The Grotto

Oh wow. We went on an amazing trip to the Grotto last weekend as we are getting ready for Beps' first communion.. Seriously, it was breathtaking. If it were in a little town in Spain or Italy, I'd fly there just to go. Beps wants to live there. Check out some pictures of our trip on my "professional" blog. http://allsaintscgs.blogspot.com/.

Since there are other kids in all of the pictures with Beps, I'd better not publish them.. So here is what Madden looked like when we got home!



And, just because Ann asked so nicely, here are some other ones...

I'm pretty sure Matt cried "uncle" during this one. I was very disappointed as I am pretty sure dad could whip all 5 of us when we were in high school.


I can't even remember what they were doing here, but Leah cracked me up in the corner, reading a book.

In this one, Leah is on his lap while he is trying to work.. It's a little old as Matt has axed the beard, but they look so alike with the matching reds.. :)

God Bless! ~M

Year FOR Priests

Another post that I wrote for the bulletin... I DO write every week, just not always HERE. I promise to do better! Love, M

I had an eye opening conversation with a very holy priest friend last week. We were discussing the Year for Priests as a key component to a rebirth in the Church: Without holy priests, the Church cannot flourish. My friend especially pointed out that Pope Benedict XVI, a champion for the holy priesthood as intended by Jesus Christ, is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to spiritual battles that must be fought in our age. It isn't surprising then that he is coming under such scrutiny and attack in order to distract from his message. This man by all honest accounts has been the champion of the defenseless and abused ever since the gravity of the scandals has come to light. He has called for this Year for Priests to awaken the faithful to the need for support and prayer for our current priests and for those who have not yet discerned their vocation.

The Devil is no fool, and if you wish to find out what is most holy and most beautiful, look no further than that which has been most desecrated--look at sexuality, look at marriage, look at pregnancy, and look at the priesthood. The Devil focuses his effort wherever he can get the most "bang for his buck." The potential height of glory that is never attained coupled with the fall into the throes of evil make the vocation front a seductive target for those who seek the ruin of souls.

When it comes to the young, this hidden battle is even more dangerous. The Devil, recognizing a vocation long before a young man or others might notice, wages battle after battle against that young man from early in his life, trying by whatever means possible to distract and destroy this potential alter Christus from God's plan for him. But my priest friend shared his experience and many of those whom he met in seminary: "Due to this impossible struggle, God increases his grace all the more, and it is not uncommon to see God work in amazing and truly supernatural ways on the souls of his chosen ones." I would not be surprised to learn that God's action in these cases is a concrete response to the faithful prayers of those who have a heart for vocations.

In this Year for Priests, we must BE THE FAITHFUL of the Church. We must faithfully support and uphold the dignity of the priesthood, supporting and praying for our priests as they wage the battle for souls. We must be faithful to prayer each day for those young men (perhaps yet unborn) who are to be our future priests, and for a mantle of grace and mercy to surround them as they discern God's call. And especially let us be faithful to prayer for Pope Benedict XVI as we celebrate his birthday (last Friday) and approach the anniversary of his election this week. May God grant him special grace and protection, and may he lead us through this difficult winter to the New Springtime of the Church.