Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

I've got to hand it to the media: they can take even the story of a modern-day saint and twist it in to an opportunity to smear Our Lord and His Church. Here is a story that I received from a friend in an email about the recent attempts by well-known media sources to discredit the holy life of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Sometimes I just have to wonder how we have gotten this far away from the Truth. Tom and I are reading together An Exorcist Tells His Story and I'm beginning to think that the visions of Leo XIII (story below) can give us insight in to the darkness we see all around us.

Exactly 33 years to the day prior to the great Miracle of the Sun in Fatima, that is, on October 13, 1884, Pope Leo XIII had a remarkable vision. When the aged Pontiff had finished celebrating Mass in his private Vatican Chapel, attended by a few Cardinals and members of the Vatican staff, he suddenly stopped at the foot of the altar. He stood there for about 10 minutes, as if in a trance, his face ashen white. Then, going immediately from the Chapel to his office, he composed the prayer to St. Michael, with instructions it be said after all Low Masses everywhere. When asked what had happened, he explained that, as he was about to leave the foot of the altar, he suddenly heard voices - two voices, one kind and gentle, the other guttural and harsh. They seemed to come from near the tabernacle. As he listened, he heard the following conversation:

The guttural voice, the voice of Satan in his pride, boasted to Our Lord:
"I can destroy your Church."

The gentle voice of Our Lord:
"You can? Then go ahead and do so."

Satan:
"To do so, I need more time and more power."

Our Lord:
"How much time? How much power?

Satan:
"75 to 100 years, and a greater power over those
who will give themselves over to my service."

Our Lord:
"You have the time, you will have the power.
Do with them what you will."

Now this is not Our Lord giving up on His beloved humanity. But what we do need to take from this is that spiritual warfare is real. There is a true battle being waged out there in the world - a battle for souls. What am I doing every day to work toward my salvation? Am I also trying to bring as many people with me to Christ as I can? We are all links in this chain of salvation, and I need to make sure that the souls depending on my fidelity and my prayers do not fall through the cracks because of my complacency.

The story above mentioned the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. I'll leave you all with that, since it is a beautiful prayer.

Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into Hell, Satan and all the other evil spirits, who prowl throughout the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Long time, no post

I realized the other day that it's been a while since we've posted something on here. Everything is going well...only 3 1/2 or so weeks to go until, as Tom says, "we'll have a little squishy kid rolling around here." Rolling probably won't happen for a while. But it still sounds funny. I'm still feeling great - can't really complain that much. I feel so spoiled.

My friend Nichole hosted a baby shower for me last weekend at my mom's house in Olympia, and it was great to have family and friends together in one place! Thank you to all who helped and attended. It really meant a lot to me. So, we have a great start on baby gear; the room is coming together nicely, and now all we're missing is the baby! We're both getting antsy to be able to see and hold our baby as well as nervous for the big day. God's grace will get us through it, though.

We have our "Birth Basics" class on Saturday - an all-day event in which we learn what to expect when I go in to labor...more than likely unexpectedly. Then we have our pre-admission appointment at the hospital so that when we show up they know who we are and we know where to go. Pretty smart idea, if you ask me.

The baby's feet aren't constantly in my rib cage anymore, as things are slowly starting to move downward I think. All I know is that I can take a deep breath comfortably now, and it's really nice.

Tim & Theresa are leaving this weekend for Rhode Island, where they'll get to see both Monique and Madeline! Madeline is over there at the girls' school for the summer, and she loves it so much that she has decided to stay for the school year. This really is huge for her, so I ask you to continue your prayers for her. Monique, a consecrated woman in Regnum Christi, is making her Solemn Renewal of her promises of poverty, chastity, and obedience on Saturday. I'm so glad that Tim & Theresa get to be there for it; it's where she'll receive her wedding ring, symbolic of her marriage to Our Lord. What an example for all of us. Keep her and all the other consecrated women in your prayers this weekend!

Other than that, not much going on. Just same ol'...but all that will change soon enough! :)