Let nothing disturb you

This was found written in St. Teresa of Avila's Breviary. In high school, I sang a choral setting of these words in their original Spanish. They still mean a lot to me and do much to calm the churning waters of my soul. May they comfort you, as well.

Nada te turbe,
nada te espante.
Todo se pasa:
Dios no se muda.
La paciencia todo lo alcanza.
Quien a Dios tiene
nada le falta;
sólo Dios basta.


Let nothing disturb you,
let nothing frighten you.
All things pass away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
He who has God
finds he lacks nothing;
God alone is enough.

Christmas Novena to End Abortion (Please join us!)

Hello, all!

A pro-life friend of mine has started a 'project' gathering as many people together to pray a Christmas novena for an end to abortion. It would begin on the 16th. Currently the goal is for 500 novenas, with a potential goal of 1000 if we get enough people interested.

He describes the novena intention thus:

Let’s pray for all expectant mothers that they will respect and cherish the life they carry like Mary did, and for fathers that they may support the mother as St. Joseph supported Mary.

For those who don't know what a novena is, it is nine days set aside for a special or particular prayer intention. (the word 'novena' coming from the Latin for nine) Here is a little history behind the custom.

He has set up an email list on the website you can subscribe to so you can get daily reminders to pray the novena in your inbox. :)

There is also a Facebook event for it you can join. :)

Blessings to all, please pass the word around! And please sign up! It won't be very hard to do, trust me, and it's for a good cause!

Back home again!

Deo gratias! - Thanks be to God!

Our little Wayne has improved enough that he was able to come home today! (Well, technically yesterday, meaning Saturday, as I am writing this at 1am on Sunday, lol.)

It seems all the prayers I gathered from friends and family, and those I asked of our friends in Heaven, had the good effect hoped for! Indeed, prayer does more good than we shall ever know.

Lord, thank you for this mercy. Thank you for this profound grace. I pray you grant Wayne a speedy further healing, as he continues to recover from what could have been his fatal illness. Thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you!

To Our Lady, Sts. Francis and Clare, St. Martin de Porres, St. Thérèse, St. Brigid, Bl. Kateri, St. Gertude, and St. Jude -- thank you, thank you for your prayers for our Wayne! I know they did him such good! And thank you, too, dear Michael. :) And all ye holy angels, for guarding him.

And thank you to any of you who may be reading this who also prayed for Wayne's healing. I ask you to please continue praying for our kitty as he is still very ill, but out of immediate danger. My mother and father will have to keep a close eye on him for a good deal of time, as he recovers. Pray that he heals quickly and that whatever pain he has will lessen and fade also quickly.

Thank you again, all of you!

Again, thank you, my God, for this mercy! This incident has only served to illustrate how we carelessly, not meaning to, take loved ones for granted. I pray I grow in awareness from now on and cherish the time I have with my "furry-purry" family members. They mean so much to me. <3

I hate not knowing what will happen

....and so I wait. And so we wait, my parents and I.


Does he recover and live? God, he's not quite 6 years old! Still a young kitty....

Or does he succumb to this sickness and die, leaving us here bereft and weeping?

Oh my darling Wayne, how I love you.

I know in my heart that I would see him again, that in Heaven, God catches up all His creatures in His loving embrace, and delights in them. He forgets not the least sparrow...

But not yet! No, not yet. How can God want Wayne back? What would Nicholas do?? They are best friends, and I know some cats and other animals grieve so extremely they stop eating....they starve themselves....

Come to think of it, some people do that sort of thing, too. sigh.



Does this post remain just my fears and desperate pleas?

Or does it become one of nightmare made real, a post "in loving memory of..." with more bitter tears streaming down my face?

Oh, God, please! I know this is so small a thing, in comparison with other things, other prayers. My loss would be so slight compared with say, the cross that Haiti now bears....

but still I ask. Still I plead. Still I weep and hurt, all my insides twisting with fear and dread....

and here I am, so far from home.

Keep my little Wayne in your arms, sweet Mary, our Mother. Mother of all things, I know you do not spurn my prayers or tears. Instead, you weep with me. Please, please pray for my baby Wayne. I entrust him into your care, along with the loving intercession also of Sts. Francis and Clare of Assisi, St. Martin de Porres, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Brigid of Kildare, St. Gertrude and St. Jude. And yes, Michael - who loved animals so dearly, please pray. All ye holy angels of God - please, spare a prayer for my Wayne.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, despise not my pleas! Look with mercy on us, my family and me, and grant healing to Wayne, a beloved member of our family since we took him in August of 2004.

Amen.

As so freaking hard as it is for me to say this: Thy will be done.


I love you forever, my little Waynie-pooh. No matter what.

This is Wayne as a kitten, on the very first day we brought him home in 2004. He was exploring the house, and here we caught him talking about it all. He has since grown into a big boy and is still very vocal.

(l-r) Wayne and Nicholas, best buddies. This was before Nicholas grew a large fluffy "mane" around his neck, apparently, so Nicholas is still somewhat a kitten.

Wayne over Christmas break, looking cute in a funny position while he sleeps.