Lord, let not our souls be busy inns that have no room for thee or thine,
But quiet homes of prayer and praise, where thou mayest find fit company,
Where the needful cares of life are wisely ordered and put away,
And wide, sweet spaces kept for thee; where holy thoughts pass up and down
And fervent longings watch and wait thy coming.
-St. Julian of Norwich-
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Photo Taken: Fall 2017
#bissisterhood #projectblessed #catholiclife #philotheafound #domesticchurch #ireland #chronicallycatholic #soulscripts #catholicculture #bedeeplyrooted #graceandgrit #saltandlight
"We love because He first loved us." -1 John 4:29
A small red Intercessory Prayer Book resides somewhere in a tucked away Carmelite Church in Dublin with our names written inside & a plea for St. Valentine . . . listen. Stumbling unexpectedly into a church with a first class relic of St. Valentine was just the beginning of what I thought was the end.
Two and half years ago, teary eyed surrendering my petition before this side altar dedicated to St. Valentine, I couldn't fathom how much the intercession of St. Valentine impacted my life- well, our life. Sometimes it takes years for us earthly members of the communion of saints to understand the intercessory power of the heavenly communion of saints. But the movement of prayer & grace is always at work.
💜 Happy St. Valentine's Day! 💜
Photo Taken: Fall 2016, Whitefriar Church, Dublin, Ireland
#chronicallycatholic #bissisterhood #stvalentinesday #valentinesday #catholiclife #catholic #love #faith #proverbs31woman
St. Valentine's Day approaches & stores are awash with pink, purple, and red merchandise. The day of "love" comes hither. The first, fundamental boundary of respecting yourself and others is your . . . SKIN. Reflect for a moment on what skin does for our bodies. Our dermal layer protects us from dirt, disease, germs, injuries, and invasion by unsafe foreign objects. Essentially, skin keeps the good IN and the bad OUT! .
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There are many types of love (philia, eros, storge, agape) and expressions of love that reflect the beauty, truth, and goodness of God, His design & plan for authentic love & intimacy even in our imperfect & broken world. He created us out of and for love. He desires our good. He desires our joy.
Our body and every other human’s body is a temple of the Holy Spirit whether they recognize or embrace that reality. (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20) .
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Where/When/How do you recognize your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit?
#bissisterhood #projectblessed #love #thecatholicwoman #valentinesday
#chronicallycatholic #catholiclife
A women in my Young Adult group asked me once if we could pray the Charles Foucauld Prayer of Abandonment & mean it. I boldly claimed, "Yes."
A late night grasping session led to this revised Litany of Humility. What is authentic femininity? What is virtue? I truly desire healing and restoration (& God does too,) but I desire being united with God more- come what may. God’s ways are not my ways. You are beautiful. You are enough. You are Made in His Image.
THE ENDOWARRIOR LITANY OF HUMILITY:
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being a biological mother …
From the desire of being loved for my reproductive health (& utility)…
From the desire of being extolled for my reproductive health …
From the desire of being honored for my reproductive health …
From the desire of being praised for my reproductive health …
From the desire of being preferred for my reproductive health …
From the desire of being consulted for my reproductive health …
From the desire of being approved for my reproductive health …
From the fear of being humiliated because of my womanly struggles …
From the fear of being despised because of my womanly struggles …
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More at my Blog: #linkinbio #newblogpost #chronicallycatholic #litanyofhumility #faith #endowarrior #catholiclife #catholicblogger
"...But in the end, it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer. I know now folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something... That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for."
-Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien-
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Photo Taken: Old Head, Ireland, 2017
#bissisterhood #projectblessed #faith #friday #chronicallycatholic #catholiclife #verilymoment
