St. Paul has been my favorite saint since I was a child. I remember hearing the story of his life and his persecution of Christians. God intervened and, after his conversion, St. Paul became one of the most influential missionaries of the early church. His conversion inspires me because, no matter what our sin is, God offers us forgiveness and redemption. He is alway there for us.
My favorite saint is St. Rita! She always seems to be a kind intercessor. St. Rita lived, I believe, in the late 14th century and wanted to be a nun as a young girl. Her parents, however, arranged a marriage for her with a man who was abusive to her and their children. She prayed for him constantly. He was stabbed by enemies of his and repented before passing away. Rita then became a nun. Lots more to the story but suffice it to say St. Rita is one of my most favorite saints!
I’d like to introduce you to a wonderful priest and his website, Fr. Robert Barron – http://www.wordonfire.org. I spend alot of time on Fr. Robert’s website (and blog) because he is extremely knowledgeable on many levels and is clear headed and extremely well spoken. He speaks on topics that are interesting and informative and he does so in a very welcoming and non-judgemental way. I always leave his site feeling more inspired and uplifted. I hope you take some time and get to know Fr.Robert too!
This YouTube is about the classic song All Along the Watchtower and the connection to the Book of Isaiah!
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=wordonfirevideo#p/search/0/L0Tckg686L4
Father Barron reviews new move… Rise of the Planet of the Apes
School began today! It was so great to see all of the children waiting at the bus stops this morning, the older ones standing alone, the little ones with mom or dad. The busses were running…I know, I was behind one! Let’s keep all of these children, their families and their teachers in our prayers. They’re off to a great start!
My favorite saint? St. Monica, of course! There are so many others that I love, but St. Monica has been special to me since I was a little girl – and that was a long time ago! It is believed that St. Monica, through her love, prayers and tears brought about the conversion of her son – the wonderful St. Augustine. Let’s hear it for the prayers of mothers!!!
http://www.loyolapress.com/roman-missal-changes-webinar.htm
As I am sure you know there are changes in the offing for the Mass ..if you would like to listen to 3 webinars by Joseph Paprocki of the Jesuit Loyola Press in Chicago on these upcoming changes … click onthe link or copy and paste the url into your browser and enjoy. Mr Paprocki gives a good overview of what to expect this coming Advent.
I recently took a cross country trip on my motorcycle. One afternoon while traveling through the great state of Wyoming, I saw the longest train I have ever seen. It was a coal train and it went on as far as the eye could see… so I took a video of it and here it is!
Today is one of my favorite saint’s day … St. John Vianney… I had no idea who St. John Vianney (SJV) was when I entered the seminary back in 1990, but boy did I find out fast!
SJV was a 19th century priest from the village of Ars in France. He was known as the Cure Ars. He was a very holy and spiritual man and it is told that he used to hear confessions for 12-15 hours a day. He was so gifted in understanding and guiding the penitents that people used to come from all over to celebrate the sacrament with him.
Why was he part of the seminary experiecne so early on in my formation and many other prospective priests? Because he was a struggling student in the seminary and he almost was not ordained to the priesthood because of it.
When a seminarian is struggling with academics and the work load in the seminary and wondering if they are actually cut out for the ministry, good ole’ Saint John Mary Vianney is often mentioned and the student is reminded that he is not studying to be a seminarian but a holy priest of God. That is a calling from God and the seminary is the means to ordination not the ends. So work hard, do the best you can and make sure that the spiritual part of formation receives the necessary attention because ultimately that is where the true service to the Lord is nurtured.
So, thank you St. John Vianney and Happy Feast Day!
Our new site is officially up and running and we would like to hear your comments and suggestions.
Generally, our goal is to allow the site to reflect the tempo of the parish by updating the photos, calendar events and spiritual rhythm of the community. We also want to offer spiritual tools that will help feed your faith each time you visit our site, We intend to keep our Christian Music library current while maintaining a copious archive of past offerings.
This Church Chat room is intended to reflect other social media in that it allows the member to bring topics and questions to the room for consideration and comment. It is envisioned as light and joyful; spiritually uplifting and inspirational. We can save the heavier lifting for specific topical categories.So as we begin this new cyber journey together please feel free to “chime in” and let us know what your thinking.
I’d like to thank our web designer, Chuck Scott, owner/creator of the Avanti Group, who has worked very hard on this new site. Last year we commissioned Chuck to make our site state of the art, cutting edge and user friendly. I think we would agree that we are certainly moving in the right direction. “KUDOS” to you Chuck! Keep up the good work.
So, come on in… take a look around… kick the tires … look under the hood… let us know what you think.
Fr Chip
Andrea Woronick, and 
Chuck Scott 10:16 AM on August 31, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I’ll second that for the prayers of mothers … mothers make the world go around – literally … which reminds me of some Native American cultures that used to have (maybe they still do) the Council of Grandmothers and that council had the final say with regards to going to war or not … so if in the Long House the men voted to go to war, they would then have to get the nod to go ahead from the Council of Grandmothers … the thinking apparently was that only women know the pain and miracle of giving birth thus only those who know such should be the ones then that permit the course of actions to take lives born of other mothers … too bad the Beltway doesn’t have a corresponding honored Council but i digresss
Andrea Woronick 8:01 PM on August 31, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
What a wise man to recognize the wisdom of women
)! You go Chuck! By the way…St. Joseph is way up there on my list as well!