Do hermits celebrate birthdays?

Well this hermit did! I am a person who always lived extremes -like concentrate lemonade people could only take so much of my intensity -yet that is why the life I was living as a hermit was perfect. Jesus never gets sick of intensity -the more fiery and radical our love is for Him, the happier He is -for its just a share in His Own Heart's Fiery Love. As a hermit I spent lots of time -TONS of time -in prayer and solitude... but when I was with people I gave them my full, 100% attention as if they were the only person in the world. People (and love) before anything else was my rule. Its a lesson I learned from studying the roots of the eremetical life. Reading about (and speaking directly with one) old Russian hermit about their idea of God's call deeply formed how I lived this here in America. And so, my time of solitude and silence and prayer was intense for Jesus. But my love for those He brought to me was fierce as well. When I fasted, I fasted. When I feasted, I feasted... there was a time for everything. Even birthdays. Year after year after year...

See, hermits aren't hermits for themselves... they embrace a life of deeply radical prayer, fasting, silence, solitude, poverty, chastity and obedience for others... Catherine Doherty in her book Poustinia explains this well. In the East (Russia, Greece, etc.) a hermit would leave their people and go out to meet their God -but their door was always left open. At a moment's notice the God they gave their life to would greet them by sending a child or an old neighbor needing a word of encouragement, a help with their potatoes, a glimmer of love and hope through a shared piece of bread (or some good brownies as I did for people). Well I see God's genius in planting me after years as a radical hermit (there were times I literally talked to no one for weeks on end -except Jesus in my hermitage) in the heart of America at the time when almost no one understood the hermit life. I would soak daily for incredible hours with His Eucharistic Heart -but only to bring that love out to the world. Sometimes it was simply when I went for a walk/run in the afternoon and prayed for the neighbors who I knew especially needed it. Sometimes it was by welcoming my nieces and nephews to the house to play outside for an hour with Aunt Mary. These things formed people in love... something quintessential in the eremetical life -its why I was called to live as a diocesan hermit and not in a Carmel -the solitude and prayer was more intense then I could live there, and yet ironically my presence to help form deep hearts for Jesus in the children (and adults, but especially children) he brought to me. I had a Carmelite friend in Poland who told me on more than one occasion that her biggest struggle in the Carmel was not having enough time for individual prayer with Jesus. As a hermit, private prayer was main focus of my life. And after soaking with Jesus, yes, I would allow the children to visit me -especially for my birthday! What a scandal! But what mattered most to God is that it was for them, not for me... and it wasn't every day... it wasn't even every week... but somehow it made the Jesus who Aunt Mary gave her whole life to (Jesus Crucified at that!) really attractive to those He loves the most (the little ones). They said they wanted to be missionary hermits and love Jesus with me for the rest of their lives... why... because God used nothing crazy aunt Mary to show them His Face of Love. So yes, I celebrated birthdays. Johnny would have loved it:

And sometimes during my 'work period' took them to visit the poor:

And prayed in adoration with them:

And even made an appearance at a saint party:

And once I even got a hermit make-over:

And once in a while would stop at their house on their birthday (in between adoration and Mass) so that they knew that even if Aunt Mary was married to Jesus and loved Him crucified, that love could give joy.

Everyday? No... every week... no... but there was nothing against that in my rule. Some hermits welcome retreatants or give retreats... I did that too on occasion, but I was called to form young souls. And my first crucifix cake at the age of 4 turned into a family tradition... once a year all the kids (who often didn't see me at all) would gather at Grandma and Grandpa's and Aunt Mary would bust back out her guitar and we would all eat pizza and cake. And they could all visit my hermitage and say a prayer to Jesus. Birthdays are good -we celebrate Jesus' (Christmas). And if I hadn't been born, I couldn't be a hermit.

So any of you hermits out there getting grief for eating a piece of cake with small children wanting to celebrate  your birthday, take a deep breath. St. Teresa of Avila once ordered steaks for all her sisters because she said they were too gloomy and gloomy saints made Jesus sad too.

And let us never forget, that although rules and schedules and all of that is important for an ordered life (God is a God of order) -the greatest saints (including sweet John of the Cross) always said:
"At the end of life, we will solely be judged on love..."

Benedict XVI: Educate Children in Beauty

originally: SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, 2007

Benedict XVI: Educate Children in Beauty

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 24, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is appealing to the media to educate children "in the ways of beauty, truth and goodness," not of violence and vulgarity.

"...Children exposed to what is aesthetically and morally excellent are helped to develop appreciation, prudence and the skills of discernment. Here it is important to recognize the fundamental value of parents’ example and the benefits of introducing young people to children's classics in literature, to the fine arts and to uplifting music. While popular literature will always have its place in culture, the temptation to sensationalize should not be passively accepted in places of learning. Beauty, a kind of mirror of the divine, inspires and vivifies young hearts and minds, while ugliness and coarseness have a depressing impact on attitudes and behavior..."

Blessed Tittus Brandsma -Carmelite Martyr -pray for us!

A New Saint from Colorado... just beautiful!

Julia Greeley, Denver’s Angel of Charity, was born into slavery, at Hannibal, Missouri, sometime between 1833 and 1848. While she was still a young child, a cruel slavemaster, in the course of beating her mother, caught Julia’s right eye with his whip and  destroyed it.

Freed by Missouri’s Emancipation Act in 1865, Julia subsequently earned her keep by serving white families in Missouri, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico—though mostly in the Denver area. Whatever she did not need for herself, Julia spent assisting poor families in her neighborhood. When her own resources were inadequate, she begged for food, fuel and clothing for the needy. One writer later called her a “one-person St. Vincent de Paul Society.” To avoid embarrassing the people she helped, Julia did most of her charitable work under cover of night through dark alleys.

Julia entered the Catholic Church at Sacred Heart Parish in Denver in 1880, and was an outstanding supporter of all that the parish had to offer. The Jesuits who ran the parish considered her the most enthusiastic promoter of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus they had ever seen. Every month she visited on foot every fire station in Denver and delivered literature of the Sacred Heart League to the firemen, Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

A daily communicant, Julia had a rich devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin and continued her prayers while working and moving about. She joined the Secular Franciscan Order in 1901 and was active in it till her death in 1918.

As she lived in a boarding house, Julia’s body was laid out in church, and immediately many hundreds of people began filing pass her coffin to pay their grateful respect. She was buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery (sect. 8, Block 7), and to the present day many people have been asking that her cause be considered for canonization, a request which was finally granted in the Fall of 2016.

As part of the Cause for Canonization, Julia’s mortal remain were transferred to Denver’s Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception on June 7, 2017.

See here for more information...

St. Charbel, pray for us!

 Today is the Feast of St. Charbel, a Lebonese saint (hermit) who lived a radical and inspiring life. When I was a missionary, I was a missionary... when I was with family, I was with family... but when I lived as a hermit, I did that radically too and St. Charbel was an inspiration.

God provides in incredible ways... Confident that He does not destroy His Promises, we wait and say, "I trust in You."

Johnny did this 23 years ago yesterday... he 'got' my vocation... he really loved Jesus crucified +

Let Nothing Disturb You...

When I was in 5th or 6th grade I saw the first stanza of this poem of St. Teresa of Avila pinned on Cheryl's bulletin board in her room and I fell in love with it (and memorized it). Only in the past few months did I find out that the poem is actually much longer..:

Nada te Turbe                          Let nothing disturb you

Nada te turbe,                                        Let nothing disturb you,
nada te espante,                                    let nothing frighten you,
todo se pasa,                                          everything passes,
Dios no se muda;                                   but God never changes.
la paciencia                                             Patience
todo lo alcanza;                                     obtains all things;
quien a Dios tiene                                 he who has God
nada le falta:                                          nothing lacks:
Sólo Dios basta.                                     God alone suffices.

Eleva tu pensamiento,                          Lift your thinking,
al cielo sube,                                          raise up to heaven,
por nada te acongojes,                         let nothing anguish you,
nada te turbe.                                        let nothing disturb you.

A Jesucristo sigue                                 Follow Jesus Christ
con pecho grande,                               with an open heart,
y, venga lo que venga,                         and, no matter what may come,
nada te espante.                                   let nothing frighten you.

¿Ves la gloria del mundo?                   See the glory of the world?
Es gloria vana;                                       It’s vainglory;
nada tiene de estable,                          it is not everlasting,
todo se pasa.                                         everything passes.

Aspira a lo celeste,                              Yearn for the celestial
que siempre dura;                               that lasts forever:
fiel y rico en promesas,                      faithful and rich in promises,
Dios no se muda.                                 God doesn’t change.

Ámala cual merece                             Love it the way it deserves
bondad inmensa;                               immense kindness;
pero no hay amor fino                       but there is not fine love
sin la paciencia.                                  without the patience.

Confianza y fe viva                             Confidence and alive faith
mantenga el alma,                              let the soul mantain,
que quien cree y espera                    that he who believes and hopes.
todo lo alcanza.                                  reaches it all.

Del infierno acosado                        Although harassed by hell
aunque se viere,                                one may see himself,
burlará sus furores                           he who has God
quien a Dios tiene.                            will defeat its rage.

Vénganle desamparos,                    Come abandonment,
cruces, desgracias;                           crosses, misfortune;
siendo Dios tu tesoro                       God being your treasure,
nada te falta.                                      you lack nothing.

Id, pues, bienes del mundo;            Go, then, wordly goods
id dichas vanas;                                 go, vain happiness;
aunque todo lo pierda,                    even if everything is lost
sólo Dios basta.                                 God alone suffices.

A really good Mom...

Mom shares the touching reason why she climbed into the crib with her baby

Apr. 11, 2016 at 3:25 PM

A photo of a Michigan mom sleeping in her baby's crib has gone viral, and parents are touched by the reason this mom says she climbed in to comfort her daughter.

Dayna Mager, 28, a professional photographer and new mom in Ann Arbor, told TODAY the sweet snapshot was taken by her husband, who came home one night last month to find his wife and daughter both in the crib.

This was from several weeks back, yes, I climbed in the crib in hopes to soothe my screaming, teething, blushed faced, and tear soaked little girl. My husband came home to this, and I am re-posting because this captures the essence of my heart, and my "why..." There I was in the heat of this exhausting, beautiful thing we call parenthood, and I remembered a promise I made to her.

One of the first times Matt and I left Luella, was to a worship concert. At that conference, a missionary shared his story, and it shook me to the core. A moment that would forever be burned in my fragile, hormone raging, new mommy heart that had already become 100xs more fragile after meeting her.

That missionary was in an orphanage in Uganda, and he has been in many before, but this one was different. He walked into a nursery with over 100 filled cribs with babes. He listened in amazement and wonder as the only sound he could hear was silence. A sound that is beyond rare in ANY nursery, let alone a nursery where over 100 new babes laid. He turned to his host and asked her why the nursery was silent. Then , her response to him is something I will never, ever forget. EVER. This was my "why" moment.

She looked at him and said, "After about a week of them being here, and crying out for countless hours, they eventually stop when they realize no one is coming for them..."

...They stop crying when they realize no one is coming for them. Not in 10 minutes, not in 4 hours, and maybe, perhaps, not ever...

Broke.

I broke. I literally could have picked up pieces of my heart scattered about the auditorium floor. But instead, it stirred in me a longing, a hunger.. A promise in my spirit.

We came home, and that night as Luella rested her tiny little 10lb body against mine and we rocked, I made a promise to her. A promise that I would always come to her.

Always.

At 2:00am when pitiful desperate squeals come through a baby monitor, I will come to her.

Her first hurt, her first heartbreak, we will come to her. We will be there to hold her, to let her feel, to make decisions on her own, and we will be there. We will show her through our tears and frustrations at times, that it is okay to cry, and it's ok to feel. That we will always be a safe place, and we will always come to her.

"It had been a really rough day, and I just needed her to sleep," Mager said. "I needed to rest. I climbed in there and she snuggled next to me and fell asleep."

So did Mager: When her husband Matt came home from an evening worship practice, his wife was fast asleep.

Dayna and Matt Mager with their daughter Luella

Dayna Mager with daughter Luella, who was born in October.

It wasn't just Jesus died on the Cross... but it was love...

And as we end the month of the Sacred Heart and enter into the month of the most Precious Blood, let us remember that His wounds are the most powerful weapon of Love that exist...

A Summer Saint I love.. a little early (July 14th Feast Day)...

Did it early because I think I'm going to shut this down permanently... looks like no one comes here anyway...
Oh Sweet Jesus... I trust in You. +

Ave Maris Stella

A prayer I say daily, although I admit I almost always stop at 'SHOW THYSELF A MOTHER!' and simply keep repeating it like a crybaby... somehow its an easy line to cling to... 

The hymn Ave Maris Stella (Hail Star of the Sea) printed below in English is a wonderful tribute, both in prayer and song, to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The original Latin text dates back to around the 8th- 9th centuries although it has been attributed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153). It was a particular favorite of those chanting it as part of the Divine Office (the Liturgy of the Hours) in the Middle Ages.

Hail, bright star of ocean, 

God's own Mother blest,

Ever sinless Virgin,

Gate of heavenly rest.

Taking that sweet Ave 

Which from Gabriel came,

Peace confirm within us,

Changing Eva's name.

Break the captives' fetters,

Light on blindness pour,

All our ills expelling,

Every bliss implore.

Show thyself a Mother;

May the Word Divine,

Born for us thy Infant,

Hear our prayers through thine.

Virgin all excelling,

Mildest of the mild,

Freed from guilt, preserve us,

Pure and undefiled.

Keep our life all spotless,

Make our way secure,

Till we find in Jesus,

Joy forevermore.

Through the highest heaven

To the Almighty Three,

Father, Son and Spirit,

One same glory be. Amen.

Promises To Those Who Sing:
“Ave Maris Stella”

During a riot at Rome, a mob came to the house where St. Bridget lived; a leader talked of burning Bridget alive.  She prayed to Our Lord to know if she should flee to safety.  Jesus advised her to stay:  “It doesn’t matter if they plot Thy death.  My power will break the malice of Thy enemies:  if Mine crucified Me, it is because I permitted it.”  Our blessed Mother added:  “Sing as a group the AVE MARIS STELLA and I’ll guard you from every danger.”