many burdens. Music and words sooth and express rage. One song in particular that inspired me when I learned it in the high school choir as a freshman was O Magnum Mysterium. The version was from 1572 and I think we were learning it for Spring concert.

The teacher I had was not very inspiring. She was crass and rude to me on more than one occasion. I didn't know why. I saw here again about 5 years later and I tried to be nice but she was rude again. I appreciate that she introduced me to this song though.

The lyrics just came back to my mind last night and they are perfect for preparing for Advent. The music inspires me every time and brings me closer to God's call in my life to love those that don't show they want to be loved by others.

One last thing, I often went to the dark below level music library at LSU to listen to this recording when I felt I needed an uplift. My favorite part is everything and the alleluias.

The Listener

2011-10-28T22:56:00.000-04:00

What Boudreaux heard in Church

Old Boudreaux died and went to the pearly gates. St. Pete was just waiting for him to get there. When they met up, St. Pete said, "Whoa, Boudreaux, I can't let you pass through the gates until you answer three questions." Old educated Boudreaux say, "Go ahead, St. Pete, give me your best shot," St. Pete say, "O.K., Boudreaux, question number one. How many seconds do they have in a year?" Boudreaux say, "Aw, that's easy, St. Pete, twelve." St. Pete say, "Boudreaux, how did you get twelve?" Boudreaux say, "Jan second, Feb second, etc." St. Pete say, "Boudreaux, that's not quite what I'm looking for, but I'll let you slide. Question number two. How many days do they have in a week?" Boudreaux say, "That's easy, St. Pete, two." St. Pete say, "Boudreaux, where you get two from?" Boudreaux say, "Today and tomorrow." St. Pete say, "Boudreaux, that's not quite what I'm looking for. Now Boudreaux, this last question you have to get it right or I can't let you into heaven. Who is our father?" Boudreaux say, "That's easy, St. Pete, Howard." St. Pete say, "Where did you get Howard from, Boudreaux?" "Our father who art in heaven, Howard be thy name.

We never know what we will be called to next if we are following the path God has willed for us. If you work in a job where you speak with other people daily there is always a call to serve others in Christ by listening rather than speaking.

I have not practiced listening well in the past, but I am learning to listen. My big question is learning how to listen to the things that others do not say. This is where true reflection about our own lives helps us to listen to others.

For example, listening while working with an especially difficult or as I like to call it, ‘high-maintenance’ person is imperative. But how to I do this and show Christ’s patience and charity when the person is constantly in my face complaining?

One thing I had to do is reflect on my personal goals and redirect my temperament. I prayed and thought about the real reason I love Christ and my desire to serve others. This reflection helped me to engage in a change within myself so that I could redirect my frustration with my circumstances into understanding and loving. By looking at the bigger picture of my life with this other person intersecting it, I realized by listening to my inner conscience and desire to serve, I could best serve this other person by loving more.

“A whole new world of freedom, possibility, and creativity emerges when we can listen to change.” The Sacred Art of Listening by Kay Lindahl

The sad fact is that I come across many people who remind me of times in my life where I felt like no one listened to me. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by my desire to listen to them and friend them and also get away from them at the same time. I think you have to pick and choose your battles with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

We are called not only to listen to others in charity, but to listen creatively to the sound of God’s call in holy scripture and to the advice that lies within. Jesus lives a life of service as he conquers his own doubt and fear in those moments of the Passion. Jesus lives a life of service as he works at his craft and studies the ancient texts. Jesus lives a life of service when he listens to the call of every wounded heart that has been removed from Eden.

There are ways to listen creatively, but listening starts with me.

The New Translation of the Roman Missal

2011-10-09T17:28:00.000-04:00

I remember several years ago when I went on this awesome camping and hiking trip to North Carolina. There were about 16 of us with half being seminarians. One of those days, we were just getting out for a hike and I heard one of the guys talking about what one of the seminary's professor's said about liturgy.

The young guy, a seminarian at the time, didn't get why the Father had hopes for a more meaningful liturgy with a change of words. I butted in, young and probably not as knowledgeable as the seminarian and said, "well I know what he means, just take a look at the Athanasius Creed."

I happened to have a copy in my trunk and I handed it over for him to ponder.

I don't know if it was the Holy Spirit speaking or just a little know-it-all in me, but I do know the power and beauty of words. There is a difference in the words of Stephanie Meyers and Marcel Proust. There is a difference in the words of Billy Graham and Pope Benedict XVI.

It doesn't matter though if the words are fictional or theological, the power lies in the depth of meaning. If the mass were still said in Latin, I can't say that I would understand everything. But there is certainly a reverence in the words that have so much meaning that transcend all languages.

This new Roman missal is an emergence to a brighter light in our lives. Those who have diligently participated in the Holy Roman mass have been surrounded by the Church as an ocean. I feel this rising up is a way of bringing the depth to those who have not known the true beauty of the Holy Catholic Church, or who have been waiting with excuses on the surface to dive in to the fullness of the Liturgy.

It's quite exciting because the center of the Church is the Word. Those who seek the true Word, find the Truth of Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Link to the Wikipedia explanation:
Athanasius Creed

The High Cost of Communication

2011-10-07T19:20:00.000-04:00

Communication comes in many forms as I found out even more when I asked my students to name them. Even with all of these we don't always communicate enough with others.

Facebook

cellphone

talking

mail

internet

chatting

psp

skype

texting

ipod

Ignoring people has become an art and almost impossible. One group of people we try to ignore is one we interact with on a daily basis. Coworkers. I spend a lot of time seeing mine and answer their email questions on the weekend, but every now and then I need a break. It is important to be positive with coworkers, but I think I could show Christ’s love even more by sending an email out to encourage and inspire.

With all of these means of communication, I really have no excuse as a follower of Christ.

Diagonal vs. Straight

2011-09-18T20:56:00.000-04:00

There is a clear advantage to the diagonal cut sandwich.

The Vineyard owner in the readings today gave equal portions to all men that labored for him. The diagonal cut takes the guessing game away from the dilemma of perfectly squared equal portions. Though the two parts look different, it doesn't really matter how big the two sides are if you are eating the whole thing yourself. God is bountiful in his mercy and divvies it up like a diagonal cut. We all get the whole she-bang.

The Humility of Inspiration

2011-08-27T21:32:00.000-04:00

Some weeks I just can't wait to receive Christ in the Holy Eucharist. I don't work on a schedule that allows me to attend daily mass anymore, and the place I live is vastly different from the very Catholic state of Louisiana. So the assurance of the sacrament on Sundays seems far away on long days like I had last week.

One part of the readings this week refers to Romans 12:1-2 "present your bodies as a living sacrifice" and "be transformed... that you may prove what is the will of God"

The letter to the Romans is so forthright. I have always found it the most engaging letter of scripture. This call to not 'do' what the will of God is, but to 'be' the will of God that He may prove what that will is, is the narrow path.

Most of what I write on this website is part of an ongoing life's reflection. Currently I am reflecting on the role of leadership. At first I thought it was a good thing to be in leadership, but then I realized my focus should not, and can not be for my own aggrandizement. I turned my heart toward trying to inspire the little people I teach. I think to inspire them to care and to love and to learn would be the most important thing that would lead them to Christ. Loving and learning and inspiring is what Christ did while on Earth. The will of God IS good and acceptable and perfect, though I am not, I must move aside and 'be' that will rather than try to 'do' that will myself.

The Murky side of the Sun

2011-08-11T23:24:00.000-04:00

Being a saint is like being a champion at the most popular sports events but you hide in the bathroom after the game.

Being a saint is like finishing all paperwork for everything forever but you forgot where you put it.

Being a saint is like swimming across the ocean and discovering all fish and mammals in the sea but you can't remember their names.

Sometimes it is really hard to even try to be a saint. Anything worth trying is going to be difficult. Good thing it's only the Risen Christ who judges us and not a crowd, a due date or a fish population.

A Few Good Books Before the End of Summer

2011-07-23T23:17:00.000-04:00

Summer is almost up for this teacher. I am starting at a new school, as in, newly built, so they want us to come in for training early. That means I have about a week to cover a few good books I wanted to read or re-read this summer.

1. Re-read: Poverty of Spirit by Johannes Baptist Metz
I can't get enough of this 52 page small book. The description of the crucifixion is beautiful.

2. Read: Eleanore of Aquitane and the Four Kings
I don't always read biographies, but I think this one promises to hold my other favorite subject, history. I'm sure when I finish reading it, I'll relate it to something suitable for Jesus.

3. Skim Read: Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
This will probably finalize my interest in Eastern culture and religion. I took a world religions class in college which was very interesting. The professor asked us to introduce ourselves the first day with what we expect to get out of the class, I went with a chipper, " To evangelize for Christ!" It's true though, He is Truth. I feel it is important to understand other religions so you can meet people where they are and then be able to bring them toward Christ if it is the Father's will.

4. Practice Read: Fables Choises by La Fontaine
One of many French prose books I like to read and study. I am not fluent in French but I read it often. Five years of French in elementary and high school and a Cajun French speaking grandmother have endeared the language on my heart.

5. Quick read: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
A children's book, a Newbury Honor book. I teach 5th grade, delightful and pleasant little people, so I try to find books they like and put them on my classroom shelf.

Wish me luck!! I have a full week and then my brain starts preparing for school even though it doesn't start until Aug 22nd!

New to me Website for Catholics

2011-07-18T16:57:00.002-04:00

This looks pretty cool, but I haven't read everything in it yet.

http://www.catholicscomehome.org/

The Grand Expectation

2011-07-10T22:43:00.001-04:00

Expectations.

Guy walks into a church, bartender asks, “The usual, Bob?” Bob says, “Yep!”

Bob has been going to a place where his usual drink is well known. The bar may be his church in a world where vice is accepted as necessity. Our expectations of life and living vary in wide degrees between cultures. And thankfully they also change as we learn more about our Savior and ourselves.

Many people we hear about, seem to get really hooked on expectations. There are ideas about what a loved one should do or look like or have. There are scales for wealth depending on race and age and status. There are expectations for yourself as far as your dreams and hopes and worries.

Do these matter? Do any of our expectations for ourselves or expectations of other people matter? No they don’t. In some ways, if they are centered on the good for a person, other’s opinions may be helpful. But in the long run, imagine a Creator that is Omnipotent, Powerful and Engaging, who could also crush you like a bug.

This is the guy whose expectations matter.

This guy, or God, has set us up for life! We have prime positioning over all the Earth and beyond. We have emotions that can carry you to the moon, in a good way. We have the full and complete attention of the same divine God that created a Pangea as well as our very selves.

Expectations you say? Innocent guy walks into a court, comes out sentenced to die for all humanity so they know what true Love is.

Pretty wacky and illogical if you don’t expect it, but this God that gives full attention to small man, planned the whole thing.

Grace.

Christ said, “Hey guys, I’ll see ya later in Heaven, but I’m going to send my friend over to help you out.”

That friend, The Holy Ghost, came along with a big load of grace. It’s like when your sick and some cheesy girlfriend or boyfriend at the time brings you a can of Campbell’s. Replace the ‘chicken noodle’ with ‘Grace: Zero Sodium, No Calorie!’ and you’ve got an allotted portion of grace that is for you!

Now take all of your expectations about life and living and the way those have changed and morphed into what you didn’t want and maybe did or found out was kind of okay. Jesus has a big-ole-pantry full of extra cans of ‘Grace:Zero Sodium, No Calorie!’ and you can have as much as you want!

You only have to ask.

Remember, God had the expectation that his creation would have the free will to love Him. Jesus came and gave us his expectation for life and living. It’s a matter of getting over the other people’s opinions and ideas and expecting great things in Christ.

The Paraclete Judge

2011-07-05T22:17:00.000-04:00

In light of today's ruling in the case of a small child that died, I was thinking about judges in general when I went to adoration and read John 16. In verse 8 Jesus says: "And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation". In the 1983 version I read, it said justice instead of righteousness.

The link will guide you to the USCCB reading of Chapter 16 of John in the New American Bible. This chapter goes on to state the necessity of the Holy Ghost coming and Christ going back to his Father. In the footnote to explain the passage I mentioned is the word 'forensic', meaning in this instance I assume, a judgement made with methodical and meticulous logic.

All of this made me think of the direct relationship of authority and how our systems reflect the Kingdom. I am no theologian or philosopher, but I know that the Kingdom of God is flawless in its judgement, where we are full of flaws in our systems. But we can see in a logical way the idea of a judge working for a greater personage as 'the state' or on the federal level, 'the nation's interests'.

This brings me back to the Holy Ghost coming to guide us and judge us and the fact that Christ says that the Holy Ghost will share nothing that is not of Himself and of the Father. I think it is pretty interesting to consider the Holy Ghost in light of your relationship with Jesus Christ. Many may have heard of Christ, but have they truly sought Him? The Holy Ghost will know. Many may have talked the talk, but the Holy Ghost reads the heart.

I have met a judge before to help me with a speeding ticket. I was definitely speeding, but I was young and didn't want it on my record. But the point is, he knew me. If he wouldn't have known me, he probably wouldn't have helped me. The Holy Ghost, the Paraclete is the divine judge in the end acting for the one true King that we have in this life, Our Lord Jesus Christ Son of God.

Galactic Catholic Photo of the Day: Mission

2011-07-03T01:31:00.001-04:00

Mission work in Mexico was probably easier 15 years ago. I have more than a few friends working on mission projects in Mexico. Please pray for them and their success in Christ's mission. The picture below is when I was still coming back into the Church. Our Lady of Guadalupe was my guide.


An hour outside Saltillo, Mexico 1997

Our Lady, Pray for Us!
Saint Therese of Lisieux, Pray for all Missionaries throughout the world!

The Mission Trip

Looking Past the Present

2011-07-03T01:11:00.000-04:00

A friend recently made a comment about something I said about disliking all the yucky stuff that goes on in this world. I said I couldn't wait to be done with it, but I know I'll end up living till 100 years old like the rest of the Cajuns in my family.

When I said this, she tilted her head slightly and said,"You know, it is good to have that perspective, that there is more to look forward to."

She said it because she has so many beautiful things in her life, and so do I, but it is easy to forget that our main goal is to be able to stand before Christ unashamed.

I would like to think that everybody thinks like me, but the fact is there are plenty people that are much, much smarter! and holier! But one thing I keep in mind is the prize of being in the presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ on the Throne of Heaven and Earth. While there are so many good things on this planet and people to love, no one who knows anything about love cannot deny that people are doing a lot of hating lately.

The same people who preach tolerance and peace are the ones that define those terms as "agree with me" or else your stupid and intolerant and racist and a bigot and a homophobe.

So my peeps, don't be hatin' and remember that Christ is the Kingdom, the Power and Glory.

The New Prayer for Vocations

2011-06-25T01:58:00.004-04:00

Pope Benedict XVI released in a statement recently a new prayer for vocations. It is so beautiful. Please check out his address here for the original context.

Santa Clara University Chapel

My Favorite Scripture

2011-06-22T10:52:00.000-04:00

My favorite bit of scripture is Ephesians 6:12

"Our battle is not against human forces but against the principalities and powers, the rulers of this world of darkness, the evil spirits in regions above."

The Aura of Home

2011-06-20T00:34:00.000-04:00

It's great to be back in Louisiana for a bit. There are so many opportunities for Catholic get togethers. Not with friends so much, but in general in the Catholic bulletins at church and in the diocese in general. Louisiana is so Catholic. Though friends are a callin' too!

I wish Florida had more opportunities like that, but they are all in the morning geared toward the retired crowd.
Either way, it's nice to be with the best dad in the world today and the best mom too.

Happy Father's Day to Father God, Creator of the Universe.

The Earth in Miniature

2011-06-18T01:44:00.000-04:00

I am working on my ESOL certification classes tonight. We had to watch this youtube video. It's very cool and very relevant to the problems of today.

The Time for Graces

2011-06-13T00:06:00.000-04:00

Time has taken its toll on my heart and soul. I find as I get older I need to seek more ways to obtain grace. Also, I see that there is nothing I can do to reach God without His help.

There are many obstacles along the way. There is hurt, deceit, violence and cruelty in the world. Among these there is also the sin that we are inclined to commit that keeps us from truly knowing how to love in Jesus Christ’s name. All of these make it hard to love and see past the actions and hurt of others close to home.

I have been praying for a long time for my family to seek and know the most Sacred Heart of Christ and to be embraced by his love. I pray for it, but I have no control over their hearts and they don’t really want to listen to things I have to say.

I mention it, because though it hurts me enough, the effect of some of their actions hurts the ones I love the most. I cannot move their hearts by my actions or words. They have to choose the right path toward Christ themselves.

It would be nice to go back in a time machine with the knowledge I have now so that maybe I could have prayed more before, but such a thing does not exist. I think that prayer transcends time though.

It is hard too, to see a light in the darkness when there are individuals striving to keep families apart. I suppose I must keep praying and maybe like St. Augustine, there will be a realization of the love of Christ and the grace of God will prevail in their lives as well as mine.

Unfortunately, I am called to be a peacemaker. I say unfortunately, because usually the peacemaker must go where the bombs have been and are being thrown. It's not an easy job.

St. Joseph, Patron of families, pray for us.

The Mother of Spirituality

2011-05-29T22:18:00.000-04:00

Spirituality starts with our first answer to the Holy Spirit’s call. The Holy Spirit will lead us on the most appropriate path toward fulfillment of God’s will in our lives. Mary, the Mother of God, was and is an easy path to understanding what spirituality is and how to seek the Lord continuously.

Before I knew Jesus Christ, I knew Mary the Mother of God. My spirituality developed by her loving embrace always pointing toward the Savior. It was easy then to trust her son because she had introduced him to me herself.

Our Lady is more than an example of physical proof that Christ was born.

“Mary is the believing other whom God calls. As such, she represents the creation, which is called to respond to God, and the freedom of the creature, which does not lose its integrity in love but attains completion therein.” Pg 31 Mary: The Church at the Source

Some people think that spirituality is the action one takes to ‘show’ love of Christ. Pope Benedict in his words from Mary: The Church at the Source, takes the complexity of the fiat and simplifies in words the fact that to gain spirituality is to lose self. Our Lady did just this as she contemplated all things thrust upon her with Christ at the forefront of her mind.

Intimate relationship with Jesus

[Mary] To be soil for the Word means that the soil must allow itself to be absorbed by the seed, to be assimilated by the seed, to surrender itself for the sake of transforming the seed into life. Pg 15 Mary: The Church at the Source

I have met more than a few Christians who deny Mary as a way to knowing Christ. They are very mistaken because her very nature was centered on Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes in 2014: “Spiritual progress tends toward ever more intimate union with Christ.” and “God calls us all to this intimate union with him, even if the special graces or extraordinary signs of this mystical life are granted only to some for the sake of manifesting the gratuitous gift given to all.”

Mary is the first of us to truly know God in His Son. Who better to spiritually guide us? If spirituality is not many spoken and outward signs, while those are good and have their place, the internalization and contemplation of Christ is a true spiritual path. Our Lady takes this path in a dedicated manner throughout the gospels.

A witness and participant to our Salvation

Mary, the Mother of God, knows Christ. Our natural reason leads us to know a greater good and to seek the maker of our souls. Mary, having been born Immaculate, had a greater supernatural revelation of Christ. Her experience of His life makes her the bearer of His pain, having known Him. “Marian piety is thus necessarily a Passion-centered piety.” Pg35 Mary: The Church at the Source

Our Lady, Queen of Angels and Queen of the Universe is the perfect example of an Earthly life lived for Christ. Blessed Pope John Paul II states in Redemptoris Mater,

“But she was in the Upper Room, where the Apostles were preparing to take up this mission with the coming of the Spirit of Truth; she was present with them. In their midst Mary was “devoted to prayer” as the “mother of Jesus”, of the Crucified and Risen Christ. And that first group of those who in faith looked “upon Jesus as the author of salvation,” knew that Jesus was the Son of Mary, and that she was his Mother, and that as such she was from the moment of his conception and birth a unique witness to the mystery of Jesus.” Pg. 39

She remains the most important witness to Jesus Christ on Earth. Her fiat along with the embodiment of the theotokos grants Mary the depth of spirituality that we can only one day hope to experience a small part of in Heaven. She has had and does have the most intimate of relationships with Jesus Christ and therefore is the first witness that we should entrust with our petition for more knowledge of Him. Her actions were never obnoxious, showy or over the top. Her loving and contemplative way was the way of the Cross along side her Son.

Our witness and cross

I was inspired to write this because I read a blog called Catholic American Eyes in Korea. The Maryknoll fathers wrote recently about a lack of spirituality amidst the prevalent materialism in the Asian society in which they live. It made me think about how I first sought Christ, and that was through Our Lady.

I want to tell all those who think they cannot know Christ out of fear or ignorance, seek His mother. She is our first witness to his life and passion. She can lead you if you need a way to reach the full love and completion of knowing Jesus Christ.

The Reality of Sheep

2011-05-15T20:55:00.000-04:00

I heard a lady once say, " I always feel insulted when Jesus refers to us as sheep." She had owned sheep at one time and adamantly admitted how stupid they were.

It is good to know though, that Christ is so forgiving and loving that he watches closely over the most stupid creatures. Sheep have it better though, they don't get angry and intentionally hurt others like people do. So we all have a long way to go.

Listen for the voice of Christ and seek the narrow gate.

The Jesus in Jazz

2011-05-02T21:41:00.000-04:00

Sunday was a great opportunity to rejoice in the Divine Mercy and John Paul the Great's beatification. My small celebration consisted of finding a coffee shop to crack open a book or two for enjoyment. I brought with me Tanqueray's Spiritual Life and Who's Who in Jazz by Chilton.

I covered a little of both and the awesomeness of the musician always amazes me and shows me the glory of God. Just like Tanqueray's Spiritual Life reads as a guide to follow the righteous path, the Who's Who reads like an encyclopedia of persons of Jazz desiring to attain in their lifetime a type of peace and righteousness with the desire to create beautiful jazz. The musician is an isolated figure struggling to make his music, but always sees the fruition of playing with other musicians, each one adding in his own specialty for the glory of it all.

After studying the names and paths of individuals and understanding the importance of the band leader calling everyone together to New York or Chicago, I switched over to Tanqueray's opinion of it all. Here is where my comparison lies in the path we take and the limitations that this human method has.
In the chapter on perfection in the Christian life, Tanqueray states "we cannot on Earth love God with a constant, nor yet habitual love which is at the same time perfectly pure and disinterested."348 This habitual love is also unperfect like the improvisation of the jazz musician's weaving across the country to play for food, work and soul.

I like these type of random comparisons because I see God in the talents he has given these musicians that strove to survive in the early 1900s. There is such a joy in music and the style of jazz is also a creation of God the Father. The Creator weaved a world that we could find joy in. The jazz musician developed as a response to a cry in the wind from the beats and rhythms of Africa, the Caribbean and the sounds of Europe. The growth of the medium is still in development as the hearts of men still turn one by one and all in unison to the Great Band Leader of this universe.

It was all a matter of getting the music out there for these guys, and playing, playing, playing until it killed you. Which is the case of many of the small autobiographical references in Chilton's encyclopedia.The Sugar Cane Orchestra and the Young Olympia Band developed in a time of hardship. Experimentation of a different kind took place in the sound laboratory of Fred Van Epps. From the 1900s to the 1960s, these mostly self-taught artists played for the heart of it and left a legacy of beautiful music.

Can we say that we try to play the way God has intended for us? Or are we creatures of poor habit that will never try to create music of the soul in striving for good habits?

I think we are only improvisors on this path that God leads us on and he is the great conductor that brings us all together from different places, calling out of the blue one summer to come and add your piece to the music of life.

The Unbitten Path

2011-05-02T20:45:00.001-04:00

A long hike in the wilds of Florida has a wonderful affect on the conscience. Spiritually, it makes one wonder about the habits that lead away from God's love. Physically, you are molested by a plague of bugs that want to suck your blood to remind you that you are a sinner.

It was a beautiful walk though and I am the better for it. The wooded trail with many palmettos and wildflowers reminded me of my childhood walks in the early morning in the swamp near my home. I did not see the random wild spider lily, but the baby cotton mouth and shallow dark canals were similar to the weaving canals that criss-crossed my neighborhood growing up.

And because I have experienced my own personal plague of that one damn horsefly that wouldn't go away, it reminds me of a sin that I confess repeatedly just like the horsefly. You think it goes away, but really, it lands smack on your forehead and bites the hell out of you. Grace is kinda like bug spray, I gotta get some.

Galactic Catholic Universe Photo of the Day: Florida:Little Manatee River State Park

2011-04-30T21:21:00.000-04:00

God is in the details.

The Right Left Turn

2011-04-24T21:13:00.000-04:00

In my small downtown neighborhood the brick buildings butt up against the main highway that stretches straight through at the super speed of 30 mph. When it comes to making a left turn, you have to be very careful to see around the edges and in most cases you can't see what is coming. Still, it is a leap to go ahead and make that turn because your trying to get somewhere.

Easter is very much a reminder of left turns and sightless hope because the Resurrection is the promise of difficult tasks that will be accomplished with faith. A few years back you may have read the story about the United Postal Service planning their routes in America to have more right turns, and thus less idle time using gas and valuable service time. The opposite is true for the person who longs to know Christ. The outcome for the UPS was to increase revenue which could easily be seen in dollars and cents. The outcome for the faithful in the Holy Church is far greater than dollars and cents and depends upon that same sightless hope which we may use to make left turns when the view seems blocked.

The easy way is not always the best way. You have probably heard this saying before. It is hard to see it as true when pride tells you otherwise. Physically, making an endless amount of easy right turns will only lead you in a circle, whereas life is a series of multi-directional turns that lead you on the path of the will of God. Left turns are a leap of faith. They are scary sometimes and can be downright dangerous at other times. These metaphorical turns in life have much more fruit than an easy way out or in or through. The difficult decisions that our interactions with others create are the masters of our character and soul. Would it be so great to explain to the maker that you were so crafty as to only make easy right turns in your life? The soul and character would be made of mush at that point because of the folly of the easy road.

Left turns in life are usually about people. The turn starts with someone else but always ends up with you. In the end, the turn depends on you. The sightless leap of faith around a blind corner happens if you chose to go that way. New opportunities are more likely to arise on that path not taken. Forward is the only way that a hard task leaves one to take. Would it be so great to explain to the maker that you were so scared but you took that leap of faith anyway? The soul and character would be made of the very strong stone that you once believed blocked your path.

The Resurrection is a New way of thinking. A new path has been lit by the Christ and the Father above waits for your arrival on that weaving way of hardships and renewal.

If your right turns are pride and vanity, let humility and poverty be your left turn. If your right turns are hatred and anger, let forgiveness and peace be your left turn. If your right turns aim you right at yourself, let Jesus Christ be your left turn and turn to Him again and again.

Alleluia! He is Risen!

Galactic Catholic Universe Photo of the Day: Florida

2011-04-12T21:28:00.001-04:00

Is it Friday yet? Copyright Galactic Catholic

The Catholic Dreamer

2011-04-11T16:17:00.001-04:00

Sometimes the clarity in a dream is striking and can hold the key to a peaceful submission to God's will. Often I find myself having dreamed of an event or discussion to heal a relationship. These are different dreams from the regular random ones.

I can sense that God has a purpose to bring peace and healing in my life from a dream of a warmfelt hug or a spoken apology from myself or another person.

At other times, I have dreamed being in a car wreck over and over. I have learned to correct my thoughts and actions in the dream until I get out of danger. The reason for these dreams is that the exact events occur, but because I have learned from my repeated dreams I am, and was able to save myself and the people driving behind me. Praise God!

God the Father used voices and dreams often in scripture to call the prophets. But I think Our Lord calls us in this way to protect and bring peace also when a heart can only take so much more struggle or stress. The love of the Lord is endless and there is no one who can stop Him from fulfilling the destiny He has for you in His great design.

Sleep well and I hope you have the type of dreams that bring peacefulness and preparedness for the mission the God has for you today.

The State of Pride

2011-04-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

It's Lent again and once again I am failing to pray the Way of Cross. I am freely admitting this so that the www. will hold me accountable. The fact is, that I love to meditate on the Cross. But my pride has gotten in the way of a good and Holy devotion exhibited in reflective prayer.

Please pray the Way of the Cross with me this Lent in order to have a well-formed conscience in preparation for the trials of this world.

Meditations for the Way of the Cross Fr. Frank Pavone

Save the Blue Fin Tuna????

2011-04-02T23:47:00.000-04:00

I am all for the ecosystem but when it comes to Tuna or Babies, it seems some people are missing the boat.

If you don't know, or you've been hiding under the proverbial rock, then please let me explain again that abortion is Murder of human babies.

Once a child is conceived within the womb of a woman it is a living entity that inhabits all of the essence of a human being. The child forms organs within days.

Abortion takes place by Killing a child in the womb with drugs, chemicals or foreign objects thrust in the person of the child in the womb.

Partial birth abortion is always Murder of a child by killing in the womb or as the child is being born.

Yet people still do these things and admit to it freely. So when it comes down to supporting Tuna, Wolves, Penguins or Human Babies, I am going to stick with the living breathing children that die each day to moral relativism and indifference to Life.

Abortion Methods
Beginning of a Child's Life

The Gradual Change

2011-04-01T04:06:00.000-04:00

I wish sometimes that we could all just get where we are going. In the spiritual sense though.

But as I reflect on the scripture and the path of the disciples this Lent, I realize that they too, took baby steps in order to become leaders and healers in Jesus' name. Only a few such as Andrew and John seemed to really 'get it' at first. But then we have our very real friends in scripture, Peter and Paul and the rest of the crew that didn't really 'get it' at first that all things lead to the Messiah Christ.

It would probably help us in this life to hang around Jesus as much as possible. Thank goodness for Adoration! But at the same time, there is not the sense of urgency that there may have been at the time of Christ. In this world things are changing rapidly and it seems like when we make advances against embryonic stem cell research and partial birth abortion, we are just hit back down the hill to push against a very real boulder blocking many people's salvation.

The political fight for Life issues is only a metaphor for the inner struggle to battle sin in our everyday lives. Like the very real sins of abortion and not natural genetic manipulation, the battle against every day sins rages for most of us like Peter in the scripture who make the same stupid mistakes over and over. And that is the spiritual journey happening in tandem with the physical life on this Earth.


Hakuin

I read an internet article recently about living life in an experiential way. Before that I happened upon the work of a Zen Buddhist master named Hakuin in an art museum who suggested making activity your meditation rather than just doing meditation for its own self. Both of these have merit and experiencing Christ in the sacraments, adoration and in personal prayer is the only method for tackling that spiritual hill where we must face our boulder each day in order to reach the Light.

One thing I choose to do is hope and pray for hope. It is a grace of God to hope in the one who saved us and in all that salvation entails. There is an 'Act of Hope' prayer for a reason. If you truly desire to make a path on your spiritual journey no matter what is happening in the world then it will be.

Just as Peter was led to the cross, we must all bear our cross and eventually master our sin upon it.

The Famous Ones

2011-03-31T01:11:00.000-04:00

It's really cool to hear and read about Christians in the world that are living their faith even though they are famous or what not. Like I have said before, I have been watching these cute 'kdrama' shows out of Korea. Watching to much tv is a bad habit, but it led me to read about a few nice Christian leaders in various Asian countries.

My first interest in Asia started when I had an awesome Catholic geography professor at LSU freshman year that had lived and researched in China. He shared the most amazing pictures and excitement about the beauty of the country. Being a history teacher myself, I would love to learn more about the culture and history and geography. But my first love is Christ, and their are so many people in Asia that I fear have not heard the true message of Jesus Christ.

I would love to go there if God will's it one day and maybe do a little missionary work. In the mean time, I will pray for Christian leaders like Kim Hyun Joong to seek the Sacred Heart of Christ and be a true witness to Him.

Saint Anna Pak Agi pray for us!

The Feast of the Annunciation

2011-03-26T13:23:00.000-04:00

I was driving my way back to Florida yesterday and couldn't attend mass like I wanted too for this feast. I really miss the reverence in the Catholic Churches in Louisiana. There is reverence here in Florida, but you can tell sometimes that it doesn't seem very deeply rooted. Here is a photo of the Children with Our Lady of Fatima at my church in Louisiana that I used to attend. The flowers are always rotated and kept up so well.

My 100 Things...

2011-03-22T17:44:00.000-04:00

Inspired by the pictures down the 2nd grade hallway and the possible onset of a midlife crisis or just plain insanity. These are 100 things I might like to be when I grow up starting with the least desirable, but possible occupations.

My 100 things I want to be when I grow up…

100. Tarantula caretaker

99. Bill O’Reilly intern

98. Gum scraper

97. Kindergarten teacher

96. Mail person

95. Foot massager

94. Obama intern

93. Cocaine inspector

92. Moral Relativist

91. Wedding Planner

90. Outhouse Checker

89. Mariana Trench diver

88. School counselor

87. School principal

86. Nun

85. Mel Gibson”s ticket writer

84. Explosion videographer

83. Volcano Explorer

82. Circus cannon projectile

81. Slum investigator

80. Hurricane Scientist

79. Envelope licker

78. Britney Speer’s back-up dancer

77. IRS Agent

76. Clay pigeon retriever

75. Conspiracy theorist

74. Pig slop processor

73. Cow mucker

72. Coffin maker

71. Phone book deliverer

70. Herpetologist

69. Purple People Eater

68. Incan Sacrifice

67. Daycare poop wiper

66. Malaria vaccine tester

65. Skywriter at a Rifle Festival

64. Construction manager

63. 1980s Historian

62. 1970s Historian

61. Bowling Ball Shiner

60. M&M color separator

59.Glue sniffer

58. Paper inspector

57. West Coast Rap Star

56. Dental spit vacuumer

55. Butter churner

54. Astronaut

53. Comic Con Door welcomer

52. Karaoke singer

51. Drunk Saints football fan

50. Stephen Colbert intern

49. Drunk Premier League fan

48. Crash test dummy

47. Photographer

46. Restaurant critic

45. South Park illustrator

44. Bulgarian Gypsy

43. Divet replacer

42. Shakespearian actor

41. Crawfish peeler

40. Graphic designer

39. Regular Bum

38. Danube River boat operator

37. Neoclassical Architect

36. Beach Bum

35. Cat Groomer

34. Golfer with an awesome handicap

33. Irish bartender

32. Sunglasses examiner

31. Printer

30. Dog Groomer

29. Theologian

28. Manga artist

27. Restoration painter

26. Book Publisher

25. Modern Historian

24. Marine biologist

23. Retro Furniture restorer

22. Beer taster

21. Oceanographer

20. Wine critic

19. Professional Tennis player

18. Muscle Car repair person

17. Copy Editor

16. Museum Director

15. Horse caretaker

14. Nonprofit PR manager

13. Coffee sniffer/taster

12. Software programmer

11. Teacher

10. Baker of any sort

9. Patisserie baker

8. Coffee Barista

7. Philanthropist

6. Stage actress

5. Painter

4. Full-time missionary

3. Poet

2. Musician

1. Full-time writer

Galactic Catholic Universe Photo of the Day: Florida State Fair

2011-03-22T08:41:00.000-04:00

The Changing World

2011-03-20T16:44:00.000-04:00

The world seems to be changing so fast for me to catch up with. I am very much the type of person that could live happily without a cell phone or television. I do love the internet though and it has helped me to have a more global view. If you read my blog, you know I am interested in going to South Korea. It seems that country is booming with different types of industry. It would be even cooler to visit or work there and try to bring more of the Gospel of Christ.

I have always had an interest in different countries and their people. There are many saints I have read about and their countries. I wish we had more American saints. Many saints are those that have died as white martyrs or red martyrs. Maybe one day I will get to visit South Korea and Asia, but for the mean time I will listen to the fun kpop and pray for those suffering from the earthquake and tsunami.

Prayer for Suffering in Japan

2011-03-13T22:55:00.000-04:00

Dear Blessed Virgin Mary,

You told countless saints, "Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am you Mother?"

Virgin gentle in mercy, Health of the sick, Morning Star, shine the light of your loving view upon those who are struggling with despair around the world. Comforter of the troubled and Refuge of Christians embrace the survivors of the tsunami in Japan and wrap them in your arms as you would hold the child Jesus.

Help all of us turn to you now. Intercede for those souls whose time it was to meet the face of Christ. Through your motherly intercession heal our hearts and guide us into the fullness of God's Love and Mercy. In Jesus' Name. Amen

The Litany of Loreto

The Will of God

2011-03-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

Saints are amazing in our Catholic history because somehow, no matter what sinful, crazy stuff is happening in the world, they do the will of God. The Gospel of Matthew urges us to also do the will of God. I understand the sincerity of following through with the will of God, but I fall short when it comes to applying it and knowing what it is.

I don't think the Saints really knew if they were completely fulfilling the will of God. If they are any type of human who loves the Lord, most of the time they were probably chastising themselves for raising their voice in a poor tone and worried about the mandate for loving thy neighbor in all ways.

God teaches us vain and selfish creatures to mainly love Him and love our neighbors. There are detailed aspects to this in the scripture but the overriding theme of life seems to be, "What am I supposed to be doing for our Lord?" This is the question that is just a daily question.

For myself, it is a frustrating question. All of the little things matter and they matter to God. It is His will to be concerned with the details and love, love, love. The frustrating part comes in for all the things that we have no control over. The world in my view today, is disgusting. I am 33 and even though I know many disgusting things have gone on for centuries, it has disgusted me as a history teacher and it disgusts me as a participant in this present time.

I thought for a minute today that, 'Wouldn't it be nice to have lived in the 1950s?' Not that the things happening now would be any different but just in secret. So I am charged with living in this time period and I am called by the will of God to live with joy and a shining Light of Christ for all to see. Seems pretty darn impossible and I have very little knowledge as how to move past the enumerable barriers that want to break the spirit. (I admit I have been discouraged by persecutors)

This is where one of the most important phrases that Christians can know comes into play for me. "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Matt 6:26 Last week's Sunday reading is a reminder and a connection to the life that God the Father calls us to live no matter the conditions. It's not the value that God puts on our beings so much as the distance He will go to provide for our every spiritual and physical need.

Therefore, I can only assume that the small duties that Christ calls me to do, to know the Father are those that are God's will. As for the limitations of my sin and the call to sainthood, I try to remember that God the Creator will try infinite ways to help me make right decisions and by the Holy Spirit, do His will. The world of deceit will always crumble before the righteousness of truth that is Jesus Christ the Savior.

The Vernal Equinox

2011-02-27T23:51:00.000-05:00

There is so much that holds us upright upon two legs on this place we call Earth. The science of the universe and all of its puzzle pieces has inspired Aristotle to Benedict XVI. The vernal equinox is a yearly event when night and day are supposed to be closest in length. It is a balance of the tilt of the Earth toward the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere and it also officially summons Spring. Roman Catholics will be in the midst of Lent on March 20th this year when the equinox occurs. In a sense, the tilt of the Earth which allows for the seasons is much like the changing seasons of our faith life as we revolve closer toward the Son.

Madeira Beach, FL Copyright GalacticCatholic

God intends for our joy in this life with the hopes that we would grow closer to Him, but at a much faster rate than the Earth moving toward the Sun. Our sun is a medium sized start that has a long time to go before it reaches a point of becoming supernova. What is fascinating is that, we are in a galaxy where stars are far enough away so that human life has been made possible on this planet. It is pretty amazing that all of these factors have been designed for our existent to work harmoniously with the universe.

The time of Lent is a Catholic season of a call to 'meet various trials' and 'let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.' James 1:4 Christ beckons night and day, no matter the length and He never forsakes and never leaves you. He is divine and has a much greater capacity for divine light than our medium sized sun. Therefore, our Son lights our universe with love and the same gravitational pull that keeps our feet on the ground is designed by our Savior's Father in Heaven.

We may tilt away and rotate affections and revolve this way and that, but ultimately we will meet the Son as the Earth will meet the Sun.

Yay!

2011-02-24T17:51:00.000-05:00

I received Dr. Brant Pitre's book in the mail today. Awesome!

ADDICTION: The Climb Upwards

2011-02-20T12:24:00.001-05:00

Recognizing addiction's impact on your family

This article is the last piece of this small series on addiction. I am not a doctor or psychologist, I only know what I have discerned and experienced from those in my family who have had addictions. Family members I never met have made the largest impact in my thoughts on this topic because of the destruction of addiction and how it then affected those around me today.

The other aspect of my experience, is the unconditional love of Jesus Christ in my life. Because I have sought Him regularly in my own failings, it is possible for me to have gained an insight in the love that He bears for the weakest in His sight.

Addiction affects generations

I have spoken about the pain and lies that come from the slow trickle into addiction. Along with the present situation that a person can create by their fall, there is a long lasting generational effect in a family. For example, the trauma created for a young child in a home with an alcoholic or a drug abuser, creates a lasting impression of anger and resentment in the child and others who are traumatized.
Also, the direct influences of the care giver for a child are effected by a traumatized lifestyle which manifests in stress related outbursts, physical violence and verbal abuse to others in order to relieve the powerless feeling they themselves are experiencing.

Steps for atonement and peace after generational addiction

Atonement of the heart, mind, and soul is necessary for true recovery. After recognizing and contemplating the manifestations of trauma from addiction in your family history, even if it is a current history, make a choice to atone.

For some reason, God's grace has allowed me to forgive repeatedly the sins of my grandfather and his family. It is hard and I have harbored anger in the past and still work through it. But when I came to know Christ better, I sought understanding. I prayed for understanding repeatedly for a long time. This was originally for me to be able to not judge others, but Christ knew I needed to forgive within my own family before I could love others as much as He wanted me too.

The effects of addiction show up in small ways that satan uses as leverage over your soul. Remember that he is the great lier and he desires fully to turn your heart from Christ the Savior. The great lier will use the anger and resentment of those affected by addiction to continue to break down family and love of the Divine Father God. These ways include the hurt that a loved one may cause from continuous verbal abuse or manipulative means of gaining affection or things. I have found that recognizing these events or actions, is a way to recognize the cry of that person's heart for the True Love of the Sacred Heart of Christ, which we are called to share.

Before I go on, here is the review: Recognize generational affects, seek understanding, forgive and love like you have never been hurt before.

It may seem very, very hard to continue to forgive over and over, someone you love that you cannot ever step away from like a family member. It is not meant to be easy to suffer, but this struggle is a means to an end. Consider the path that you take as a minute part of the Cross of Christ which he carried all of our own sins upon. The end result was Eternal Salvation.

When you choose to love instead of hate, to forgive instead of resent and to understand rather than despise, you are the light of Christ for your whole family. Because, even though their may be many family members that feel darkly about others, you can be a loving light of Christ bringing them together in love. Love and Joy will always, always defeat darkness.

The person you love may never express sorrow or seek forgiveness from you. But I think, you can see it in their eyes that they know you know Christ. Therefore, they may lash out at you till the very end, but you must endure because you will have witnessed to Love.

Reasons for Hope

Hope is not a vague mist in the wind. Hope is a very real fruit of the Life and Cross of Jesus Christ. I have seen how the love of Christ has changed members in my family for the good. By God's grace alone, the Holy Spirit has brought those in my family who have struggled with addiction, back toward the right path. When one family member struggles, we all struggle, no matter if we are attached to the person or detached. It is best to recognize this generational inheritance and accept the truth of it and move on in acts of love, understanding and forgiveness.

Addiction Part One
Addiciton Part Two

Galactic Catholic Universe Photo of the Day: Madeira Beach

2011-02-18T20:56:00.000-05:00

The God Timeline

2011-02-15T23:21:00.000-05:00

Time is catching up with me today. It was one of those days where a little longevity pill would seem to help in the larger scale of things. I feel like I will not have enough time. This feeling has been building for a couple of days.

Before I become ridiculous in my worry, I try to focus on the ones who walked before in Scripture. My favorites are Job, Elizabeth, Tobit and Jonah. The crap they went through makes my easy life seem pretty simple.

Job always amazes me when he calls out to God even though he has lost all. Elizabeth is amazing just for being able to bare a child. Tobit's sense of duty strikes my shallow selfishness to the ground and Jonah's denial to do God's will and subsequent thrashing resonates with my pridefulness and harbored anger.

I am young and there is happiness in more knowledge as each year comes, but frustration also because I wish I would have known more sooner. Luckily though, I don't believe in regrets. I never have. God is the orchestrator of all things, it's just up to me to follow the tune or make it sound flat.

The Travel Bug

2011-02-13T21:31:00.000-05:00

I have the travel bug. It is very hard to get rid of it. I think it is because I have been watching this wonderful drama from South Korea, that now I want to go there. It would be so much fun to go and teach at a school and learn a new language.

Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Besides, I love the food! We shall see. God is in the details.

Galactic Catholic Universe Photo of the Day: Florida

2011-02-12T13:29:00.000-05:00

The Winning Defeat

2011-02-07T23:06:00.000-05:00

"Yahweh, set a guard at my mouth,

a watcher at the gate of my lips.

Let me feel no impulse to do wrong,

to share the godlessness of evil-doers."

Psalm 141 NJB

Which side do you take when you sin? What argument do you use to justify your actions?
Though we may have a clear and present mind not to sin, it inevitably happens. Always the attacks, always the subtle and blatant reminders that we are so far from God's will when we try to accomplish our will. Our selfishness is the first battle that must be waged. The front line combats laziness, relativity and poor formation. These can be defeated, but it is a long drawn out battle of wills and underground treachery.

I am often reminded of Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta and the way in which she told her sisters that more time in prayer is the way of finding more time in service to others. The concrete act of prayer fights fatigue and dissatisfaction with life. There is more meaning in the forgiveness of sin when you truly seek to know Jesus. There is more opportunity to love and obtain grace when you strive for sincerity in supplication.

Christ is always, with total devotion to our souls, compelling us with his divine love to practice more devotion to God the Father. It is in the times of recognizing sin, that we may realize the time we have not spent with Christ in order to know the Father. It is hard to find extra moments when you can seem so busy, and then spend 'catch-up' time in order to beg Him for something. He does not wait for us though, because He is a constant presence in the heart that seeks Him.

The next time you cry out for forgiveness, beg for the grace of a convicted heart that will long for Christ. The prayer is the easy part, it's the practice that takes time and effort. Anything worth the effort is worth the wait. How much better is it to hope in the fruits of heaven?

Valentine's Day

2011-02-06T21:34:00.001-05:00

Valentine's Day approaches. I will probably forget that it's happening, as I usually forget my own birthday sometimes.

But this year I am approaching several things a little differently. One of them is diversity. I never really thought of a type of guy that I would like before. Mostly because I didn't care. The only guys I really like are those who love Christ and could maybe keep up with my pace of life. (Haven't found one yet who is as spontaneous as me!!) But maybe I need to look beyond my fellow Caucasian Americans to Asians, Europeans and what not. I don't know of any specific traits, because you really can't judge a book by it's cover. There's always good and bad everywhere. So I will stick with piety.

Diversity is a pretty cool idea though, coming straight from Our Lady of Guadeloupe. The Spanish conquistadors did not know if they should marry the conquered natives of South America until, it was believed, that Our Lady appeared with her hands in two different colors. This appearance encouraged the bond of the marriage sacrament for the Catholic Spaniards and the natives of the land.

The scripture today also mentions the importance of shining a true Christian light on everyone. It is so tempting to move to China and try to evangelize but for the threat of sure imprisonment. So prayer and sacrifice will have to do for conversions for now. So many Saints traveled so far for the mission of the gospel. Therefore love cannot be limited to one race. If it was, none of us would get salvation.

So for Valentine's Day, if I remember which day it is, I will open my eyes and try to spread the love of Christ to everyone I meet with a smile.

Pray for Life

2011-02-01T17:15:00.001-05:00

www.nationalprayerforlife.org

The Black and White Sin: Lies

2011-01-31T21:20:00.000-05:00

LIES in Addiction

We lie in our daily lives if we regularly allow an ill-formed conscience to be mastered by sin. These lies build in different forms, but all can thicken a wall between your soul and God. Lying to others, lying to yourself and trying to lie to God are all ineffective for achieving gain or happiness in this life.

Before the gravity of a lie becomes apparent, it is often released. Into the wind, it haunts the one who spoke it until it finds rest upon a guilty heart, covering like a blanketing mist the light that otherwise would bare all.

All lies that affect the soul, affect others as well. This is harmful and dangerous for loved ones in our lives and therefore it is imperative that lying ceases. Lies of omission, lies for thorough deceit, and lies that hide sin are harmful to the fragile grace that God provides for the human heart. Lies are small deeds with large impact that break down the will and open your reasonable mind to believe untruths.

Lying to yourself is one of the first steps to falling into sinful addiction. When you lie to yourself, you create in your mind a false righteousness or false entitlement that you are owed something in this life that will make you happy. But if you have ever experienced and known that you have sinned, you may know that happiness is not found in earthly treasures. The way beyond this falsity is a simple matter of calling upon God to help you by asking for 'knowledge of your sins.'

People try to hide from God even though their souls are blindingly bright within and seeking the love of God. It is hard for someone who has chosen to live in sin to choose God because God is so forgiving and knows all truths. The weakened mind and heart cannot always get past the lie of drug abuse, the lie that feelings of a high are the way, or the lie that hatred of others is the only way to survive. But it only takes 'the faith of mustard seed.'

It is therefore, the Christians duty to pray and sacrifice for those who are most in need of prayer.

St. Therese of Lisieux prayed for a man in jail when she was a young girl. He had harmed others by his actions. At the last moment, he chose to choose Jesus Christ before he was put to death for his crimes. In the same way that Christ invites the thief on the cross to "be with Him in paradise this day", we are called to look upon those that live a lie in addiction and sin, and pray, if not witness, to the full truth that is the message of salvation in Jesus.

"St. Therese of the Child Jesus, look upon and pray for those who most need to see Our Lord Jesus in their lives right now. Especially the men and women that wander the street and know no way back to God's grace. Pray for me, that I might shine a small light where I go, so that they may know to seek Christ who saves and reveals all truth and love. Amen"

The Black and White Sin

2011-01-24T22:14:00.000-05:00

I have had this reflection on my heart for some time, which is why I haven’t written here in a month. It is about the addiction to the small sins that happen in our daily lives. White lies, gossip, and anger make up part of what pierced Our Lord at Calvary.

“We should strive to keep our hearts open to the sufferings and wretchedness of other people, and pray continually that God may grant us that spirit of compassion which is truly the Spirit of God.” St. Vincent de Paul

Part One:

ADDICTION
Addiction is a crippling, demoralizing slope that shatters the true beauty of the heart of man. Drug addiction, anger addiction, sexual deviance and self-idolatry are sicknesses of poor souls that Christ longs to embrace in his ever forgiving arms.

These addictions may begin with small lies or outlets for stressful experiences. But they affect not only the physical mind and body, but the very real and very present spirit of the soul within. You may ask yourself, ‘What leads a man to become so wretched?’ You may think of these addictions as the worst of the worst.

But that is a lie also, because the devil is always trying to trap you into a sense of security and relativistic ‘self-talk’ that logically provides a path to greater sin.

SIN
Consider the slippery slope of sin. While the addictions mentioned are sinful and have components of sin spun throughout, the beginning of the fall into the addiction always starts with a choice made from an ill-formed or well-formed conscience. Even then, it is a battle against the dark forces in this world.

Many people claim to have no idea what is wrong with their lives and why things don’t always go their way. It becomes plain in conversation with them that they have made certain choices. I will be the first to say I have made poor choices. It is the next and the next and the next choice that continues to spiral further along what road you choose.

But know, sin is always a lie of something good twisted before us.

To be continued.

A Prayer Request

2011-01-24T21:31:00.000-05:00

When you work in large or small schools, the inevitable happens and a child's parent or a child becomes gravely ill or looses their life. It is somewhat common, every two years or so, to encounter these events.

Please pray with me for a lady, Anna Diesem, whom I have met once or twice that has gone into a coma today. She has a fifth grade daughter and another younger child.

Hail Mary, Full of Grace,
The Lord is with You.
Blessed are You among women,
And Blessed is the Fruit of
Your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.

Sweet Mary, please bring the healing that God wills in the Diesem family and for Anna. Amen

The Blog "Loving the Church"

2011-01-09T15:10:00.000-05:00

A great article written by Father Patrick Murphy LC. Read more at his blog, Loving the Church.

My favorite part:

"How many people today struggle with resentments, wounds from the past, and find it too hard to forgive, forget, and live life to the full. They simply no longer see all the good in people and in the world. The universe is much larger than one’s personal grudges!"

The Greater Setback

2011-01-06T20:30:00.000-05:00

I had a little personal setback today, but it doesn't compare to 200 years of progress in health and wealth. Can we also do one of these for the growth of Christianized countries?

Galactic Catholic Universe Photo of the Day: Louisiana

2011-01-02T20:43:00.001-05:00

New Orleans Museum of Art Sculpture Garden

The View of 2011

2011-01-01T23:53:00.000-05:00

This year is a year of change. Not political, not social, not physical. It is a year of moral change.

The discussion of sex and its repercussions is either combated or ignored depending on which is the opinion of the day. It is combated by a small poll that says teen pregnancy is down because of a television show on Mtv and ignored by thousands of articles that suggest love is when you make room for the other persons clothes in your closet.

Maybe it's just me, but I am noticing that the worldly sentiment toward sex has taken hold of even our young innocents of 12 or 13 years old. The prolific life of inappropriate television and movies is viewed over and over inundating our future adults with what?? Everything that is not what an intimate, loving relationship is about.

The blind eye to the 'soft porn' of tasteless clothing showing all parts of a woman or girl to the 'funny' old woman boobs on a birthday card, is the blind eye that sees a future adult treat women and elderly with disrespect.

Tolerance of soft porn or the subtle approach to promiscuity is not just about immorality. It is a turning of society to a reality where pornography is laughable and dignity is lost.

History shows that this type of change is not new. Well it's new to me, and to every generation born into this world. I have always believed that an innocent mind is better than a knowledgeable one in the eyes of Jesus Christ. It is impossible to be innocent in today's world, which is a crime against souls that from their very first cry, cry out for the joy and love of God the Creator.

As we watch this disgusting reality take place, we can pray. God can do all things. He can choose to protect a soul that can only be fulfilled in a religious vocation. With our prayers, God can answer and lead fallen souls back to Him with one touch of his loving hand. With our acts of evangelization and preaching of the Word of God, grace can flow through to the one who most needs love to combat an addiction or even despair.

It is our duty to love even those that have fallen away from Christ. No person can say they have not sinned, so it is easy to meet a sinner on the street with love if you want to be forgiven yourself.

Even though I am disheartened by the current 'worldliness' of my nation, there are some things I know I can do and I ask you to try also for the sake of souls.

First: Forgive Others. Pray to love more.
Second: Study the Word of God. Be objective but be rooted in the truth of the Holy Church.
Third: Pray Always. Apostolic action cannot be fruitful without the grace of God.

2010-12-25T13:31:00.000-05:00

Catholic Underground [dot] Com

2010-12-22T10:11:00.000-05:00

This priest is so cool!! Check out the awesome high def videos he's doing. I gotta get a program like that! And the exciting news of the Vatican going high def is cool too, but I'll believe it when I see it.

The Mirror of Man Reflecting a God

2010-12-20T22:15:00.001-05:00

We are visited by God in a very special way at the Nativity. The 'Horn of Salvation' Lk1:69 and the 'Bringer of the Rising Sun' Lk1:78 is declared by Zechariah at the Presentation of the Lord, where a small child rests in the arms of a wondrous mother in the face of these words.

This visit by God, manifested in human form impacts creations' perception of philosophy, psychology and methodology. When before there was complexity in gaining favor of the various gods or kings, Jesus is the simplicity of a child and exemplifies the love and innocence that a child is. Jesus' thoughts, though divine, are mirrored to our own in life as shown by his thoughtfulness before beginning his public mission and thereafter in encounters with all others. The approach he then takes to share the work of Salvation is methodical yet simple in procedure. The actions he takes are the same that we try to mirror even through our weakness in setback and suffering.

What are we here for? To practice a ritual worshiping a child born? The philosophies of man have developed over time, growing from a child-like questioning to a complexity of reason that borders beyond what is rational reason. Christ verifies that we are here to live. He comes into a 1st century world to exist, and here we are with essentially the same trivialities in the 21st century. Life and breathe happen in the dirty, poor manger where an infant Messiah makes his first pleading cry for the world.
In the years that follow and the decisions that are made, the 'Horn of Salvation' is 'filled with wisdom'. Lk2:40 Christ lives out the struggle of right and wrong, knowing of both, but always choosing the right. The psychology of his actions are made in the heart of Jewish teaching and exhibit a tenacity to live past the deficit of the human form in his thoughts, words and deeds.

He broke that barrier of weakness of the flesh by the study of sacred scripture and the confirmed habit of prayer. This method locked in place a simple but narrow path to follow for those who attempt it. The very action of silent contemplation of God is the way to know and connect with one who made himself weakest of all in the hands of a sinless handmaiden.

Notations are from the 1966 Jerusalem Bible

Galactic Catholic Photo of the Day: Florida Natural Surrounds

2010-12-19T12:00:00.000-05:00

On my way home to Louisiana from Florida.

The Solo Traveler

2010-12-12T21:21:00.001-05:00

Gaudete Sunday is a day of hope in the Lord. During this season many people experience depression and anxiety. Whatever the reason, the way out is to recognize it is happening and to focus on the future joy that is promised. Choose to rejoice and what you desire, will be.

"Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." Isaiah 35:4

The Mother of us All

2010-12-08T21:01:00.000-05:00

Mary was conceived without sin.

A little tune I wrote to honor Our Lady. I used to sing my favorite Christmas carols over and over again when I was a child. My favorites were of the Nativity. In a way, they both gave me peace and taught me the story of Christ. It's a shame we don't hear Christmas carols more often than not anymore.

The Music of the Season

2010-12-06T21:56:00.000-05:00

The Father at my parish mentioned Handel in his homily Sunday. I was looking for my Handel's Messiah cd and found a gift from a friend a few years back. 'The Seven Signs' is from the Notre Dame Folk Choir. Thanks Meghan!

Galactic Catholic Photo of the Day: Florida Natural Surrounds

2010-12-06T21:31:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays from Lake Mirror, Florida

Galactic Catholic Photo of the Day: Florida Natural Surrounds

2010-12-04T15:41:00.000-05:00

The First Sunday of Advent

2010-11-27T22:53:00.000-05:00

First Sunday of Advent

Yesterday, a man enthusiastically told a clerk about his ‘Christian’ band. He said it was so great to be able to praise God in this way unlike his childhood upbringing in the Catholic Church. To which the clerk replied, “I know, the way they shove it down your throat!”

I sensed that hearts so closed off, will never know the full light of the Church Jesus Christ created, but they see a small part of what God has intended for their joy. The advantage of a childhood religion does not guarantee that a follower of Christ will ‘see’ the whole truth. We can say the words, ‘Lord, help me to see’, but this will not always open a darkened heart immediately to the light.

Saint Paul strikes at the heart of the matter in the Advent readings Sunday. The vision of the eye is that of the soul in his dialogue with the Roman faithful. He says “Let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark.” Romans 13:12 He refers to physical actions but his intention is clearly for the spiritual matter caught in darkness. Scripture points to light as our beginning and our lamp. The simple concept of light is then used repeatedly as a concrete reflection of Christ in our life. God, in his perfect complexity creates light and darkness on the first day and Christ in his perfect divinity and humanity identifies himself as the Light of the World.

The Comparison of Light and Dark

“God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. Go saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness. God called light ‘day’, and darkness he called ‘night’. Evening came and morning came: the first day.” Genesis 1:3-5

There is no mention of the foulness of the dark in the very beginning. We can say that dark in the beginning was unfouled by twisted deeds. But God clearly feels that the light is good. We also have the words of Christ calling himself the light. “Anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark; he will have the light of life.” John 8:12 Walking in the dark is clearly meant as a path that leads away from the love of God. In the progression of the world from scripture, Christ’s time evidences that darkness has been abused. In this scripture passage Christ speaks of dark and light as what the eye can see. If we focus on the first light that God sees, and the light of Christ that we see, the value of good in light becomes exponential with the power it has over darkness. God and his Son have confirmed this power by the infallibility that light comes from them. Light thus becomes in God’s divine sight and our weak sight an illumination that can draw one from walking in the dark, now corrupted in our time, to a light that is good, the Light of Christ the Savior.

Salvation in Light

Saint Paul says in Sunday’s reading, “the time has come: you must wake up now, our salvation is even nearer than it was when we were converted. The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon” Romans 13:11 Saint Paul is alluding to the fruition of the story of salvation that he believes is coming very soon. His words refer to a physical state of waking, but his meaning is deeper and found in his mention of salvation and conversion. The time of Advent is the beginning of the calendar year for the Church and a time to ‘wake-up’ again and be prepared for the coming of the Light of the World. Saint Paul wants the newly converted followers of Christ to recognize Him in their being and avoid the darkness of night. He goes on to describe charity toward others in the next paragraph giving examples of what light is to others that may show that the Light of the World is upon Christ’s followers. The fruition of salvation for our souls is not the only duty that Saint Paul exhorts us too. It is that we are to shine as Christ did for others in our charity and actions in the light. In the physical and spiritual sense the light has a power greater than just illumination, it has the power to draw other souls, not just our own.

Choosing the Light

A darkened heart is only dark as long as the heart does not seek the light. The deepest areas of our souls cannot avoid the full light of Christ no matter if we choose to avoid him or not. That power that God has gifted light by His creation of it, is limited though, by our free will and the adherence to charity that Saint Paul describes as the plan of Christ for us. The two people I mentioned have chosen to seek Christ, but areas of darkness have closed parts of their hearts so that they may never fully be illuminated until they meet Christ. Sometimes the darkness that we in our weakness, have allowed to take over, cannot be banished so quickly as light moves in time and space. The spiritual elements of dark and light are fiercely battling for all areas of our hearts and souls. The preparing for Christ is the only true way to allow darkness within us to be annihilated because we will have exhibited by our will that we have sought the path of light.

Galactic Catholic Minute

2010-11-21T21:34:00.000-05:00

A Minute of Thanksgiving

The Universe

2010-11-13T21:03:00.000-05:00

A map of dark matter showing galaxies as small pink/purple squares. The center is supposed to be the cluster of galaxies. I don't exactly understand this, so I must read up. But in the mean time, on a smaller scale is the Apatite mineral.

This mineral was also found on the moon during one of the moon walks. Just recently in 2010, the specimens were tested and found to include more water than originally thought. The estimate of encased water on the moon, if released, would cover the moon's surface in 1 meter of water.

God the Creator is Good in All Things, both great and small. He is the Great Designer of the Universe. While scientists do not understand dark energy, they seek to divine its mysteries. Unfortunately, the same scientists may assume there is no Divine correlation between the specifics of a mineral to the immenseness of a universe of galaxies.

"Concepts can only acquire content when they are connected, however indirectly, with sensible experience. But no logical investigation can reveal this connection; it can only be experienced. And yet it is this connection that determines the cognitive value of systems of concepts."

Albert Eistein in "The Problem of Space, Ether, and the Field in Physics"

The Art of Letter Writing

2010-11-06T22:06:00.001-04:00

I have always enjoyed writing letters. They call it z-mail these days. Sometimes I write to to people who will never really see the letters. I find it comforting in a way that journal writing doesn't always hit.

It helps to even put it in an envelope, seal it up and address it. Does the post office have the address for God these days? You can always ask your guardian angel to deliver a message too.

My new writing buddy is John Paul II. I have no idea how to properly address him in my salutations so I either refer to him as Fr. or his full name, Roman numerals included. And I must say he has turned out to be a quite wonderful writing partner. In fact, I realized from his responses(theoretical of course) that people didn't always understand him because he was so deep. I get that.

Pope John Paul II is the one saint I would really love to meet when I die. I would ask him what kind of trees there are in the hills of Poland and what birds did he like the most to hear in the early morning while camping. The naturalist in me relates to him in this way as well.

I know it may sound a little kooky, but I highly suggest a written letter to anyone you want, Saint or not. It's up to you if you send it via snail mail or angel mail!

And if you want to write the current Holy Father,

His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City

Taken from The US Embassy to the Holy See

The Act of Adoration

2010-11-06T19:30:00.000-04:00

The monstrance a few blocks away from where I live. Christ had a plan when He chose this place for me to live. I had no idea where I could find a closer daily adoration spot. I had researched it, but the only one was an hour away. God has a good and perfect plan in all things.

The Blog to Read: Glory to God for All Things

2010-11-06T19:20:00.000-04:00

This blog is not for the faint of heart. The depth of the Holy Church is within this Father's writings.
The Holy Angels

The Deep Wide River

2010-10-27T23:06:00.000-04:00

A thirteen year old was telling me today how she watches ‘Jersey Shore’ and ‘Bad Girls’. I said there’s only crap on television and that’s why I don’t watch it. She said, “But it’s fun to see other people’s lives!”

Maybe I am a little different, but I remember growing up, and I instinctively steered away from real-life girls that acted poorly like in the shows mentioned. It seems kids are watching more garbage coming out of a surrealist world than Bart Simpson ever regurgitated.

I am a glass that can be all full if we add more to it, kind of girl, so I see the things that I surround myself with as an inspirational change in these times.

1. Pope Benedict XVI wrote a wonderful letter to seminarians saying, “God is Alive!”

2. The Holy Catholic Church is being purified from sinful and deceptive priests and religious.

3. More young people are instantly reaching out to Christ in praise and worship and finding that HE FILLS them up more than anything.

4. Those same young people are discerning vocations to the religious life and life in the Spirit in family life.

5. Our long ago brothers of the Anglican Church are seeking the TRUTH and finding it whole-heartedly in the Holy Catholic Church.

6. More masses are being celebrated in the traditional Latin manner and many have felt and experienced reverence for the first time in the celebration of the Calvary in those masses.

7. More Catholics in high places are speaking out and joining forces against calumny that threatens the spark of Love for the Sacred Heart in the Catholic Church.

8. Those that do not adhere to the full faith and guidance of the Catholic Church in all moral and ethical matters are outing themselves as non-believers in their determination to be tolerant.

9. Roman Catholic schools are still praying with students in primary, elementary, middle, secondary, and in university level schools.

10. The Roman Catholic Church is still deep and rich and wide enough for all who seek the full Truth of the Love of God the Father.

All Glory Be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the Beginning, is Now, and ever Shall Be. Amen

The Case for Cue Cards

2010-10-23T21:11:00.000-04:00

I noticed the Ducks are using some fancy cue cards. Relates well to the Church I think, and some people think not all ideas are good ones!!

PLAY: No firing the Coach when yardage gets lost.

PLAY: Up the middle, down the aisle, TOUCHDOWN!!

PLAY: Need a turnover after the fumble.

Darkness and Light

2010-10-22T21:08:00.000-04:00

Materialism today is the sign of a greater struggle of heart toward the heart of Christ. The struggle has manifested itself in every time of the existence of man. G.K. Chesterton, of the early 20th century, speaks from a longing heart when in his younger years he wrote:

“What were heaven if ought we cherished, shall be wholly left behind?
Is it God’s bright house we dwell in, or a vault of dark confusion…?”

A 21st century Catholic speaker I heard once described her epiphany from sin as a literal transition from the dark places she was keeping herself in, to the light of the sun in the bright noon day. Life in the past or the present often leaves us groping in the dark through all of our Earthly possessions seeking something more.

Fear not. Materialism is only a cancer. Once found in an early state, it can be removed with careful operation, but we must always look for its return.

What forms does materialism take?

Remember first, that the flesh has a taste for pride, vanity and sensuality. Materialism is a small part of all of these main root sins.

If Christ calls man to “renounce all that [they have] for his sake and that of the Gospel.” Luke 14:33, then first we must look at how we are able to do all that God obliges us to do in the Spirit of the Scripture. If material possessions hinder the spread of the Gospel and of the charity that is our duty to express owing from the scripture, then there is a problem.

Second, Christ longs for your heart as much as your heart longs for him even though your mind is elsewhere trapped. The heart and soul are always longing for Christ because he is the key to the Father of love. When you find your mind is not in tune with what is truly best for your soul, then there is a problem. People want to adore something, but so often it becomes themselves, showing up in disordered tendencies such as tattooing, piercing and flesh modifications. Their sight has become sullied by the desire to own fame or entitlement. This love of sensuality rots the link to the true desire to adore the Creator of the Universe.

“Jesus celebrates the joy of the poor, to who the Kingdom already belongs.” CCC2546

Third, materialism is the opposite of the intention of Christ’s teachings for his true disciples. He teaches of the poor widow who exemplifies the standard of giving which he holds us too.CCC2544 This ‘poverty of spirit’ is the way of the cross and a way of detachment.

But I have so much! You say. Look at the life of Elizabeth of Hungary. She lived as a servant of God surrounded by riches and luxuries compared to her fellow man in the 13th century. She gave to the poor, even to the point of annoying her household. One day her husband came upon her in the castle road and asked what was in her apron. It was filled with bread from the keep, but roses appeared when she opened her apron.

The spirit of poverty is within, and it is built up with a treasure chest of piety and Earthly searching for the treasures of God the Father. Materialism is only a physical sign we create ourselves that pulls us away from spiritual treasure. Recognize it and combat it with full intentioned prayer.

“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:21

The Fast of the Starving

2010-10-19T22:12:00.000-04:00

Imagine you are very busy during the week. It's Tuesday already and you have forgotten to eat breakfast again as you rushed out of the house in the early dark hours of the morning. You don't stop for coffee because you know there will be some made at work.

You get to work early to take a moment, but find that your boss or coworker has come too and wants to have an impromptu meeting. When you finally step out into the hallway again, you almost run into another person coming from the break room holding a steaming mug of coffee about to sip. It is daylight outside now. You go to the break room and find the coffee has all been taken. You think you'll make some more, but there is none left but the crumpled bag on top of the new plastic trash bag in the bin.

With a large sigh, you move to your office desk with the weight of your work brought home still hanging on your shoulder because you never got to put it down. You remember you have a small bag of cereal in your bottom drawer for just such an occasion to perk you up when morning sustenence was forgotten. When you open the drawer, you find a crushed ziploc bag that somehow has come open and has small ants making a beeline for the back of the drawer and up to the window near the bushes. Gross. Your stomach rumbles and you feel queasy because now your body really is waking up and wants energy. Breath.

You tell yourself, breath. A loud sigh comes out as you check your calendar and you have that long morning meeting today. Hopefully there will be danishes.

You walk in to a crowded room with two seats left. Searching for the pasteries, you crane your neck back and forth for a moment as if at a tennis match. A chipper higher up comes in and says, "Happy Nutrition Month! We are skipping the goodies today, so I hope you all had breakfast!" Several coworkers smile and lift their tall coffee thermos's in unison.

Actual pain creeps up your spine because not only did you not eat breakfast, you had a large lunch yesterday and went to workout after work, causing you to go to bed early without any dinner. It feels as though you are in a dry, barren desert and are almost starving.

Starving.

This is the way of prayer.

We are starved for it.

God the Father longs to listen.

Everything around is empty without prayer.

Prayer is the intimate relationship that we nuture with our loved one, God the Father. We are part of His whole family. He sent His Son to be with us and expected us to know Him. He wants us as part of His family. He wants to hear your joys and sufferings so that He may work in you and show His glory.

When you have a doubt about yourself, It means you are starving for prayer.

When you feel disliked or even hated, It means you are starving for prayer.

When you realize you are in despair, It means you are starving for prayer.

When you feel no one will understand, It means you are starving for prayer.

No one can fill the void in man but God. Pray.

The Lottery Post from the Curt Jester

2010-10-17T22:11:00.000-04:00

This is a great article. I disagree that public schools can't engender right and wrong though. Many of them are filled with gun toters themselves, so the concept is easy for kids to grasp when faced with someone who tries to live in the right.

The Lottery

The Courtyard of Good and Evil

2010-10-15T22:05:00.001-04:00

I miss New Orleans. I live in Florida now and I love it. It is a much, much better place for me to be, but I miss New Orleans and Louisiana.

D'Or Patisserie on Ursulines

When I was young, we took spontaneous trips to the French Quarter early in the morning (which meant only me and my dad). Joggers were still running down Ursulines and the parrots in the palm trees were just starting to have their morning conversations. When I was older I went and celebrated Mardi Gras, juggled for kids at Zoo to Do, and attended a college I never thought I would get to attend. There are so many rituals and traditions thriving in New Orleans that imbibe your spirit with zeal for living.

Saint Peter and Paul Church in Marigny

I have learned though, that sometimes it is better to bring these things to the world, rather than wait for them to come to you. There are no large cathedrals from the 1700 hundreds here. There are no latin masses to go to on Sunday within an hours drive. There are no Grandmothers and their friends who talk about people in Cajun French in front of you and laugh during afternoon coffee. There are no T-boo's or Parrain's or Awn-tee's being talked about cause they almost won da' scratch off.

Grandma descended
from the Acadians
who moved from Canada

There are no sad looking young people on the street with hopes for nothing written on their worn faces. There are no Black men standing on the street corner surrounded by Black people who are prejudiced against their own race. There are no poor families living in a dynasty of poverty and existing like it is a reparation to get welfare. At least I haven't seen these sights that were burned in my retina from a young age and having walked the streets of New Orleans and other places in the deep South of Louisiana.

I miss New Orleans. I breath the air here, but my heart thumps, and stomps and beats to the rythym of a parade down Decatur and the laughter and joy of the souls in Nola.

The Master's Return

2010-10-15T21:13:00.000-04:00

Being tardy never seemed so important to me as a teacher. Many times, it cannot be helped. This year I have a couple of students who are often tardy, either by their own fault or by their siblings or parents fault. It is a habit that is hindering their learning.

It never mattered to me before, because I didn't have repeat offenders in the past seven years I have taught. My first thought the other day as I reviewed my attendence summary was of the maids and the bridegrooms who wait for the bridegroom Christ. I never really understood that passage until I heard a talk by Brant Pitre. He lays out the foundation for the Bridegroom Messiah. You can find his works for sale at http://www.catholic-productions.com/ But it makes sense if you think about the connection of habit.

I don't always 'get' scripture. I have to read the explanation and learn. I have had some visions from Christ while meditating on scripture, and scripture reads as a living thing to me, but I am not that bright in scriptural study.

In my mind, I was trying to figure more understanding from those passages when I read the tardies across my attendence summary. The passages are Luke 12:37 are Matthew 25:1-13. The oil that the young ladies forget is also the reverence for God the Father that the Church forgets. It makes me wonder how my habits are affecting my spiritual goals and obedience and servitude toward Our Heavenly Father.

Am I habitually tardy?
Am I staying awake?

The Feast of St Therese of Lisieux

2010-10-01T22:34:00.000-04:00

I love The Little Flower. When I think of humility, I most want to emulate her little way and love of Our Lady in Heaven.

The Even Playing Field

2010-09-22T18:01:00.000-04:00

On Monday our soccer teams lost big time to another local middle school team that had kids who had been playing together on year round recreation teams. We had a couple of boys who really took it personal and thought they were the ‘one and onlys’ on the team.

A good thing came out of this poor sportsmanship. The boys apologized at practice today and brought a committed attitude to the team.

Teamwork within our group had been a little lacking because this is the first year our school has had a soccer team. These young guys recommitted themselves in a positive way so much as to say, “Don’t follow our example from during and after the last game.”

Practice went well as it could, but there was also a new spirit of comradery that wasn’t there in our first practices. The formation into a team was almost more important than the skills necessary to play and win.

C.S.Lewis writes in The Four Loves that Friendship is an often bypassed love that is one that brings about a furthering of self-knowledge. He states, “By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all [my] facets.”

The soccer field is very much like the dependency of different friends. The players must acknowledge and pass on their talent to those who are talented in different areas, all complementing each other for the winning goal. We don’t need the others, but things get pretty hard to impossible without that concept working as a dynamic force pushing us to be better in different ways.

The boys apology was sincere, but the teams rejoicing and accepting of their youthful folly was heartwarming also. Now if we could only get them to keep working together as a team and win some goals!

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2

The Personal Handbook to You

2010-09-13T23:29:00.000-04:00

I just read some good advice, "If we only had a personal handbook to ourselves to hand over."

Wouldn't that be interesting if we really did. It got me thinking about what I might put in mine.

Start-up Section
1. Add 1 pot of Community Coffee with a sprinkle of Splenda.
2. Say one Fatima Rosary with intermittened Marian hymns and petitions.

Running Your Program
1. Keep the area bug free.
2. Add cups of hot tea when sluggish.
3. Set on 'nap' speed frequently. (Especially when temperatures outside exceed 98 degrees farenheit)

Problem-Solving
1. 1-800-CHOCOLATE
2. Internet service: http://www.calldad.com/
3. Leave alone for 3 days and then your forgiven.
4. Call your local Apparition of Mary the Mother of God

This C.P.U. (Catholic Person Universal) needs frequent trips to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament of Jesus Christ.

The Power of a Name

2010-08-29T18:29:00.000-04:00

The scripture in Sunday mass today spoke of humility and expressing it in a very specific action. Jesus directed all those who exhibit a desire to sit at the front, to rethink their choice as imprudent.

I struggle with the virtue of humility. I cannot seem to aquire it, but instead I long for it and admire those who have it. I have prayed for it before and a combination of calamities befell me so that I started to despair almost, rather than seek a false humilty at my circumstances.

Humility is not a learned skill, it is only a grace from God which holds His essence and at the core is Love.

It has been easy for me to act with love in my life and profession as a teacher. I pray for it continuously, that is what makes it easy to act on. But a new student has struck a humble chord in me this past first week of school. He asks many questions in his Hispanic accent, and each time he starts with a questioning intonation of the word "Teacher."

At first I corrected him, so that he would know my name, but I don't think I will again. Because this small voice and a request afterwards is so beautiful to me. It makes me think of the way Christ's disciples would have requested his teachings. I am not comparing myself to Christ in any way, but this small request and following question led by the word "Teacher," humbles me enough to see how it is my duty to act as Christ did. We all know that part ofcourse, but to have an added dimension of someone using the name of the vocation that God has given you is both gratifying and humbling.

Imagine if someone were to call on you instead in this manner:
"Hello, Friend? I need your help today."

Maybe it has only struct me, in that I have never been addressed directly in this way, but I am glad it has. This young man has humbled me and trusted in me to help him, in the same way I call upon Christ to grant my salvation.

The Florida Catholic: Link to Article

2010-08-22T13:12:00.000-04:00

Here is a link to an interesting article about the Maronite Catholic Church. I didn't realize when I last wrote about it in The Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church in America that it is the anniversary of St. Maron this year. Please keep praying for the building of the church in Baton Rouge by Father Charbel.

A pilgrimage site has been set up in Miami at Our Lady of Lebanon. A beautiful prayer posted on their site reads:

1600th Jubilee of the passing of Saint Maron

Lord God,

you called your chosen one, Saint Maron,

to the monastic life,

perfected him in divine virtues,

and guided him along the difficult road

to the heavenly kingdom.

During this jubilee year, commemorating 1600 years

since the death of your chosen one, Saint Maron,

when he was called to the house of your heavenly Father;

We ask you, through his intercession,

to immerseus in your love that we may

walk in your path, heed your commandments,

and follow in his footsteps.

May his holy example resonate throughout our lives.

With your love, may we achieve that final destination

reached by our father, Saint Maron,

and carry your Gospel throughout the world.

Through his intercession, may we attain

the glory of the resurrection and everlasting life in you.

Glory and thanks are due to you, to your blessed Father, and to your living Holy Spirit, now and for ever.

The Queen of the Universe

2010-08-08T22:29:00.004-04:00

I visited the basilica in Orlando today. At first I was slightly unnerved by the opening speech that lasted for a while. I thought it took away from the purpose. But then I reminded myself to shutup because I was in a church built for tourists to be welcomed.

I tend to judge a mass by the same reverence that is present in a latin rite mass. I knew I was wrong to judge in this instance.

The entire experience at this church turned out to be quite a personal one. The architecture was modern, the head priest was chatty and people still came in at the end of the homily. But the presiders took this in stride and made all feel so welcome.

Even though I probably won't be attending this church again soon because I live elsewhere, the personal touch was heartwarming. Imagine if churches felt that way all the time. My local parish doesn't seem welcoming at all. You know when you sit next to people who smirk at you during the sign of peace and refuse to touch you or be pleasant in the least?

Unfortunately it happens. But what if we could combine the joy of smiling greetings and the reverence of the Catholic liturgy? It would be awesome! That's the church I want to live in the parish of. Instead, there are old poops like me who have gotten so used to avoiding the 'grumpies' , I just don't talk to anyone but my friends.

So let's go to our universal church like we really love to be there from now on! And that goes for me too!

The Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church in America

2010-08-04T18:54:00.000-04:00

I’ve been trying to research the Eastern Orthodox tradition to write a convincing article about a small movement to build a Maronite place of worship in Baton Rouge, La. I have not found much information other than what has recently been encouraged and said by Pope Benedict XVI.

He said in his June visit to the Maronite Church of Cyprus, “Together with Christians throughout the world, we are part of that great temple which is the Mystical Body of Christ. Our spiritual worship, offered in many tongues, in many places and in a beautiful variety of liturgies, is an expression of the one voice of the People of God, united in praise and thanksgiving to him and in enduring communion with each other.”

The Eastern Orthodox Church has a varied history with popular saints such as John Chrysostom out of Antioch and Saint Maron, an ascetic monk who led his followers toward Lebanon establishing the Maronite Church. The area of Syria extends north of Israel and Iraq today and surrounds most of Lebanon. According to history many people were converted to Christianity throughout Syria up until the 7th century when Muslim Turks forced conversion.

Today in Lebanon, where the Maronite Church was founded, all Christians are threatened by a pressing culture that surrounds them. In an interview from 2000, of a Syrian Catholic Bishop, the Bishop speaks of the diaspora of Christians from Lebanon and how they often choose to move to the United States to enjoy a free Christian lifestyle rather than struggle in an overpowering Muslim culture that tries to dominate in a secular state.
This is the main reason why it is important for Roman Catholics to pray for our Eastern Orthodox brethren that remain in unity with the Holy See. As long as there are zealous Christians that teach Truth in the Middle East, then there is the chance for peace.

Father Charbel Jamhoury has come from Beirut to Baton Rouge to help establish an Eastern Orthodox Maronite Catholic Church. His mission is the greater mission of the Church. Pope John Paul II spoke frequently of the brotherhood of Churches and the of the successors of Peter “joined together in a multiplicity of organically united groups.” As Roman Catholics we are called to pray in solidarity with the mission of the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church and the mission of establishing communities to strengthen Catholics in our American cities too.

Please pray a novena with me for the success of Father Charbel’s goals in Baton Rouge. I found a prayer for church building, funny enough, at an Eastern Christian blog by Father Stephen. Please let it start your prayer each of these nine days.

O Lord our God, whose might upholdeth all creation: Stablish the work of our helpless hands; And make this lowly church a place for the showing of Thy glory; and for all peoples a house of prayer pleasing in Thy sight. We pray Thee: Hear us and have mercy.

Baton Rouge Catholic Radio on the Net

2010-07-22T16:28:00.002-04:00

The Lifelong Journey of How to Live

2010-07-20T04:37:00.000-04:00

This is a pivotal year for me. I'll be turning 33, the age that Christ fulfilled his role as the 'Son of Man'. Also, it comes at an interesting time, because my birthday will be 10/10/10 this year. That must mean something good.

Good living is relative to the person living it. It seems to me that it has taken too long for me to know so little already. I know little of the All of Christ, I know little of how I could improve more without major prodding. The thing I think of knowing the littlest about, is my sinfulness. But that is just the worrier in me, there is not much I can do for any of these things without God's gift of grace for the journey.

I can say with confidence that I am so happy to be older, but I realize I still must learn many lessons that Christ taught while on Earth. Lessons such as how to just be with people and still stand for morals and values in the face of utter disaster of the soul. Christ was with others most of the time, listening and hearing the call of the heart within them. He also was alone with God much of the time too. That private sojourn centered Him in the heart of love so that He could be illumination for others.

While many of us are far, far from illuminating lives, I believe it can be done in this life. You and I can reach for the grace we can only receive from Christ and his angels and share that kindness and goodness to others. I find it very hard to defeat myself with my stubborness and rationality that leads me away from kindness. But for all of us, contention with the nature of flesh is the true pathway of learning the right way of living.

Paul says we must "Take up the whole armor of God, that we may withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; with taking up the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints." Ephesians 6

It sounds so truthful in the way he terms it, but it is the same vigilance he speaks of that Christ compels us to in each of the parables. Thank goodness too for those parables, that we would all have something to go by, even if it takes some of us all our lives to understand.

The Historical Modern Auto Enthusiast

2010-07-19T03:04:00.002-04:00

It's almost over! Summer that is, and my late, late, late night watching of Top Gear and what-have-you British television. I don't have time for tv during the school year, and this year I am moving away from free satellite television with 800 something channels to the wilds of central Florida. Minimalist living is calling my name. In the hopes of being Christ like, must I limit my dream of owning a pimped out black Jaguar XKR?

The Bible makesa strong case for definitely not! The love of transport runs from beginning to end in the scripture and here are a few.

Example 1: Noah

If you really want a huge, massive, gas guzzler, look to Noah! The Arc would have been a beast of a transport vehicle. Decked out in chocolate, timber brown with a completary green roof and real peacock hood ornaments.

Example 2: Jonah

None of us can say we never owned a whale of a car that really wanted to eat us alive. (Mine was a 1988 Jeep Wagoneer that stopped at midnight in the middle of the highway on a busy W. Esplanade Ave.) I loved that car, but driving it meant I was taking my life into my own hands. This proves there are always some lemons before a little repentance.

Example 3: Elijiah
I can only imagine the most pimped ride of them all in the glorious chariot that took this guy for his dream ride.

Example 4: Peter

Really, all Peter ever talked about was his boat. You'd think it was a 1967 convertible mustang or something. He always wanted to be in and he was always picking up somebody.

Example 5: Jesus

Invision a ride so fly, the people you pass by lay down a carpeted pathway to Jerusalem. Granted, he did say goodbye to the modest and loved donkey, but he was trading in for something close to Salvation.

If anything, this short article proves I should A. not dream of ever having to take a donkey to work B. Study up on my deck building skills or C. Don't write anything at 2 o'clock in the morning after watching Top Gear. Also, that before the modern vehicle, transportation was biblical.

The Talk About Women in the Church

2010-07-15T17:41:00.000-04:00

I'd like to do a little repost of an article I wrote back in college. Be forgiving! But really, if I had to rework this, I would definitely speak of the beauty of the Spirit which Ignatius was working with to deny these ladies a prominent place among the Jesuits. Because of their charism and mission, the Jesuits needed a one-sided determined force that would consistently meet martyrdom around the world.

The Authentic Approach to Happiness

2010-07-11T12:39:00.001-04:00

The authentic approach to happiness has more than one aspect to it. The first is to know where all happiness comes from and at least a second is to bring happiness where you go. Thankfulness being a fruit of happiness, is a good way to start, in my opinion. But I am very opinionated and somewhat temperamental, which keeps me from showing Christ to others most of the time. Christ decided to work on that for me this year by using, not a small flame licking my heals, but one of those huge blow torches that people use to fire up metals that only heat at thousands of degrees. Unfortunately, it worked only a little and I anticipate more burning off of scales sometime in the future. In the mean time though I learned a few things.

Recently, I approached the procession for the Eucharist with a different mantra than I usually would think. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

I made my way back to my pew and realizing I had thought this, and that it was probably one of the best ways to approach Christ. Usually I just approach him berating myself with a thought of 'let me die into you' or 'please have mercy', which are just as well. But somehow, I think, a true sense of thankfulness came over me as I received that day.

I have been thanking Him profusely for having survived this past year. I am sure there will be tougher years, but it was one of those that God really makes you better for it. Because of this past year I have decided to seek my own happiness and not cater to others in a co-dependent, people-pleasing manner.

"But how do I seek my own happiness without being selfish?", I thought. Psalms answers this today in 119 where it states, "And I will delight myself in thy commandments, Which I have loved." v.47

I love Our Lord and music, art and nature. All make me happy and all help me to know Christ and the Father more deeply. That is the key of course. To seek the image of God in all He has created is the truest form of enjoyment. There is more than one part to the seeking though, and that is the 'remnant of God shown within us.' That is my duty as I pursue my happiness. I must show the compassion and kindness of Christ to all whom I meet. This is what was glaringly lacking in my person this year. I raised my voice at times and got so frustrated I promised to quit! I am pretty sure that I was angry every day of the school year and I am surprised I have any teeth left from gritting them in a fake smile.

Okay, fake smile. But I tried and everyday seemed a lie as I patiently tried to teach children who deserved love, but just had never cared for learning. This was the burning, burning, burning away at my usual disregard of others opinions. Because my own silhouette was showing me the anger in my heart that I was suppressing, and my own voice was speaking the tone that did not represent compassion.

The psalm guides us to delight in God's commandments and love them. 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor.' I was doing a pretty sketchy job of this with so much stress. But when it was done, God showed me that I can be in a place where I am seeking my own happiness, because it is a place where God is reflected from me. The influences from what keeps me happy and stress less are the very things that illuminate Christ's love in me.

I hope to improve this year and I am happy to say I have not held on to any anger since the day school let out! Goals this year: #1 Seek happiness and be happy about it. #2 Make sure my happiness translates to showing a loving God I am thankful for.

The App Store

2010-07-03T17:37:00.000-04:00

Just downloaded an awesome app for the Musee du Louvre. I just searched and it was free! tons of art and tours. I love this stuff so I suggest it to everybody.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/musee-du-louvre/id337339103?mt=8

The Galactic Catholic Photo of the Day: Comparison

2010-07-02T10:26:00.000-04:00

I am moving to Florida with more of these.(Taken in Key West by my dad)

And much, much less of this. (Even though it was only a few days, I still did not like it!!)

The War we Wage

2010-06-27T12:22:00.000-04:00

I don't want to pay for killing lives with my tax dollars.

The Celebration of Father God the Creator

2010-06-20T16:32:00.000-04:00

All my life I have driven across the great Mississippi River. The sunsets and sunrises are brilliant from these arched frames of cement and metal reaching across a vast flowing river. My dad always has a way of asking a question before he says something moving and profound. One of these crossings, he said:

"Do you know who the greatest artist is, Betsy?" "Who?" "God is the greatest artist."

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Gn 1:31)

"None can sense more deeply than you artists, ingenious creators of beauty that you are, something of the pathos with which God at the dawn of creation looked upon the work of his hands. A glimmer of that feeling has shone so often in your eyes when—like the artists of every age—captivated by the hidden power of sounds and words, colours and shapes, you have admired the work of your inspiration, sensing in it some echo of the mystery of creation with which God, the sole creator of all things, has wished in some way to associate you." Letter to artist's Pope John Paul II

And as the oil encroaches upon all that God has rendered in the Gulf of Mexico and it destroys entire ecosystems of salt marsh, fresh marsh and wetlands, it hurts my heart that man could treat the Father's creation so ignorantly. All of the diversity of life within the areas affected will take many years to be replenished. Let us pray for the Father Creator's guidance to fix the mess man has made.

The Galactic Catholic Universe Photo of the Day

2010-06-07T17:46:00.000-04:00

My morning drive to Pointe Coupee Parish from this past school year.

The Face of Jesus

2010-06-06T22:51:00.000-04:00

In honor of Corpus Christi, I will share a question I had about the body of Christ before I confirmed in the Catholic Church in 1997.

I had one main question before I confirmed, how is it that the host turns to the substance of the Body of Christ?

I could clearly see the accidents of bread made into a small round wafer, but it was hard for me to believe.
Our Lord had a way with me then, He would wait until the moment I wasn't looking, or even paying attention really, and then, WHAM!! Christological truth right in my face.

To keep it short and sweet, there I was on a beach retreat. We were in a visitor's church kneeling on a sandy hard floor in adoration of Christ in a gold monstrance. I was kind of toward the back and basically having a lot of trouble following all of the Fatima prayers added to the rosary that everyone was saying. All I could think of was the kneeling on sand thing. All of a sudden, I look up at the monstrance and I see Christ's face, like the one on the Shroud of Turin. Only I hadn't seen the Shroud face at that time and this was like a shining defined outline of Christ's face only on the consecrated host part.

Starring at it, I thought, okayyyy, moved a little to one side to check for window glare, moved a little to the other side to check for window glare, the face didn't waver, then I promptly bowed my head to try to keep up with the rest of the 30 college kids praying the rosary.

This personal revelation was enough for me to believe. God knows how visual I am and I remember clearly that image. I am always happy to receive the accidents of the host in the hopes that the substance will annihilate the wretched sin within. (Much like the scene in LOTRs when Sauron loses the ring and his evil is vanquished for the moment.)

Gotta love transubstantiation.

The Galactic Catholic Universe: Louisiana Wildlife & Natural Surrounds Photo of the Day

2010-06-06T08:00:00.002-04:00

"The richness of the marshes in Louisiana provide a banquet for the state's largest group of tourists - the migratory birds who return annually to enjoy the hospitality of the marsh. The naturalists who count the birds in the spring and fall have identified more than 180 species, ranging from Canadian geese to tiny hummingbirds." Louisiana: The History of an American State

The Galactic Catholic Universe: Louisiana Wildlife & Natural Surrounds Photo of the Day

2010-06-05T08:00:00.003-04:00

"The Marsh region lies along Louisiana's Gulf Coast. The Marsh region is also the transition zone between the land and the ocean. The part of the region closest tot he Gulf of Mexico is the salt marsh, whose waters are brackish. The saltwater vegetation includes such plants as salt grass, cord grass, black rush, and the mangle bush or mangrove." Louisiana: The History of an American State

The Galactic Catholic Universe: Louisiana Natural Surrounds & Wildlife Photo of the Day

2010-06-04T08:00:00.003-04:00

"The story of Louisiana cannot be told without the Mississippi representing both the stage and a main character. The Mississippi River area covers more than 1,245,000 square miles, draining at least part of thirty-one states. The Mississippi funnels 375 billion gallons of water through Louisiana each day to the Gulf of Mexico." Louisiana:The History of an American State