Kambra Malone
President/CEO
Back in His Arms Again
Mass and Blessing of Women Praying to Conceive
Signed copies of “Facing Infertility: A Catholic Approach,” as well as other resources for Catholic couples facing infertility, will be available at the Mass and Blessing of Women Praying to Conceive as we celebrate the 113th annual Feast of St. Gerard Majella. For more information on the events taking place during the novena, see http://www.saintlucy.net/feastpreparation.html.
If you or someone you know is struggling with infertility, please consider attending the Mass and Blessing of Women Praying to Conceive this Wednesday night at 7 pm.
Location: St. Lucy’s Church, which houses the National Shrine of St. Gerard, in Newark, NJ.
The Feminine Genius
HHS Mandate is Anti-Woman: Catholics Need to Speak Up
Stand up and let your voice be heard!
Saint Faustina Pray for Us
Happy Feast of Saint Francis
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You Deserve to Know the Truth: Contraception
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The Struggle for Joy
I ponder why joy is the struggle.
It is truly difficult to grasp…
amongst depression,
exhaustion,
acedia…
a daily battle to be fought.
Yet it is right within grasp…
within me.
I seek the joy, the satisfaction…in created things,
but because I stop and rest in them,
not raising my heart to You, the Creator,
my joy is short-lived…gone.
I am left empty…desolate.
When will I realize,
comprehend,
understand,
that You alone can satisfy…
fill the emptiness to overflowing.
That there is a tranquil joy
not of this world,
that can only be experienced by resting in You.
By embracing your loving will
at each moment
with equanimity,
tranquility,
peace.
These are your gifts of joy.
Even when my soul is heavy…weighed down
…dry…doesn’t understand,
I can accept and offer even this as gift…
as sacrifice…
as reparation.
And in exchange
You give me only joy…
tranquil joy.
My soul, oh my soul…
let it rest only in You.
{Theresa lives out her vocation as wife, mother to four (and two in Heaven), Classical homeschooler, Secular Carmelite, and part-time ultrasonographer in Pennsylvania. She shares her fumbling writings at my desert heart when the Spirit nudges her.}
God Can Do Anything
A few weeks after our baby died, we took our other children to the beach in an attempt to relieve the heaviness of grief. Just for a few hours we wanted to forget the pain and do something normal and happy, and see our children’s faces light up with delight.
As they splashed in the lagoon and built sand castles, I wandered to the edge of the sea, and stood quietly by myself. I watched the waves rolling in one after another, breaking onto the shore and over my feet. The bright sunlight glinted off the water. A refreshing salty breeze lifted my hair.
For a long time I stared out at the horizon, oblivious to everything but the ocean. It was so vast and seemed unending. It was magnificent and powerful and beautiful. And while I stood there on the sand, I saw God:
All-knowing
All-loving
Almighty
and eternal.
I was a mere grain of sand standing before a God who is so enormous, He goes on and on forever, without end. I am one tiny soul in the universe of creation but despite this, I was aware I was still important. God was looking at me, and He knew all about my grief.
My whole body throbbed with pain. I could do nothing about my suffering. But I knew that my all-consuming grief was nothing compared to God. All He had to do was blow one tiny breath, very gently over me, and I would be healed. God could do that. He can do anything.
God reached down, scooped me up, and wrapped me in Love. And hope washed through me. I prayed.
Of course, my grief didn’t vanish in a moment while I stood on that beach looking out at the waves. I wasn’t healed in an instant. But I began to hope. Whenever I was tempted to believe that nothing would ever defeat my grief, I thought of the never-ending ocean and I remembered…
God is the Creator of everything,
For He made all things from nothing:
He is the Holy One,
A Mystery Awesome and Wondrous,
The Supreme Being, the Supreme Spirit,
All-knowing, All-loving, Almighty and Eternal.
God can wipe away any pain. God can heal. God can do anything.
I blog at Sue Elvis Writes. Please feel welcome to visit and share more of my posts.
Come to Jesus
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