Veronica's Veil

Today, I was reading a small booklet on "Devotion to the Holy Face".  More on that in a later post. Picking up the book, I wondered if any image of Christ's face was considered "The Holy Face", or what? 

This led me to google "Veronica's Veil Image". This is one of the images that came up.I find it to be fascinating. This account,
(Veronica's Veil Found?)  Part of the article compares the Shroud of Turin image with this one, (it says that the images are, essentially, identical). Part of it is about the fact that the ability of the fine gossamer fabric that the image appears on, is not paintable. So if the image is not paintable, what created it? 
)on the "Catholic Culture" website, goes into some detail about it.

I hope you find the article, and especially the image, to be as fascinating as I did.

Defending our Faith against the anti-Catholic media, jokes, etc.

OK, so I'm wondering if the anti-Catholic, anti-priest, anti-Pope jokes are getting to anyone else? I sure have had my fill. I love to watch the late night television shows, but I am sick and tired of the same old jokes. OK, so some bad stuff happened. Move on. The Catholic Church learned from their mistakes -- of course, there can be no guarantees that there will be no more mistakes. But then, the various other faiths who are not constantly on the hot seat like the Catholic Church is, have had problems too in this area. I would virtually guarantee that they haven't learned from the experiences that our church have been through. I would be very surprised to find that there are no incidents of child molestation in other faiths, or other groups that have a lot of contact with children. They just keep it hidden better.

Do you know how I know? Two of my children were molested as boys-- and guess what-- it wasn't the Catholic Church that was responsible but the Boy Scouts. I think that the numbers of incidents of molestation in both groups are comparable. But there has been no public outcry for change in the Scouting program, or in the Presbyterian Church, or the Jewish faith, etc. I am not against the Scouts, but the outcry that has come against the church is out of proportion to what has happened in other cases. I believe most of the people promoting the scandal are from outside the church-- from the heavily anti-Catholic media and Hollywood.I also believe that this constant stabbing at the Catholic Church is responsible for a lot of the loss of membership that has been experienced over the decades. I may be wrong, but I don't think so. Has anyone ever thought about  what an outcry there would be if other faiths were constantly assaulted like the Catholic Church is?

I think it's time we as Catholics did something to defend our faith, our priests and our Pope. Anybody have any better ideas than me? So far, the only thing I've come up with is either to boycott programs that consistently slam our church, or to write massive amounts of letters to sponsors of said programs that we are boycotting THEIR products. That makes the most sense to me. I'd love to hear what any one else thinks.

Saw "Letters To God"...

Just had to post this-- I saw "Letters to God" last night with Mike and Sonya. It was lovely. No sex, violence or romance even. Just about how powerful an example of one little boy's faith and trust in God can be. A truly nice film-- such a nice change from the usual "stuff" Hollywood puts out. I highly recommend it-- not sure it would be appropriate for small children but it was a lovely film. In a way I wish a movie like that had been out when I was about 6 or so as at that age I became terrified of death when my grandfather died. I think a movie like this would have answered that fear quite well. 


Here's a trailer.

The Seven Sorrows Of The Blessed Virgin Mary

At a meeting at our parish several weeks ago, we talked about the devotion to the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Mother. I put this devotion into my prayer life that day. When saying the prayers and meditating, I found myself wishing that I had something to guide me in my meditations - to help to make sure I was not missing the point, as I knew I was meditating on each of the seven Sorrows as a mother would, but not necessarily from the viewpoint that the Blessed Mother might have.

For those new to this devotion, Our Lady promises (According to St. Bridget of Sweden)

The Blessed Virgin grants seven graces to the souls who honor her daily by saying seven Hail Marys while meditating on her tears and dolors:

1. "I will grant peace to their families."

2. "They will be enlightened about the Divine Mysteries."

3. "I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work."

4. "I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my Divine Son or the sanctification of their souls."

5. "I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives."

6. "I will visibly help them at the moment of their death--they will see the face of their mother."

7. "I have obtained this grace from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness, since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy." 

The Seven Sorrows are: 

The prophecy of Saint Simeon.

The flight into Egypt.

The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple for three days.

The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross.

The Crucifixion.

The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross.

The burial of Jesus

So I've been searching for a meditation that would work for me. I found some early on, but they were too flowery which I found distracting, and would get so caught up in the language that I had difficulty remembering to say the Hail Marys!  I thought that maybe I would re-write it in language that was not so archaic. So to make sure I found the one that was the best for my purpose, I did some more searching (I found that using different search terms got me some other meditations that worked much better for me.)I thought I would share the meditations I found in case there is someone that has had the same difficulty as me.I am pleased with these so will not do the re-write that I was thinking of.

Tonight I found this meditation -- I think this is my favorite. It is in modern language, and is very much in a story form that works for me. Then I also found this page that is a rosary of the Seven Sorrows. (A very nice fellow commented that there are 15 promises with the Seven Sorrows Rosary by the way.)  I found the pictures of the paintings that go with each of the separate sorrows on the Rosary site to be quite nice and helpful to visualize the situation that Our Lady was in at that time.

This is a lovely site and  this site as well. I hope that the links to these sites help to promote this wonderful devotion.

My Conversion Story

Today I was at a Legion of Mary meeting and spoke to Father about one of my children who is having some difficulties. He mentioned a couple of things which will be food for thought in future postings. The thing that really got me excited in my conversation with him was a book he mentioned "Surprised by Truth". The library at church had a copy of the sequel "Surprised By Truth 2"-- I took it out.

I went to a restaurant and ate my lunch, and then spent the best half hour of intense reading in a long while. The book is about the reasons behind the conversion of several people who have converted to Catholicism, which resonated with me since I am a convert. So I decided to tell my story on my blog. So here it is.

My earliest memory of going to church was probably in a Unitarian Church. I remember it was filled with colored light from stained glass windows-- I was very impressed. I was about 4. That was possibly the first time my parents took me to church. They did not go very often. My dad worked most days- even Sundays- at a gas station. We were pretty hard up and he didn't have a choice about working or not on Sundays- but truthfully, although he was Christian, he was not really a churchgoing guy. My mother couldn't drive in those days. The next time my sister and I went to church was about a year later. We went with our next door neighbors to their church-- it was an Episcopal Church. I don't know about my sister, but I was amazed-- the church was huge. I had to go to the restroom during the service and I remember being terrified that I would never find our friends who had brought us again-- it was just so big. Our neighbors on the other side were Catholic. I remember the girl that was between my sister's and my ages showing us her statues of the Blessed Mother and of Christ, and her rosary. We didn't have anything like those items at our house, and I asked my mother about them. I don't remember her answer-- but it was not encouraging, you can bet.

Then  we moved to the country, and my mother tried to start taking us to church. We went first to a Community Church, and then to a Baptist Church. (I still remember the pastor there's sermons-- I was terrified-- he yelled a lot it seemed to me!

Three years later, we went to my cousin's wedding. He was a Catholic convert. At the wedding, everyone was knelt on the kneelers several times during the service. "When in Rome-- do what the Romans do" -- right?? So when they knelt, I knelt. I remember my mother looking down the pew at me, and the look on her face spoke volumes. She was not happy. I could not understand why - it did not seem like a bad thing to be kneeling. Weren't we supposed to kneel in prayer when we said our prayers next to the bed at night? How could kneeling in church, where it seemed even more appropriate, be wrong?

I'd had exposure at that point to five different churches. In my teens yet another neighbor took my sister and I to church. That was a Presbyterian Church. That made it six different churches. I noticed that each church said it was "the" way to Heaven. I felt confused. How could all these churches be the only way? I started praying every night that God would lead me to the best church. I believe my parents are in Heaven. I have to believe that, but of course, only God knows for sure. BUT- I do believe that the Catholic Church is the One Universal Church that is the Church that Christ spoke about to St. Peter "Upon this rock I will build my church".

So, when I started to date my husband, who had had his fill of non Catholic girlfriends who not only weren't Catholic but hated Catholics, he said (after he asked me to marry him of course lol) that he could not marry a non-Catholic. It seemed that I'd been waiting to be asked to be Catholic since that wedding almost ten years before. In addition to my husband, there were several people along the way whose faith just made me sit up and take notice. It just added up to -- I wanted what they had. I knew no other people at my age that had such a firm faith. Although my faith journey has not been entirely smooth since my baptism, (I did have some rocky sections) when looking back over the course of the years, I thank God for His calling me to become Catholic. It is a joy.

Saints and Souls...

All Saints and All Souls Day... I tend to think of these two days as days to pray to those who have already passed on, many of whom I have never known. Sometimes, I think about figures I have known from the news, etc-- Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, etc-- that are a shoe-in for Sainthood.

However, today at Mass, Father spoke about the multitudes spoken about by St. John in Revelations. He said that of those multitudes, some most likely will be some of the ordinary people we have known in our lives. How comforting that was to think of. Even more comforting was his statement that even the "Cranky and the Crazy" amongst us can still get to Heaven. Boy, since I am probably a candidate for both categories, I was glad to hear that! He spoke further about those who have touched our lives living and non-living that have and are continuing to help us to our goal of being Saints. These are those that have helped us to do more of what Christ has asked us to do in being more Christ like. I started to think-- who has affected my life most positively in this way?

Here are the people I thought of-- they are not listed in the order of importance, rather, chronological order.

My Dad-- 1973

First and foremost, my father. He was the first one that came to mind-- although in his final years, he was difficult for many to deal with, throughout his life, there was probably no more humble and giving a man. Many nights he would be late coming home because he saw someone on the highway that had a flat tire. Most of those times, he would refuse to be paid for his assistance with the person's flat tire, their dead battery, or just waiting with the person as they waited for a tow truck to arrive.My first true lesson on going to Heaven came from my Dad. In chastising me for some transgression that has since faded to oblivion, Dad somehow went on to discussing the subject of who gets into Heaven. He had a piece of chain in his hands, and working his fingers down the links of chain as he described the line of people one by one getting to the Gates of Heaven, he described how some would be allowed in and some would be denied entrance. It scared the living daylights out of me! My Mother was also influential-- probably for the most part just because she loved me, and spent so much of her time listening to me and caring for me- a good lesson in how the Father cares for us all, certainly.


The next person was the most important person in my life-- my husband Joel. For one thing, he asked me to become Catholic. That alone has brought me so much closer to God. Plus, the number of times in the early years after my conversion that I turned to him while at Mass when something happened I didn't understand - he most times instantly knew I was wondering what was going on. He would whisper "after Mass!".

Father Murray who was the priest that conducted the classes I took before being baptised was very influential. At any rate, his teaching of me "took" certainly, and I consider the mind bogglingly incredible gift that he gave me by baptising me on May 12, 1969. He is a very joyous man, and gave me the knowledge that being Christlike is to be full of JOY!

Father Murray baptizing me, with Terry behind me. 

Terry, my classmate and Godmother, was the person during the time I took the classes that showed me my first example of a woman that was deeply religious. She was very supportive during those classes and questions that Joel didn't answer, Terry did.

There are many who have also affected me through the years... the Sisters at St. Lucy's in Middletown RI where they supported my first attempts to teach a CCD class. It seemed incongruous that someone who was still giving her husband puzzled looks during Mass could actually teach others about God. (Although I hope they got something good from their classes I taught- there is no way they could have gotten as much from that class as I did!)

Then, in my "thirtysomething" years-- I was finally confirmed-- and my sponsor, Priscilla-- was a model of good mothering, and what a good Christian should be. She was an incredible friend to me at all times. The thing I have always thought of when I think of Priscilla is "Peaceful". The quote from Scripture "In quietness and confidence shall be my strength.".

The person that taught the classes for Confirmation was Sister Cecelia Dolores. She also was such a good friend and over the years, the lessons she taught me have helped so much. She was the most self sacrificing person I think I ever met. Many good friends-- Alicia, Helen, from church, Judy from the place where I worked-- Evelyn from our Marriage Encounter sharing group. I was abundantly blessed far more than anyone could ask for by the people I met through the years.

Three decades have come and gone since I was confirmed. My growth thankfully hopefully) has not stopped there. So many people have come into my life and gone out of it-- some by moving, some by death. Rose taught me about service to God through serving others. One of those I served, Marie, taught me about incredible courage in the face of an excruciatingly painful death, but that there was a reward coming that she was eagerly awaiting. Erin is an example of a person that truly loves everyone. I think she sees Christ in every person she sees during her day.

Rose and I painting "Forget Me Not Pots" at the 2007 Relay For Life-- Cary NC

So who was most important in my faith journey? (Well, first of all, ME -- I am the one that has purposely tried to find the way to be closer to God.)But other than that,it is all of these wonderful individuals that have shared with me -- plus so many more from our Marriage Encounter group in Poughkeepsie, our Small Christian Community group we were in when we lived in Raleigh, the Legion of Mary group I joined a few months ago after moving to Virginia. So many blessings. Thank you to all of them, and to all the blessings to come.

The 36th Annual March For Life

Today was an amazing day-- January 22, 2009. For the first time, I went to the March For Life in Washington, DC. I've always wanted to go-- but it was always so far away, and/ or I had small children, or a job, or something else to make me think twice about going to the Rally and doing my part to end the Holocaust against our nation's preborn children.

Then last fall, we moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia. Last week when I heard that there was a group going by bus from our Church going to the March, I realized that I COULD go this year-- Fredericksburg is only about an hour away from Washington, DC-- and I do not have small children any more--and I do not have a job currently because of our recent move from Raleigh NC. There was no reason on earth why I could not go. So I did.


The day started with Mass at our church, St. Mary's in Fredericksburg, VA. Then we boarded buses to DC, and arrived at the March about 11:30 am. We went onto the Mall near the Capitol Building, and listened to the great music that was going on at that time. About noon, the actual Rally event started. There were a lot of speakers-- giving words of encouragement, stories of regret at having had an abortion, and concern about the Freedom Of Information Act, now being proposed in Congress. This portion of the program went on for about two hours. Each speaker had incredible things to say. These included words that made me think about the state of our country, and the state of humanity where we can even consider allowing laws that sanction putting to death a tiny baby merely because it's inconvenient-- or we don't want to admit to our parents that we are having sex at that point in our lives.Speakers included members of Congress, ministers, rabbis, and finally, priests. People from all over the country and actually, all over the world spoke about the need to end the killing of these tiny defenseless babies.


About 2 pm, we started the actual March. The weather was gorgeous, the people were so incredibly wonderful-- cheerful, happy, determined, and hopeful. We walked down past the Capitol Building, turned and went down past the Supreme Court, and then down the other side of the Capitol Building. The way was blocked off for a while as a motorcade went by, so I'm not sure we went as far as originally planned. However, the accomplishment was the same-- we had stated our purpose, and our determination to end this horrible culture of death that has infected our nation.


I am so excited to be involved in this effort. If I am called Home tonight-- I want to be able to say to St. Peter that I was part of this movement, that I did not just stand and allow it to happen. I want to be able to say that I tried to help to stem the terrible flow of babies dying and women who have been victimized by the loss of their children.