Happy Valentines Day! R.I.P.

My beloved Father went home to the Lord 24 years ago today. May he be in Heaven these many years watching over us all. I miss you still. You will always be my "Hero."

May you rest in the company of the saints,
and your sons and daughters with them.

Leaba imeasc na naomh go raibh acu
agus ag an chlann mac is iníon atá leo.

Happy Candlemas Day!

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow...So he thinks there is six more weeks of winter. Phooey on him.

It is a bright and beautiful day here...OH! Dear!

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright
Winter will have another fight.
If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain,
Winter won't come again.

If Candlemas Day be dry and fair,
The half o the winter's to come and mair;
If Candlemas Day be wet and foul,
The half o the winter's gane at Yule.


That means 6 more weeks of winter too. But then, spring shall come again, when the Good Lord decides it will.

Meantime...Happy Candlemas day! Don't forget to light a candle and have a blessed day.

We Have Lost a Giant: Richard John Neuhaus R.I.P.

Droll of wit, upright of character, lover of Christ.

Full Story Here

As First Things Editor Joseph Bottum wrote: “My tears are not for him—for he knew, all his life, that his Redeemer lives, and he has now been gathered by the Lord in whom he trusted. I weep, rather for all the rest of us.”

Our loss is truly great for a truly great champion of freedom, justice, and life has passed. His work as public intellectual was summed up thus by John Podhoretz editor of COMMENTARY:

Richard John Neuhaus, perhaps the most important and influential religious intellectual in the United States since the passing of Reinhold Niebuhr, died last night. A Canadian by birth, he was a Lutheran pastor who came to the United States and served as the minister of a congregation in a poor Brooklyn neighborhood. A liberal in the model of Niebuhr, Neuhaus found himself migrating rightward once the Supreme Court inaugurated the age of abortion on demand with the Roe v. Wade decision in 1972. In 1984, he wrote the book for which he will be remembered, The Naked Public Square — a concise masterpiece about the role of religion in a democracy and the danger posed to a democratic society in the notion that public life should be effectively atheistic.

January 1, 2009 - Feast of the Mother of God

John Paul II's homily for 2002, reminds me that in this New Year of 2009, which finds the whole world in financial crisis, wars and uncertainty...we must not despair. God is with us, and His Mother teaches us to trust in Him, even though we live in very uncertain times. Let us all honor our Mother, and trust that God knows our every need. Let us trust Him, as Mary trusted Him.




SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD
XXXV WORLD DAY OF PEACE

HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II

Tuesday, 1 January 2002



1. "Hail, holy Mother! The Child to whom you gave birth is the King of heaven and earth for ever" (cf. Entrance Antiphon).

With this ancient greeting, today, the eighth day of the Octave of Christmas and the first of the year 2002, the Church greets the Blessed Virgin Mary, invoking her as Mother of God.

In her the eternal Son of the Father took our very flesh and through Her became "son of David and son of Abraham" (Mt 1,1). Thus Mary is his true Mother: the Theotokos, Mother of God!

If Jesus is Life, Mary is the Mother of Life.
If Jesus is Hope, Mary is the Mother of Hope.
If Jesus is Peace, Mary is the Mother of Peace, Mother of the Prince of Peace.

Entering the new year, let us ask this holy Mother to bless us. Let us ask Her to give us Jesus, our full Blessing, in whom the Father blessed all history once and for all, making it become the history of salvation.

2. Hail, holy Mother! I have placed The World Day of Peace under Mary's motherly gaze. Let us reflect on peace in this climate of widespread anxiety on account of the recent tragic events that have shaken the world. But although it may seem humanly difficult to look to the future with optimism, we must not give in to the temptation to despair. On the contrary, we must work for peace courageously, certain that evil will not prevail.

The light and hope for this commitment come to us from Christ. The Child born in Bethlehem is the eternal Word of the Father who became flesh for our salvation, he is "God-with-us", who brings with him the secret of true peace. He is the Prince of Peace.

3. With these sentiments, I respectfully greet the distinguished Ambassadors to the Holy See who have wished to take part in this solemn celebration. I warmly greet the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal François Nguyên Van Thuân, and all who work with him, thanking them for all they do to spread my annual Message for the World Day of Peace, whose theme this year is: "No peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness".

Justice and forgiveness: these are the two "pillars" of peace, and I wanted to draw attention to them both. Between justice and forgiveness there is not opposition but complementarity, because both are essential for promoting peace. Indeed, far more than a temporary ceasefire, this is the deep healing of the wounds that weary souls (cf. Message, n. 3). Only forgiveness can quench the thirst for revenge and open hearts to an authentic and lasting reconciliation among peoples.

4. Today we turn our gaze to the Child whom Mary holds in her arms. In Him we recognize the One in whom mercy and truth meet, justice and peace embrace (cf. Ps 84,11). In Him we adore the true Messiah, in whom, for our salvation, God joined together truth and mercy, justice and forgiveness.

In God's name I renew my heartfelt appeal to all, believers and non-believers, so that the two words, "justice and peace" may always be impressed upon relations between individuals, social groups and peoples.

This appeal is first and foremost for those who believe in God, in particular for the great "Abrahamic religions": Judaism, Christianity and Islam, called to declare their firm and decisive rejection of violence. No one, for any reason, can kill in the name of God, who is one and merciful. God is life and the source of life. To believe in Him means to witness to His mercy and forgiveness, rejecting the exploitation of his holy Name.

An agonizing cry for peace is being raised from various parts of the world; it is rising particularly from the Land which God blessed with his Covenant and his Incarnation and for this reason is called "Holy". "The voice of your brother's blood" cries out to God from that land (cf. Gn 4,10); the blood of brothers poured out by brothers who hark back to the same Patriarch Abraham; sons, like every human being, of the same heavenly Father.

5. "Salve, Madre santa"! Virgin Daughter of Zion, how deeply must your Mother's heart suffer for this bloodshed!

The Child you embrace has a name that is dear to the peoples of biblical religion: "Jesus", which means "God saves". So the Archangel named him before he was conceived in your womb (cf. Lk 2,21). In the face of the newborn Messiah, we recognize the face of all your children, who suffer from being despised and exploited. We recognize especially the faces of your children, to whatever race, nation or culture they may belong.

For them, O Mary, for their future, we ask you to move hearts hardened by hatred so that they may open to love and so that revenge may finally give way to forgiveness.

Obtain for us, O Mother, that the truth of this affirmation - No peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness - be engraved on every heart. Thus the human family will be able to find the true peace, that flows from the union of justice and mercy.

Holy Mother, Mother of the Prince of Peace, help us!
Mother of Humanity and Queen of Peace, pray for us!

O' Holy Night! Cause of our Joy!

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

One fine spring day, a few years ago, I was running an errand for my daughter. She had asked me to pick up some plants from a local nursery/statuary yard that the owner, had offered to give her for her window boxes.
I have had a Mary Garden for years and love to browse statuary whenever I see some, but on that particular day, I was totally engrossed in just hurrying over there, retrieving the pro-offered plants and getting back home to my own spring planting. At the time my small patio garden had all the statuary I thought it needed. I certainly had no plans to explore the nurseries large selection. Well, as they say, the best laid plans are easily undone and for me especially when Our Lady is involved.

As I pulled up in the parking lot, my eye spotted the biggest and most gorgeous,” Our Lady of Guadalupe “statue I had ever seen. Naturally, I made a quick detour into the statuary yard to look at it. Inspecting it up close, it quickly became an “I must have it urge.” The strange thing was that it had no price or sign on it like all the others in the yard. But I quickly became convinced by perusing the prices of other statues in the yard that this was a high end statuary business, and my tiny budget would never stretch to buy it even if I could think of a place to put it.

Sighing with longing, I pressed a kiss to the hands of the Statue and chuckled a quick response saying; “Well, my beautiful Lady, I hope you find a very beautiful Garden and someone to love you as much as I do. With that, I went on into the nursery office to retrieve the plants my daughter had sent me for. The only employee around turned out to be the woman I was suppose to see for the plants. While she went to retrieve them for me, I browsed the little nic nac’s they had inside the office, just killing time. As soon as she returned from the back office, my plan was to thank her and hurry on my way.

Again, those best laid plans got way laid as the woman was so nice and I just had to ask her how much the Statue of “Our Lady of Guadalupe” was. She looked very puzzled at my question and said: “What Statue is that.” I pointed out the window to the Statue and she laughed and said;”OH! Is that what it is called? We received it by mistake and had no idea what it was called. It’s too big and heavy to return so we just decided to keep it and sell it. The Price is $400. “

Well worth it, I responded. I told her that I was sure someone will really love to have that one as it is extra special, especially in these times of so much confusion concerning the alarming abortion rate this country is in. So many women who feel overwhelmed and confused when facing an unplanned pregnancy don’t realize that the life of an unborn child is very precious to God. God loves those poor mothers so much, and Our Lady of Guadalupe is a wonderful devotion which symbolizes Gods love and mercy for woman and children, especially those who make the mistake of aborting their children, thinking it will solve the problems they face.

In the blink of an eye, the woman’s face dropped and tears began to flow. She sobbed so hard that I put my arms around her. She then began to tell me her story. She shook as she explained that she had aborted her baby boy, just a few months earlier and felt so guilty and ashamed of her decision. She asked me over and over, if I thought God would ever forgive her. Cradling her in my arms, I assured her that indeed, God could and does forgive her. I told her the story of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe and how Mary’s message was still relevant today. God knew from all eternity, abortion would destroy many lives, but that those little lives are not really lost. The babies are safe in His arms, and the Mothers are precious to Him too. Mistakes are made by all of us, especially in difficult situations. God does not hate the sinner. They are His children. He hates the sin because of the damage it does to His creation.

As she calmed down and listened, I gently took her hand and said; “Have you named your little boy?” She replied, yes, I think of him as Matthew. Then I told her about Project Rachael and promised to get her all the information on it.

The next afternoon,I returned with the information I had promised her. Of course I prayed many prayers before that, asking Our Lady to comfort the woman and help her get the healing she needed. When I walked into the office she rushed toward me and exclaimed; “I can’t thank you enough for listening to me. I had my first restful night in many months. I dreamed of my baby and OH! He is so beautiful and happy. I dreamed he said “I forgive you Mommy and so does God Our Father.”

After giving her the information and a few words of encouragement, I turned to leave promising to remember her in my prayers. And as I was leaving she said; “You know, that statue didn’t cost us anything because the supplier sent it by mistake and didn’t want to pay the return shipping charges. Would you like to have it?

All these years later, that statue is my favorite one in my Mary Garden. Over the years, it has been a source of conversation for visitors and even workmen working on my house. Sure enough, Our Lady keeps mending souls. The men and the woman who have ventured through my garden, are drawn to her, and in conversation, many of them have told of the pain they have suffered from having had abortions or their wife or girlfriend aborting their child. And they all seem to name their aborted children Matthew or Mary. Our Lady never stops pleading for her children.

Just as a Postscript: Our Lady comforts me also. The above picture of my statue was taken last winter, December 13th, which is the anniversary of my beloved husbands death. Roses blooming in ice and snow, are no problem for her either. Our Lady of Guadalupe continues to call us all to conversion and healing. Today, may we all go to Our Mother, for comfort and grace in all the situations we find difficult. Our Mother will always listen and give us the grace we need, no matter how difficult the situation may seem. Happy Feast day Mama Mary!

Karina Fabians book - Infinite Space Infinite God

As a member of the Catholic Writers Guild, I have been blessed to meet and become friends with many wonderful Catholic writers.

If you thought religion is boring to read about...Think again. First review for your reading pleasure is by my friend Karina and her husband Rob, Infinite Space, Infinite God is a thrilling science Fiction read and fully Catholic too. If you like SF this is a winner and a must read.



Infinite Space, Infinite God


Karina and Robert Fabian, editors

Is that religion in my science fiction or science fiction in my religion? The writers of the Catholic SF anthology Infinite Space, Infinite God have seamlessly combined the two. The fifteen stories of the Catholic Church meeting challenges from genetic engineering to time travel both entertain and make you think.

* Meet genetically engineered chimeras and aliens who wonder what a human religion holds for them.

* Share the doubts, trials and triumphs of humans who find their journeys in time and space are also journeys in faith.

* Experience spine-tingling adventure.

* Marvel at technological miracles--and miracles that transcend technology.

* Meet the writers who made a leap of faith and dared to incorporate familiar religion with fantastic universes.