Beauty from Pain

The lights go out all around me
One last candle to keep out the night
And then the darkness surrounds me
I know I'm alive but i feel like I've died
And all that's left is to accept that it's over
My dreams ran like sand through the fists that i made
I try to keep warm but i just grow colder
I feel like I'm slipping away

After all this has passed, I still will remain
After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today,
Someday I'll hope again
And there'll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain

My whole world is the pain inside me
The best I can do is just get through the day
When life before is only a memory
I'll wonder why God lets me walk through this place
And though I can't understand why this happened
I know that I will when I look back someday
And see how you've brought beauty from ashes
And made me as gold purified through these flames

After all this has passed, I still will remain
After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today,
Someday I'll hope again
And there'll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain

Here I am, at the end of me
Trying to hold to what i can't see
I forgot how to hope
This night's been so long
I cling to Your promise
There will be a dawn

After all this has passed, I still will remain
After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today,
Someday I'll hope again
And there'll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria! Thank God ahead of time.

Retreat and Where I'm At Now.

Two weekends ago I had my discernment retreat with the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.
Going on retreat I had a plan, I knew exactly what was going to happen. I was going to go into my spiritual direction with Sister Joseph and I knew exactly what she was going to say and I knew what I was going to say and I was going to come home from retreat with my application papers. But that's not what happened at all. Sister and I talked for a while she asked me about my family, what are they all doing, where did they go to school, where do you go to school and what brought you here. After I told her she looked me right in the eye and said "this life is really difficult and you aren't ready for it. You really need to go to college for a year and get away from your family because you aren't ready." At that moment my heart knew that she was right but my emotions so didn't accept it at all. At the beginning of retreat we had each gotten a litany title and we were told to pray about it during our Holy hour and find out why we got the one we did. My litany title was Mary Morning Star pray for us. Also in the morning Sister Joseph had said to us "You have to be stubborn in Adoration. Go in there and say 'I'm not leaving until I get the answers to my questions' then tell Him your questions then stop talking!" so when I went into Adoration, balling my eyes out angry and frustrated at God, I said "Okay, you heard Sister, I'm not leaving until you tell me 1) what good could possibly come from me waiting, 2) why is this happening to me again (referring to the fact that one of my really good friends got her application papers and, being the youngest of seven, I've spent a lot of my life watching others do stuff that I really want to but can't) and 3) why does it feel so right and why do I feel so ready if I'm clearly not?" After a while in response to the first one He said to me "Betsy, you will convert, bring to a deeper relationship with me and led to their true vocation more people in the world then you EVER could as a postulant. Being a postulant is about personal growing which is very important but I have so many people who need you to help them grow before you can grow yourself." How can I argue with that one? In response to the second question He said "the reason it's happened so much in your life is so you can deal with this one." Which really does answer the question but I still wanted to argue so I said "But that doesn't tell me why this one is happening!!" I didn't hear anything else after that. He just totally stopped talking to me. After a little while of nothing I said "okay I'm really ticked at you so I'm going to talk to Mary" I went and sat in front of the icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe and was praying the the Akathist hymn to Mary and after I had chanted the whole thing I was going back and reading them through again to see if she spoke to me and after I read the 5th chant I heard her clear as day say to me "My daughter let me be your star of Bethlehem. You must let me guide you to my son and I promise you that you will get here at some point but He has so much more planned for you first." At that moment I was flooded with an incredible peace and I felt Marys arms totally surrounding me! Then I went to bed because it was five in the morning.
On Sunday during morning prayer I started crying again because it just felt so right and it was so beautiful and the sisters sing divinely! I cried out to God with everything in me "Lord I am ready to do what you will but please give me joy back, I don't want to be miserable for the next two years because I'm doing your will. Just PLEASE give me joy back" I calmed down after a bit and when we were praying the Rosary I pulled mine out and it was broken. I was like "Oh that's kind of weird but whatever" and started trying to fix it and He said "No, you can't. You have to let me put things back together." Instantly two things came to my mind. A few years ago at a youth group meeting they had given us glow sticks to remind us that we need to be broken before we can be a light. I had the chance to spend the month of April in Austria and while I was there I found out that a very good friend of a lot of my good friends had been killed in a car crash. I was very hurt and angry at God for letting me be gone when my friends needed me and I was in the Adoration chapel and pulled out a different Rosary and it was broken in almost the same place. We went to Mass at the motherhouse and again I started crying because they let us sit in the choir stalls and I was sitting right behind Sister Mary Dominic and it just felt right. Father James started his homily with "Before I entered the Dominicans I had a plan of how it was going to go." Right away I was like "Oh boy, I better listen!" He went on to say "I was finishing up college and knew that this is what He wanted me to do. It was going to be a huge triumphant entry. It was going to be amazing! But my parents were really pushing for grad school so I decided to go for one maybe two years but I would have the blinders on all the time because I knew this was what He wanted of me and I was sure that I was never going to get distracted from it. But...then along came the girl and out went the triumphant entry!" He then went on to talk about how amazing this women was and how she had all these Dominican traits about her. Then he said "So when I finally did enter a few years later it wasn't some huge triumphant entry it was 'okay I have no idea why I'm here or if this is even what you want of me but okay I'm going to take a leap of faith and start walking on the water.

This really helped me because then I knew why I'm waiting, I have to be broken and I have to learn that it's all about Him. I walked out of Mass with the BIGGEST smile on my face and it still hasn't gone away. It's been really hard for me coming home. I've been really homesick for my sisters because I know that's where I belong and it really is home. I've also been noticing Satan a lot more openly active in my life. But I don't have to worry because Jesus won the victory a long time ago when I died on the cross for me. NO WORRIES! I am in the process of filling out my NET application and am taking the SAT in December so I'll be applying to colleges as well. We'll see where He leads me. JMJ+ ~Betsy Totus tuus Maria P.S. Sorry it looks so weird, I copied and pasted it.

Thirst

Thirst

I am thirsting for your love, why do you run away?

Do you not know that my love for you is perfect and everything you need?
When I formed you in the womb this is what I made you for, yet you continue to run because you are afraid.

I am thirsting for your love, why do you run?

It will be hard and there are many difficult things but my love is more powerful and yet more gentle then anything in the world.

I am thirsting for your love, why do you continue to run?

Do you not understand how much I love you, do you not see everything I am aching to give you? I wish to give you every good thing in the world.

Do you not see that I am thirsting for you, why do you still run?

I know you are afraid and yes you don't know what the future will bring, but there is no need to worry.

If you could only see how much I am thirsting for you, you would stop running.

Lord it's true I don't know where you will lead me but I'm not happy running and I want to trust you.

The truth is I am thirsting for your love and I don't want to run any more.

I can see now that you are the only thing that will make me happy, nothing else can fill me the way you do.

I am thirsting for your love and I'm not going to run any more.

I know that your love is perfect and there is no need to fear. You are the only thing that can satisfy my heart.

I am thirsting for your love and am running right into your arms!

What I'm Thinking About Right Now.

So retreat is in 11 days. I'm so ready for it I really can't wait! Life has been kind of crazy lately and it's starting to get me down. I'm just so ready for a break from it all. Yet at the same time I'm almost dreading it because it means I have to actually articulate what's in my heart to someone I've never met before and I'm really not good at that. It's so much easier for me to type or write what's on my heart then for me to actually say it face to face to someone. I guess the reason I'm posting this is just to get it out. I've been holding this in for way to long. Please keep me in your prayers.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

New Blog

I am now a part of the Holy Vocations blog and so will not be posting here much any more.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

My Vocation Story.

The Amazing Journey of How God Has Asked Me to Marry Him and Brought Me to the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.
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From the time I was very young the thought that maybe I was going to be a nun was there.
This was due in part to the fact that five of my paternal great aunts were Sisters of Saint
Joseph in London, Ontario. My aunt and uncle have a cottage in Canada that they let us use for
family vacations and we would always spend a day in London at the motherhouse. While yes, it
was only seven days of my life, it made such a huge impact on me that whenever someone
asked me “What do you want to be when you grow up?” it was always “…or a nun”.
When I was twelve I was sitting on the couch making a bracelet and thinking and praying about my life. All of a sudden I knew that I was going to be one hundred percent God’s. I can’t say what happened, but I knew and have never doubted it since. The first year was very hard for me because I didn’t really understand what that meant. Instead of seeing everything I get
when I give myself to God I was focused on everything I had to give up. At my Confirmation Mass, about a year later, my eyes were opened to the amazing thing that being a sister really is and that’s when my romance with God really began. I still had no idea how I was going to live it out.
In August of 2007 I was pretty sure that God was calling me to one of three orders: the Servants of God’s Love, The Sisters of Life, or The Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. In November I was looking more into the Servants of God’s Love and was very attracted to their work with orphans and I was thinking that maybe that’s where God was calling me. Then the fact that they don’t wear a traditional habit started bugging me. I kept telling myself, “Betsy, that’s ridiculous, what they wear doesn’t matter at all, the important thing is the work they do,” but I was having a really hard time with it. Eventually I got so fed up with myself I said, “Okay God, I’m going to go back to discerning between these three orders and if you want me with the Servants of God’s Love you are going to have to change my heart because I’m having a really hard time with this” and He said ,“Okay, I’ll let you know, but not yet.”
In late November I got a phone call from one of my friends asking if I wanted to go on the March for Life in Washington D.C. I said yes, and thought that maybe this would decide the Sisters of Life one way or the other. I went on the trip and had an amazing time of course, but when I got home I couldn’t figure out if something had happened or if I only felt like something happened because I wanted something to happen. I kept going back and forth and just couldn’t figure it out. At the end of February I went on retreat with my youth group and was talking to my small group leader about what was going on and she said to me, “ Betsy, if you believe that God is calling you to the Sisters of Life, then pursue it and if He isn’t He will let you know before your final vows.” I started pursuing it, but there wasn’t anything I could really do about it because they ask you to go to college before you join.. I was just waiting.
My mom and I came to the profession of first vows in August and I was very moved. When the Sisters were prostrate in front of the altar, I saw myself at some point in the future, in a white habit and black veil prostrate in front of the altar at Christ the King. I just brushed it aside though because I was going to have a blue scapular and cape and it was going to be in New York. When we came to the motherhouse, the first thing we did was go into the chapel and right .way I felt at home and at peace. One of the things that really stuck out to me was the joy and laughter of all of the sisters, even in the midst of hard work. What also struck me was the genuine beauty of all of you that has nothing to do with the outside.
On Friday, my first thought was “Maybe I’m not so sure about New York.” I told my mom this and she said “Yeah, I kind of thought that might happen.” Later in the day I was doing dishes and I asked God, “Okay, what happened yesterday? I thought you wanted me in New York?” He told me that the reason I thought He wanted me in New York was because He needed to know how much I am willing to give and if I was willing to wait. A few weeks prior to this I was in Adoration and had finally given Him everything and really meant it. He told me that because I had shown Him that I was ready to do anything for Him, He wasn’t asking me to go to New York and do theses hard things but He was asking me to go to Ann Arbor next year.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

Bishop Sheen quotes!

My Favorite Quotes by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
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Hearing nuns' confessions is like being stoned to death with popcorn.

Leisure is a form of silence, not noiselessness. It is the silence of contemplation such as occurs when we let our minds rest on a rosebud, a child at play, a Divine mystery, or a waterfall.

Life is like a cash register, in that every account, every thought, every deed, like every sale, is registered and recorded.

Show me your hands. Do they have scars from giving? Show me your feet. Are they wounded in service? Show me your heart. Have you left a place for divine love?

The proud man counts his newspaper clippings, the humble man his blessings.

Too many people get credit for being good, when they are only being passive. They are too often praised for being broadminded when they are so broadminded they can never make up their minds about anything.

There are not a hundred people in America who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions of people who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church— which is, of course, quite a different thing.

It's like being a Knight of the Garter. It's an honor, but it doesn't hold up anything.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

Spirit and Life

Spirit & Life®
"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63) Human Life International e-Newsletter Volume 04, Number 26 | Friday, August 21, 2009
..................................................................................	www.hli.org
Pro-Life Dos and Don'ts for 2009 In light of the recent political and economic upheaval in our country, I have been asked by a number of people to re-issue the Spirit & Life edition that I sent out at the time of the March for Life this past January. Our readers may look again and judge whether or not there is any relevance to it. I will only preface this posting with an insight that pro-life activist Mark Crutcher gave on his recent "Life Talk" show. It is this: with regard to the phenomenal citizen participation in the town hall meetings this summer, where have all these patriotic citizens been when it comes to the killing of babies in their country? There are many who are concerned about their own healthcare and more who are concerned about their pocketbooks, but why can we not generate the same level of indignation about the destruction of 50 million American taxpayers who would even now be contributing to the economy and buying into the healthcare system? Our country needs serious conversion of heart. Don't get me wrong; I am glad people are standing up to ridiculous legislation proposed by professional liars, but I am not in favor of selective indignation when the destruction of innocent life right in our own neighborhoods is so catastrophic for our country. This economic crisis is only the beginning of the long-term effects of the loss of so much precious life. Let's pray intensely for that deep national conversion of heart that is really the only thing that will save our country from destruction - terrorism, healthcare and the economy all take a back seat to this utterly urgent priority. And by the way, if you didn't commit to these dos and don'ts back in January, there's no time like the present! January 23rd, 2009, Spirit & Life The pro-life movement is going through a great deal of self-examination at this time. I am not a pessimist, but my sense of realism tells me that the election of extreme abortion advocate, Barack Obama, and the nearly 7,000 political appointments of his administration will usher in a new decade of war on decency and the sanctity of life. Despite the ferocious optimism of his inauguration, the dark clouds of the culture of death are gathering over Washington as we speak, ready to cast their darkness everywhere. In this time of preparation for the upcoming total war on life, I offer this modest list of Dos and Don'ts for the generous and valiant pro-lifers who gather for the March for Life in Washington, DC on January 22nd. May all men and women of good will take these recommendations to heart for a fruitful pro-life 2009! DON'TS Above all, do not grow despondent: there is much to fear for the situation of life around the world, but we are not permitted by our Christian faith to give up our efforts or zeal for life. In fact, we need to redouble it! Do not become absorbed in the quest for a political solution to abortion: after 36 years of working for a political solution to abortion, we may soon see the wiping out of most, if not all, of the pro-life movement's gains with the stroke of a pen. Politics has failed. Or rather, we have failed at politics. Either way, politics now offers us little chance of anything other than just trying to slow the massive momentum of the culture of death. Do not waste any more energy on overturning Roe: two Supreme Court seats are assured during an Obama administration, and they will undoubtedly be filled with extreme pro-abortion activist judges. A third appointment will leave us with no hope of overturning Roe in anyone's lifetime reading this. For that matter, the chance that a good pro-life President will succeed Obama in four years and nullify the leftward lurch of the high court is, shall we say, unlikely. Let's get hopes of undoing Roe out of our system and focus on more productive things. DOS Pray every day for God to end abortion with our help (in that order): abortion is such a great spiritual and social evil that only the divine power of God Himself can end it. "The Lord hears the cry of the poor," but God will not do it alone. He needs us to humbly recognize the basic fact that it is humanly impossible to end this evil. We need to get on our knees and beg His Mercy on the unborn and the conversion of all those who commit these evils. Commit to fasting every week to end the evils of abortion and contraception: "Some demons can only be driven out by prayer and fasting," said the Lord, and we have to take that admonition seriously if we are to effect any change in the hearts of our people or of our society. Fasting makes us more spiritual and gives greater efficacy to all our works and prayers. Take back the culture: Even if the anti-lifers hold the reins of political power, we must not sit back and allow moral anarchists to define all the terms of the cultural or social agenda. Whether it is through social activism for life (crisis pregnancy centers, pickets and prayer marches) or through touching hearts and minds one soul at a time (persuasion, formation, teaching, media), we cannot be neutral about the direction our American culture is heading. It is leading us to certain spiritual death, and no one can afford that. We need to fight for it and never give up the battle. I promise you that Human Life International will be in the struggle for lives and souls continuously. It is our calling and mission. We will never give one inch to uphold the truth that the whole world needs to hear more than ever: namely, that human life is sacred from the first moment of natural fertilization to the moment of natural death - and we will defend it whether Mr. Obama likes it or not. Sincerely, Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President, Human Life International JMJ+ ~Betsy Totus tuus Maria!

Rearranging

I was listening to an old Steubinville CD, there is one line in the song that says "though my life may be in need of some rearranging, you are always there, unchanging." I was thinking about rearranging a room, and how when you rearrange you take some stuff away, add some stuff and move some stuff around. Also when you rearrange, it's a lot of hard work to get it the way you want it and sometimes, particularly if you are doing it alone, you can get hurt. So, what does this mean for your life? It means that sometimes you are going to have to take things away in your life. You can't take something away without replacing it though, so one idea is to replace it with more in depth prayer, or more hanging out with family or good friends. Sometimes you just need to get your priorities straight and move things around in your life so you have the right outlook on things.
All of this rearranging is not easy, I know it's not, but it's even harder to do on your own and if you are trying to do this on your own with no outside support at all, odds are you are going to get hurt at some point. If you need to do some rearranging, I would so strongly encourage you to find someone to help you, because even though you can do all things through God, He did give us people for a reason and you just can't do it on your own.
I pray that you will be able to rearrange what ever you need to in your life and that God will give you His continued blessings everyday!

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

Passion

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

Rent Asunder

This is a poem by Justin Amyx. When I read this it sends shivers down my spine and I just can't stop thinking about it.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

Rent asunder,
From the inside out,
I here the unborn child shout,
“Save us from the knife of sin”,

Why do they have to plead,
For our mercy,
Why do they fear pain and insecurity,
They should have been safe,
But now the door is open,

The mother sits in a chair,
She dose nothing but stare,
Remembering how it felt,
As they ripped a part of her away,

Again and again,
She will feel the pain,
She will feel her loss,

The laughter that she should have heard,
Now echo’s in her mind,

Now the earth is dead and rent asunder,

Her sin increases 200 fold,
As others follow her into sin,
What have we done,

The monster that’s unleashed in that dark and lonely room,
Grows and grows,
Tearing this world apart,

Until the earth is dead and rent asunder,

The death toll rises into untold agony,
And now the is earth filled,
With the voices it will never hear,

The man that could have saved another,
Never lived to see this world,
And now they both are dead,

What have we done,
God forgive us,

The earth is dead and rent asunder,

If we delete the meaning of love,
Then love and life will fade away,
The more who join in this sin,
The more we will suffer,

No more to rescue us,
They died before their time,

Starting down a path,
Till the world burns in hells fire,
He has stolen our children,
He has stolen our future,

Don’t let Satan burn our world,
Don’t let him take our souls,
Our future or our children,

Oh God save us from,
A world that is dead and rent asunder.

Reflection on the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ +

I found this on Catholic Answers and thought is was very interesting. Enjoy!


JMJ+

~Betsy



Totus tuus Maria!



Reflection on the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ +

The agony in the garden was really the agony in His mind. He suffered the passion in His mind before He suffered it in His body—to the point of actually affecting the latter by sweating blood. But from then on, it was His bodily suffering that affected His mental suffering.

At the base of all His suffering was the one thing that human beings dread the most: rejection. He was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter and abandoned by all the rest of His Apostles; those He had hand picked as His closest intimates. He was most rejected by those who put Him to death. They not only wanted Him dead, they wanted Him to suffer. They not only considered Him to be worth nothing, they considered Him to be worth minus nothing! This significance was not lost on Him. He felt fully the rejection as each physical agony reminded Him.

So we thank Him for joining us on our human journey and actually choosing to experience what we fear the most.

We thank Him for enduring the arrest and the cruelty of the guards and the Sanhedrin. We thank Him for enduring the cruelty of Pilate who allowed Him to be executed rather than risk his own political ruin—and for the cruelty of Herod who wanted to be entertained by having Him work a miracle. We thank Him for all the time He spent satisfying their preoccupation with themselves, just delaying His ultimate death. We thank Him for the anxiety of that night in a cell.

The next morning He was brutally scourged with such intensity and violence that He became as an aged man in a matter of minutes. His multiple wounds bloodied His entire body. The loss of so much blood not only severely weakened Him; it also caused a severe, throbbing headache that remained with Him for the duration.

We thank Him for this and for the mockery He received when they put a purple cloth on His shoulders and pushed a crown of thorns down into His head which intensified His headache. They blindfolded Him and slapped Him, insisting that He ‘prophesy’ who had hit Him. They spat on Him and beat Him. But it was they who were blind. He knew who they were. This is what we do when we sin. We blot him out of our consciousness as if He can’t see us. But it is we who choose to not see.

He stood at the praetorium in utter disgrace according to the attitude of the crowd—while in reality, He stood in utter glory: almighty God, being present to every person who has ever suffered rejection, joining them in their
moment of pain. It was there that He was sentenced to death by crucifixion. As a further humiliation, He was forced to carry His instrument of execution. He revealed to St. Bernard that carrying the cross was His most painful agony. He was so weak, He could hardly walk. So the weight of the cross on His shoulder was unbearable. It most likely dislocated His shoulder. It is not surprising that He fell down on the stone streets that were filthy with animal dung—with the cross on top of Him. And He got up each time.

It was only with the help of Simon of Cyrene that He made it to the top of Calvary. There they drove the nails into the carpal tunnels of His hands, causing pain throughout His upper body. The nail in His feet registered great pain through all the sensitive nerves there. When the cross was righted, His up-stretched arms squeezed His lungs and He began to pant for lack of oxygen. So He had to push down on His crucified feet to push His body up in order to fill His lungs with air. This took great effort because He was so weak. Yet He managed to maintain such effort for three hours of agony which increased gradually as He became weaker moment by moment.

By the end of the third hour, His agony was at its peak and His self-gift was exquisite. He had come to the point where His strength simply gave out and He suffocated. In this eternal moment as He died, He gave us His life. Transcending time, this moment of divine love is present to us in the tabernacles of the world.

Thank you, Lord. We adore you O Christ and we praise you. By your holy cross, you have redeemed the world!

Off Beat Friday from the American Papist.

For generations, fish knew their rightful place in God's creation because faithful Catholics observed the tradition of eating them en masse every Friday.

Sure, the idea was to offer up the pleasures of eating meat as a penance one day out of the week, but frankly, those faithful Catholics still ate mammals six days out of the week.

So really, there could be no doubt in those tasty farmyard minds about who was the boss. I mean, have you ever witnessed a cow or pig try to attack someone? Of course not! Except maybe that one time (on a Friday - surprise, surprise).

Anyway, fast-forward to 40 or so years after Vatican II, and it's clear that fish have forgotten our deal. The new generation of fishes, in fact, are now systematically, actively "testing the waters" to see if the time is ripe to have their turn at the top of the food chain.

Luckily, so far their attempts have been unsuccessful.

This week a 24-foot basking shark washed ashore on Long Island beach. Now of course naysayers will point out that the basking shark is harmless, has no teeth, and feeds primarily on plankton. Well, it also has a mouth big enough to swallow your little sister in one gulp. I'm just saying, I wouldn't let a basking shark into my little sister's swimming pool.

Unfortunate navigation error, or calculated reconnaissance mission?

Earlier this week, on the opposite coast, dozens of Jumbo Humbolt Squid washed up minutes after a 4.0 earthquake hit off the coast of La Jolla, California.

... sure people, earthquakes, like God never uses those to get a message across!

Before Vatican II, this squid would never have been allowed to grow bigger than sushi-roll size.

The local reporter in the case above was only too eager to leave the story high and dry:

"For now there are more questions than answers; did the earthquake cause the squid to wash up or was it simply a coincidence?"

Sure, give in to the dictatorship of relativism. Don't quit your Friday Lamb Kabob habit. Keep smugly visiting Sea World to watch dozens of eligible dinners wiggle around behind the Plexiglas unharmed and carefree.

Not surprisingly, the most disturbing case of underwater-based aggression to date has occurred in Europe, which is especially guilty of ignoring the admonition of the Church to eat fish on Fridays:

"Police divers have ended the reign of terror of a huge fish that was attacking swimmers in a Swiss lake.

The zander, which was 70 centimetres (two feet three inches) long and weighed eight kilos (17.5 pounds), was harpooned on Sunday after it bit six swimmers over the weekend, fish warden Fabio Croci told local media."

In other words, after biting six swimmers (presumably one each day), the fish rested from its nibbling on the seventh day, and was finally killed on that Sunday. Apparently even Zander fish have standards. So just what does that say about us? If the Zander fish had been eaten on Friday ... some Swiss kid would have kept on to his pinky finger on Saturday.

My recommendation: bring an oven along with you on the boat. It just saves time.

In fairness, I was relieved to find out, upon reading the story of the Zander fish's reign-of-terror more closely, that its delectable remains were "served up to tourists at the lake." As the saying goes, an eaten fish is a happy fish.

After hearing about these examples of modern icthyan aggression, I think it should be very clear to all informed readers why we, as a community and a Church, need to make the serious effort of continuing the venerable tradition of consuming our scaly arch-enemies with reckless abandon every Friday.

After all, it's supposed to sound like "Fry-Day" for a reason.

If this fish were still alive, it would be asking you to eat it.

Imagine the potential.

JMJ+

~Betsy



Totus tuus Maria!

Sisters of Life.

Just for fun, I was perusing the Sisters of Life website, and I found these two quotes.

"The process of formation and development in the religious life has to be the process of the clay in the hands of the potter, the Divine Potter, Who shapes us uniquely to be filled with His Son, and yet each of us in a different way... If God wanted every religious to be exactly alike, then God would have created every human being exactly alike."
- John Cardinal O'Connor


Like a precious jewel that, when turned in different directions under the light of the sun, seems to take on new hues and strikingly different shades of beauty, so, too, each Sister, uniquely made in the image of God, gives a different gift, a new shade of beauty, when seen in the light of the Son.

These struck me because I have been feeling lately that my vocation story is not normal, I guess. When I read these quotes I realized that it's true, my vocation story isn't normal because I'm not like anyone else! This is true not only with religious life, but with every walk of like. There is NO ONE in the world who has your story. You are very unique and have your very own life story. I hope and pray that you use your unique life story to do some good in the world.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

Sunday's second reading.

2 Cor 12:7-10
Brothers and sisters:

That I, Paul, might not become too elated,
because of the abundance of the revelations,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness."
I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults,
hardships, persecutions, and constraints,
for the sake of Christ;
for when I am weak, then I am strong.

I've known since I was twelve that I'm going to be a nun. It came to my attention lately that I don't really fit in anywhere because I'm not thinking about or concerned with what most seventeen year old girls are thinking about or concerned with. It has been very hard for me to deal with. On Sunday the bold really stuck with me and I was thinking about how counter cultural the concept of being strongest when you are weak is. This started me thinking about how counter cultural being a nun is. I don't really know what I'm trying to say with this but I guess I want to encourage you all to keep going even though it's hard being so counter cultural.

JMJ+

~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

suffering.

If you haven't noticed, I tend to go through spurts of blogging. So don't be surprised if you come here and I haven't posted in a long time. I'm trying to get better at updating more often but I'm very busy with school and life.

Here's some things that God gave me. It has taught me a lot about suffering and why it happens and how to deal with it, Etc Etc.

Psalms 31:24 and 16:1

Love Your Cross

No matter what you're going through, no matter what crosses you bear. He is always with you, He is always there.

Through all the heartache and all the pain, through all the suffering there is gain.

Even if you can't see hope, even if all seems as night, He is always with you there is always light.

Rainy Days

Sometimes all you feel is pain and you just can't find the sun, but the only way you can have a rainbow is if you have the rain.

Sometimes rain is refreshing and sweet, sometimes it only brings destruction, but it always helps you grow and helps you not be beat.

Because if you never go through hard stuff and life is always easy, then you never will learn how to be strong and to be tough.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

Life

Life has been really busy lately, I know I always say that and I don't think it's going to change any time soon. Tomorrow we are performing a piece with Concert band, then on Saturday I have Seniors prom, (65 and over Seniors not Seniors in high school) then on Monday is my band concert then on Friday we are playing at the Noah Webster graduation. Then on Saturday we are playing at Teen Works graduation but I'm missing it because I have a wedding to go to. YIKES!!!
Slave and Hymn and Fantasia, We have so much music, it's INSANE!! My favorite pieces are Music for Royal Fireworks, Marche Slave and Hymn and Fantasia, variations on All Creatures of Our God and King.




JMJ+

~Betsy



Christ is risen from the dead, by death He conquered death and to those in the graves He granted life!

It's been a long time...

Sorry it's been so long, I got kind of distracted by being here. Also John and Lisa have a limited amount of internet space so I havn't even been on the internet that much.

I am having an amazing time here and am super sad that I have to leave, yet at the same time I can't wait to get home. It's a very strange feeling. Today Lisa made apple (apfel in German) strudal for dessert. It was so super good! Then Katie and I went to Akathist, which is a hymn to Mary likened to the Rosary except it is much more public where as the Rosary is more pravite. It was so beautiful and truly indiscribable, one really cool thing was that they had blue and gold stoles on!
On Saturday we went to Vienna, there is a huge open air market there called the Nashmarkt and there's a bunch of Kebop stands. That's what John and I had, Katie and Lisa had Chinese and Maria had a doughnut. They were one of the best things I've ever tasted. YUM! We also went to Schonbrunn, which was the summer palace of the Hapzburg family. In the back yard there is this huge garden and we sat at a fountian and ate bread with a garlic cheese spread and drank wine out of the bottle...I felt so Europen, even though you would never see a Europen doing that. We also gave the ducks butterkak, Maria loved that! She also spent a good part of the time chasing the ducks and other birds around the fountian. All in all I have had an AMAZING month here but can't wait to be home and tell everyone about it.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Christ is risen from the dead, by death He conquered death and to those in the graves He granted life.

Oops!

I don't know why it posted that twice... oh well.

Good Friday thoughts

On Good Friday we did the stations of the cross up the side of a mountain. It is very steep and slipery because a lot of it was covered with leaves still. I noticed that when it was covered in leaves it was much harder and much easier to lose your footing, but if there wasn't any leaves it was easy. God showed me that this is a lot like my life. If I can see where I am going then I can trust Him, but if I can't see the path then it is very hard to move forward. Also it got much harder right before the stations and this showed me that it will always get harder before you get a break. I hope you have all had a blessed Triduum and Easter Sunday and may your whole Easter season be happy and blessed.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Divine Mercy Chaplet

TIGERS WON YESTERDAY!!

5 to 1 and we got all our runs on homers! WAHOOO!!!!!

On a more spiritual note, I thought this was very interesting.

Divine Mercy
Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
The Sunday after Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday.You have likely seen the picture of Jesus standing with his hand pointed to his heart, from which red and pale rays emanate. The words "Jesus, I trust in you" are at the bottom. This image represents the devotion to Divine Mercy, based on revelations given to St. Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938). The image itself was revealed to her, as was the "Chaplet of Divine Mercy," in which we pray the following words:"Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world."Many of the faithful, especially in the pro-life movement, practice this devotion. Indeed, the link between this devotion and abortion is established by St. Faustina herself and recorded in her "Diary." Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, MIC, who was a principal translator of St. Faustina's diary, and the postulator of her cause of canonization, writes the following: "On at least three occasions, from 8:00-11:00 in the evening, she felt like her insides were being torn apart. She suffered so much that she thought she was going to die. The doctors couldn't figure out what was ailing her, and no medication was able to alleviate her sufferings. Later, she was given to understand that she was undergoing those pains for mothers who were aborting their children (Diary, 1276)."On another occasion, she had a vision of an angel coming with thunderbolts to destroy one of the most beautiful cities of her country. And she felt powerless to do anything about it (Diary, 474). What antidote did the Lord give her? The Chaplet of Divine Mercy. [She explained] that the city was to be chastised for its sins, primarily the sin of abortion." ("Wombs of Mercy," Marian Helpers Bulletin, Summer 1995, p.13).Pope John Paul II personally emphasized this connection in 2003 when he signed a special Papal Blessing for those who pray the Chaplet for an end to abortion. The blessing, signed on the Feast of the Annunciation, is addressed to the Eucharistic Apostles of the Divine Mercy and to "all the faithful worldwide who join them in offering the Divine Mercy Chaplet…for mothers, that they not abort their offspring; for infants in danger of being put to death in the womb; for a change of heart of providers of abortions and of their collaborators; for human victims of stem cell research, genetic manipulation, cloning and euthanasia; and for all entrusted with the government of peoples, that they may promote the Culture of Life, so as to put an end to the culture of death."The world needs mercy. As Chairman of Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries, I see that mercy being poured out each day on thousands of men and women worldwide who have lost children to abortion. Let’s pray in these days especially for them.

Baseball and Salzburg.

LET'S GGGOOOO TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Opening day is underway! I'm very excited! Which is why I'm up at one in the morning...=)
On Saturday we went up to Salzburg for the weekend, absolutely beautiful! Katie and I went up to the castle and took a tour, which has a very gorgeous view of the city and the Danube river. We also went in the Cathedral that Mozart was baptized in and where he was the church musician for two years. It is the most beautiful church I have ever been in. Of course I also saw the fountain from Sound of Music. (Blue Jays just got a two nothing lead...=( ) In the gardens there is a dwarf park, a little garden with a lot of statues of dwarfs. When John and Lisa were in Salzburg last year Maria loved them, but this year she was very scared of them, it was very cute. Four nothing...MAN! Come on Justin...

JMJ+
~Betsy

Austria

Yesterday was my first full day in Gaming. I climbed up a mountain, had pretzels and beer for lunch and went to my first divine liturgy. It was an amazing day! I love it here. I will try and keep you updated but there is a limited amount of internet here so I may not be on very often.

JMJ+
~Betsy

WOW!

Prayer Request

Please keep my friend Lidia and her family in your prayers as her mom just passed away today.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Be careful what you eat

I noticed at the very end of this song they say "so remember it's your body and the only one you've got"
I started thinking about how easy it now is to replace body parts and it made me kind of sad because God only gave you one body because He expects you to take care of it. When you don't take care of it, it can cause problems. This applies to more then just your body. No matter WHAT God gives you, and I'm sure no matter how hard and bad your life is you can find at least one thing God gave you, you need to respect it and acknowledge it, and THANK GOD for it.

So please be thankful for everything and don't take ANYTHING for granted because you never know when it will be gone.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Why I am SO thankful that I am homeschooled!

WOW! This is awful! I can't even find the words to express the sadness I feel for my peers who are in today's educational environment

According to this post at Dana Radio, one of the blogs of Dana Loesch, the image above is just one page of a Prom invitation issued at John Burroughs High School, a well-known private high school in the Saint Louis area (I believe). The link has two other images from the invitation, but I will not post them here, as one is a satanic pentagram and the other is a sleazily dressed woman with the caption "lust".

May I suggest that any homeschooler who hears carping from friends and relatives print out this invitation as an easy way to answer the question, "Aren't you worried about their socialization?"
JMJ+
~Betsy

Update

I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a month! I have been super busy. I have to go do school but I will try very hard to post again when I get home. A quick update on my life. I helped plan a retreat that was this past weekend, it went very well, even though I had a solo at Mass that I was not expecting...YIKES! Then on Tuesday I babysat all day, I earned 35 dollars which is already gone. >=( Then on Wednesday I found out that this Sunday is my planning committees youth group meeting so yesterday I had to plan that, then I had to meet with Beth so we could do the things we should have done on Wednesday. Plus I have a Chem test on Monday. Also there is a bunch of stuff I have to do before I leave for the month! Tomorrow I have a Committee meeting(no it's a different committee!) all morning then when I get back from that we are going to Detroit to visit family. So that's why I have not posted in a long time! Life should get back to normal for a bit soon and I will be on here more.

My thoughts on the first few chapters of John's Gospel

So my dad and I are reading the Gospel of John together. Here are my thoughts on the first few chapters.

John 1:1-18
Vs 5 The darkness has not overcome it.
There is hope in Him no matter how dark the world gets.

Vs 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light.
We have to let out light shine in the world.

Vs 10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him; yet the world did not know Him.
Sometimes it is really hard to see God in the world.

Vs 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or the will of man, but of God.
I am a child of God.

Vss 19 - 29. They challenged Jesus for His actions, we should expect the same.

Vs 37 The two disciples heard him say this and the fallowed Jesus.
By John's voice they found Jesus, am I doing the same with my voice?

vs 46 Nathanael said to him "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said "Come and see."
Do I need to see to believe or do I just believe?

More to come soon.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Obama has a Miraculous medal??

Check out Fr Z's blog wdtprs.com/blog/2009/01/check-this-out
Apparently Obama has a Miraculous medal among the things he carries for "good luck". Hmmm interesting. That fully confirms the feeling I have had about praying for his conversion. Please pray for him and his soul, and keep interceding to Mary.

JMJ+
~Betsy

The Imitation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

This passage is taken from "The Imitation of the Sacred Heart of
Jesus," published by TAN Books & Publishers.

The name of the yahoo group it comes from is:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SacredHeartDevotional/

Blessings,
Gemma

--- In SacredHeartDevotional@yahoogroups.com,

Sue Burton wrote:

The Voice of the Heart of Jesus: Woe to the world, My Child: woe to
the
heart that clings to its allurements and its vanities. It is not
enough
to cast Satan out of your heart, you must also expel the world. If
you
inwardly cherish the world, whatever else you may do wholly to amend
yourself, shall be of little help to you. For the world will
continue to
infect your heart, will doubtless pervert and finally betray you into
the power of the demon.

What is the world except an inordinate or perverse love of pleasure,
riches, honours; whereby its votaries are themselves corrupted and
corrupt others? If you desire to know what you ought to think of the
world, consider what I Myself have judged of it. Behold! I passed
through life doing good to all; I loved the enemies that persecuted
Me;
when fastened to the Cross, I prayed for those that crucified Me; but
for the world I prayed not. The world is of the devil, is wholly
placed
in wickedness, and cannot possess My Spirit; even as falsehood
cannot be
truth, as corruption cannot be purity.

The world is itself a proof, not only of the undeniable existence -
but
even of the necessity of a hell. What can there be in common between
the
world and My Heart, since the world either openly or secretly,
favours
every vice; while My Heart breaths nothing, except what is holy? The
world in league with Satan, its prince seeks for souls to destroy
them
forever; My Heart longs to save them all. You cannot therefore, serve
the world and Me: for, if you are the friend of the world, you become
the enemy of My Heart.

If you are a Votary of the world, you will perish with the world:
but if
you follow My Heart, you will go into life everlasting. If you drive
the
world and the maxims of the world from your heart, so as to offer it
wholly to Me, the offering will be pleasing and honourable to Me, and
the full of glory and merit to yourself. The Angels and the Saints
will
applaud the deed, and the world itself shall be compelled to admire
the
lofty heroism of your mind. Blessed is he My Child, who withdraws his
affections from the things of the world and consecrates them to Me
alone!

What do you find in the world on account of which you would love it?
Behold! all that is in the world, is the desire of the flesh, the
lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life. And at the end of all these is
death
and hell. If then you love the world, or the things which are of the
world, you take into your embrace everlasting perdition. What good
has
the world done to you that you would devote your affections to it? It
has done and never will do you anything but evil. How then can you
give
your heart to it? Trust not My Child, the smiles and blandishments of
the world; they show only a covert desire to deceive and destroy you.
But hearken to the invitations of My Heart, that longs to save you
from
everlasting misfortunes which the world is preparing for you.

If you do not forsake the world, the world will forsake you, when you
are spent and worn out in its service. It will lavish and mock at
your
destruction; and when you stand most in need of help, you shall be
alone
and powerless. Think frequently which of the two, when you about to
go
into eternity, you shall rather wish to have followed, the world or
Me.
Do freely, therefore and meritoriously now, what without merit you
shall
be forced to do then. Apply yourself to withdraw your heart of the
love
of earthly things; and by a complete disengagement from it, to
triumph
over the world! Have confidence My Child, I have overcome the world:
if
you are willing, you also can vanquish it. So soon as you shall have
conquered, I will give you a most delightful place in My Heart.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Sorry.

Sorry it's been so long, My parents have been gone for the month in Europe and the place I've been staying did not have the internet so... I will really post when I get home tomorrow!

JMJ+
~Betsy

What to wear?