Do We Care About Celebrities?

Happy feast of St. Wenceslaus! What a great day to pray for politicians (since St. Wenceslaus was a duke and dealt with political unrest in Bohemia). I also want to thank you all for your prayers for Pope Francis! He's safely home after a whirlwind of a trip to the U.S. Yesterday, he spoke with bishops, inmates, and celebrated his final Mass in the United States. Around 1 million people were expected to attend that final Mass, and Pope Francis preached from the heart, encouraging everyone to do small acts of love in our families and societies: 

Incense and Pope Francis. Can things
get any better? : ) 

"Faith grows with practice and is shaped by love. Therefore, our families, our homes, are true domestic churches. It is the very place where faith and life makes life grow in faith." 

During his visit, the pope encouraged us to live our faith and to live in love. As I sit here with my lembas bread and coffee, I want to reflect on this call to live in love, and how we can grow in our love of others.

Pope Francis: Proclaiming the Epicness of Families!

"Families have a citizenship which is divine. The identity card that they have is given to them by God, so that within the heart of the family, truth, goodness and beauty can truly grow." ~Pope Francis

Tonight, I sat working on a crochet project (until my yarn needle broke...), listening to Pope Francis speak, frantically typing out my favorite quotations from his speech as he gave it, and repeatedly tearing up, because...well, it's POPE FRANCIS we're talking about! Every time he speaks, blesses a handicapped person, or smiles, I pretty much start tearing up. So much love...what an amazing man. I just want to briefly share a couple of things from his talk tonight:

Bringing Hope & Joy to Harlem & Philadelphia-Pope Francis Keeps Getting Cooler

Pope Francis continues to rock this nation, and I couldn't be happier about it! So let's talk about it! I have been out and about Oklahoma City for much of yesterday and today, so I haven't been able to watch the live streams, but-thankfully-the text of his talks are all available! This afternoon, after a morning of  shopping at an outdoor vintage market (can I call this "vintaging"?), I just want to reflect on some of the pope's recent awesome activities. 

Speaking the Truth in Love: Pope Francis is Being Awesome!

Praying for the pope at the park! 

Wow. Is it Friday already? Is this really happening? I don't know about the rest of you, but for me, this week has been flying by at a rapid pace!!!! Since Pope Francis is still here, shaking things up like nobody's business, I'm going to touch on a few things he's done recently. Only a few things, though-he has been all over the place, doing all of the awesome things, and I can't keep up with him! 

Are You Living as a Changed Person? (If not, give it a try while Pope Francis is here!)

Happy Thursday! Today I'm linking up with Blessed is She to talk about "changed." And, since we're in the midst of the epic papal visit and World Meeting of Families, we're going to talk about that too, okay? 

Religious Freedom & Environmental Care-And So It Begins...Pope Francis Visits the White House!

Good morning! I hope that you all are having a blessed morning. We made it to Wednesday!!! Today, I really didn't want to get out of bed for Mass, because I was so nice, cozy, and sleepy. However, my husband is wonderful at holding me accountable and being disciplined, so I found myself in church for daily Mass, for which I am grateful. A sacrifice, but a wonderful way to pray for all those who need prayers-especially for Pope Francis! During Mass, I was really holding up in prayer those at the White House, and that they would be open to God's mercy and truth as show in the pope. 

The pope's plan touching down yesterday!!

For those of you who were unable to watch the official ceremonies at the White House today, I've decided to share my reactions throughout the ceremony! (the times given are in the Central time zone, since that's where I live)

Today is the Day!!!! Welcome, Pope Francis!!!

It's here! It's here!!!! Pope Francis is coming today!!! If you can't tell, I'm really excited. 

Chilling at church with #flatfrancis while wearing my Vatican Flag outfit!

Today he travels from Cuba to Washington D.C.
Today marks his first (ever) visit to the U.S.A. 
Today he begins a visit that can change lives, move hearts, and rock our nation. 
Today reporters, the media, and individuals nationwide will be craning their necks and perking their ears up, waiting to hear him speak. 
Today it begins, and I want to say: Welcome!!!

Welcome, my dear Holy Father, Francis! Welcome, my beloved Pope! Welcome to the good ol' U.S.A. Today, I finish my nine-day novena to St. Francis of Assisi for you, and I will continue to lift  you up in prayer and sacrifices throughout your visit. I am so excited for all of the ways that God is working through you! 

Pope Francis has been truly the face of love and mercy on his visit so far. During Sunday Vespers in Cuba, he spoke off the cuff, instructing the people to "never tire of showing mercy to others." He met with both President Raul Castro and Fidel Castro. He unabashedly spoke to Cubans of the evils of abortion. Furthermore, Pope Francis spoke to people of God's love, mercy, and desire for us to unite ourselves to Him. 

"Jesus’ love goes before us, his look anticipates our needs.  He can see beyond appearances, beyond sin, beyond failures and unworthiness.  He sees beyond our rank in society. He sees beyond this, to our dignity as sons and daughters, a dignity at times sullied by sin, but one which endures in the depth of our soul.  He came precisely to seek out all those who feel unworthy of God, unworthy of others.  Let us allow Jesus to look at us.  Let us allow his gaze to run over our streets.  Let us allow that look to become our joy, our hope."~from the pope's prepared homily for Monday, September 21, 2015. 

Friends, Pope Francis  has been on fire with God's love and mercy! Let us read his messages to Cubans with open hearts, and pray for him as he prepares to encounter those in the U.S.A. St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us! 

Batman, Hugh Hefner, and the Call of St. Matthew

Happy Monday, everyone!! I hope that you all had an amazingly blessed weekend. I had a great weekend, filled with games, training at a local crisis pregnancy center, crocheting, and Batman. You see, recently I used some graduation gift money to purchase season 1(which I've heard is the best of the 3 seasons, so it's the only one I really wanted) of the 1960s Batman: The Television Series, so I have been gradually watching the episodes.  Since today is a "Mercy Monday," the Feast of St. Matthew, and Pope Francis is about to visit the U.S.A. with his message of mercy, I think it's a great time to discuss Batman, Hugh Hefner, and the Call of St. Matthew! So let our discussion begin!

Cool for the Summer? Scolding Sister Squirrel? Pope Francis? Linking Up with Kelly for some SQT!

Hello there! I hope that y'all are having a grand ol' time on this beautiful Friday! I'm super glad it's the feast of St. Joseph Cupertino, because I petition him for help, like all the time! Anywho, when thinking about today's post, I realized that I had a bunch of little updates I wanted to share with you all...and it occurred to me that it's Friday! For the first time in my blogging life, I can link up with Kelly, from This Ain't the Lyceum, for some Seven Quick Takes! 

Look Past Your Expectations and Get Ready for Pope Francis!

Hey there! I'm linking up with BIS sisterhood to talk about expectations today. Ooh, big word. Loaded word. So let's talk about expectations in light of the forthcoming papal visit, shall we? 

On the Bookshelf: A Smattering of Assorted Reading Material

Hello, everybody! Happy feast of Sts. Cornlius and Cyprian! Today, I'm going to be talking literature. But first, I want to ask you all to stop and pray for Richard Glossip. He's a man that has been on Death Row for many, many years, and his execution by lethal injection is scheduled for 3 p.m. today here in Oklahoma. So please pray for him, as well as for our governor here in Oklahoma. Our governor seems determined that this man will die today, but there are many, many people petitioning her for a 60-day stay of execution, so that more evidence can be examined. So prayers and sacrifices would be awesome! 

For those of you new to the blog, today's post is another edition of "On the Bookshelf," a place to discuss wonderful (or not-so-wonderful) literature. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am always up for expanding my reading list! So if you have any books you recommend, feel free to comment below or shoot me an e-mail! I haven't done this series in a few weeks, so I have a very random assortment of reading material to share with y'all today, but hopefully you find something that you like! 

As Rocket Lay Dying (Reflections on the Triumph of the Cross)

Happy Monday, everyone! I am praying for all of you as you begin your work week, and I hope that you will be able to see God blessing your life today! I also want to give a huge shout-out to all of the awesome people out there who were praying for me prior to an interview this morning. Thanks!!!! Y'all are awesome! For those of you who may be going, Wha??? right now, let me explain really quickly: 

On Friday, I received an e-mail from the producer of Seize the Day, a show on The Catholic Channel (Sirius XM radio) with Gus Lloyd. The producer asked if they could interview me on the phone for their live show on Monday morning! Naturally, I spent the rest of the afternoon bouncing, screaming, skipping outside, and texting bajillions of people, asking for prayers. I was super excited for a radio interview with Gus, but I also really needed the prayers-because when I get super excited, I tend to talk fast, mix up my words, and sound a bit like a fool. And while I'm all about humility, I didn't think it would make me or the show look good if I wasn't speaking coherently. So, thanks for the prayers! I think it went well, and I had a lot of fun. I woke up, went to Mass with my husband, came home, and the producer called me up! It was great, and talking about the papal visit was really cool. Also, Gus had the marvelous idea that I could carry around a big sword with Mary on it, to fit with my whole "marian ninja" thing. I approve. I've decided that Gus Lloyd is pretty awesome, and his show seems really cool. 

So now that I've shared that bit of excitingness and thanksgiving, let's talk about today: it's the Triumph of the Cross! Super awesome! There are many ways I could discuss this beautiful Feast, and to begin, I want to talk about a raccoon. 

Epic Images & Marian Prayers: A Review of the Scriptural Rosary App!

When I was offered the chance to review a Rosary app, I jumped at the opportunity, thinking something along the lines of:

I love the Rosary! Mary is awesome! Ooh, Scriptural Rosaries are cool. Let’s do this!

So eagerly, I replied to the e-mail with an affirmative. And then, the thought crossed my mind that…

Oh, I don’t have an iPhone.

…Awkward…

But then, excitedly, I realized that my husband has an iPhone, which he would probably let me borrow, because he loves Mary, too! Whew. Perks of married life!

After trying out the Scriptural Rosary app, developed by Valent Richie, I would like to give you my thoughts on this delightful prayer aid. Just so you are aware, this is a sponsored post, and all opinions are my own. I mean, if you’ve been around this blog for a while, you probably already know that I claim many opinions about many topics, but it doesn’t hurt to remind you, does it? J So let’s take a look at some of the things I noticed in this app!

Is the Success of Marriage Measured by the Number of Children?

In 2+ years of marriage, my husband and I have never had kids. I’ve never gotten pregnant, and I’m not pregnant currently. In this experience, God has opened my eyes to so many amazing lessons and blessings, and I am so abundantly overjoyed that my husband and I get to witness to the beauty of marriage each day! It’s really awesome, and I love marriage. There’s so much we can learn about marriage, and from marriage, and today I want to talk about a topic near and dear to my heart. Take a deep breath and get ready for this: 

The thing about the Sacrament of Marriage, which I think we can sometimes fail to lose sight of in our circles of large families, is that the success of a marriage isn’t counted by the number of children around the dinner table.  

Woolly Teeth? A Half-Pomegranate Cheek? (Why I Love the Song of Songs)

Hey there! Happy feast of St. Gregory the Great, everyone!!! 

The other day, I was doing some hardcore thinking about one of my most favorite books in the Bible: The Song of Songs. 

Why you should totally learn to knit or crochet soon (hint: You can help save babies!!!)

Happy Wednesday, everyone!! I hope that you all are having a grace-filled day! I'm really enjoying today so far: I ate breakfast, went to Mass with my husband, went thrifting, ran errands at the store, prayed part of a Rosary, and planned out my daily "To Do" list-all before 10 a.m.! If only I was this on top of things more often, right??? I guess I can dream on : ) 

Today, I have a couple of thoughts about sanctity and saving lives, which I want to share with y'all. I mean, I want to help save lives! That'd be pretty epic. Guess what? We have an awesome opportunity within our grasp to concretely help save lives and strengthen families. Yesterday after Mass, I read a sign that was posted near the doorway of the church. It was an advertisement for an organization that was calling for volunteers who knit and/or crochet. Sign me up! was my first thought. I had no clue what this organization was, so I looked into it more. It is called Click For Babies.