St. Joseph and the Ungrateful Whiner

I’ve always had a fondness for St. Joseph and over the years I have received truly extraordinary graces through his intercession. In fact, every petition I’ve ever presented him has been granted.

So when my husband and I placed our home on the market a few years ago, I turned to him in prayer. Our home went on the market the week before Thanksgiving in 2007. I didn’t worry or think too much about selling it over the holidays so I began my first novena to St. Joseph the first week of February 2008.

Every night I knelt next to my bed and prayed the Unfailing Novena to St. Joseph. Sure enough, at the end of nine days we had an interested buyer – two as a matter of fact. One agreed to our asking price but they were denied financing. The other made an offer that we thought was too low. So I prayed some more. Even though I didn’t notice it at the time, in hindsight I recognize that every time I finished a novena, someone would go through our house and they would generally make a verbal offer. The offers were always too low – or so I thought. Confidently I would respond to our realtor “Thanks but no thanks. We’ll wait it out for a reasonable buyer.”

So weeks turned into months and months turned into years. The offers that we turned down in the early months of 2008 suddenly began to look very good. I prayed a bit more, and then the offers from people wishing to rent our home started to come in. Our home is located in a city where a major international corporation in headquartered and executives from around the world are frequently transferred there for two and three year stints. The corporation itself is the tenant, they issue the monthly rent checks, security deposit and employ a maintenance and cleaning team to restore the home to its original condition when the lease is up. It is actually a great deal, if you are interested in being a landlord.

But I had ‘faith’ that renting was not the way to go. I had ‘faith’ that my prayers would be heard and that a buyer would turn up. Beside I didn’t want another family damaging our home and furnishings. So again my confident ‘thanks but no thanks’ response was given to our realtor.
I began to feel frustrated and told myself that I had to have patience. My prayers would be answered in God’s time. So we turned down a host of prospective tenants.

One day in November of 2009, our realtor called us with two prospective tenants, both long term executive rentals. It had been months since any potential buyers had gone through our house. For the first time we began to consider renting. I hemmed and hawed and thought of a million reasons why I didn’t want other people living in our home. I wanted to sell the home and be done with it.
My husband and I debated it and finally I came around. We agreed to rent the home only to discover that the tenants leased another home so they could be settled before the holidays. We pulled our house off the market in frustration and let it remain unlisted for a few months.

We relisted it in February and would have sold it for any of those early offers we had rejected back in 2008.

An offer to rent our home came in from an executive family with four teenagers and a dog. I was near tears thinking of the shape our home would likely be in after two years in that scenario. We have two kids and a dog and know how much damage happens to a home during the course of a day.

I fought despair and whined to heaven. I was in the midst of a spiritual tantrum when it suddenly occurred to me that God had been trying to bless me all along. Every prayer I sent to St. Joseph had been answered, just not in the way I had expected. The epiphany came that my haughty confidence and ‘faith’ was actually pride. God knew things about the real estate market that the world didn’t, and he sent buyers our way . I petulantly snubbed them, and His graces.

But good and patient St. Joseph presented my case time and time again, and Jesus graciously responded. I know how frustrating it is when my children are ungrateful for my acts of love and kindness. I was so ashamed to consider what must have been going through their minds. I had been an ungrateful whiner.

So I apologized to Our Lord and Good St. Joseph and resolved to accept God’s grace no matter how my pride tried to deceive me. I began another novena to St. Joseph and this past week two prospective executive tenants came though. Both are interested in renting. One prospect was more appealing and I just heard they are considering another property. I fought a wave of disappointment then caught myself.

God knows things I don’t. God and great Saint Joseph have been patiently trying to bless my family. I am going to get out of His way, accept His grace and say thank you for not giving up on me. And I am going to thank Him for the gift of St. Joseph, the patient and powerful patron who never fails anyone who approaches him with confidence.

The Rosary Stops Ted Bundy

Spirit Daily today links to InGod'sCompany2 blog with an amazing post - this story is a must read. The power of the rosary never ceases to amaze me. Please pray it today and every day.

The Killer and the Rosary

"... To understand that Our Lady needs us, it helps to begin with the awareness that we also need her and that her help never fails those who pray to her with a sincere heart. This American Monsignor is a good witness of that.

On May 14, 2009, Mgr. William Kerr, a leading human rights figure, died. Mgr. Kerr often spoke of his very first hospital assignment, where he ministered to a young burn victim dying from his injuries. Later, he recalled, he would be called upon to perform even more ghastly duties.

In 1978, the police called Msgr. Kerr in the middle of the night to accompany them to a sorority house in Tallahassee. When he arrived he was told that all but one of the girls in the house were dead or near death, killed by the infamous serial killer, Ted Bundy. After administering last rites to one of the college girls who was dying, the police on the scene asked Fr. Kerr to speak with a girl who had survived the massacre unscathed. They had a very specific question: Why did Bundy stop right inside the door to her room, drop his weapon, and leave without touching her?

The young woman refused to speak to anyone except a priest. When Fr. Kerr approached the near-catatonic girl, she told him that her mother had made her promise, before going off to college for the first time, that she would pray the Rosary every night before bed for protection. Even if she fell asleep praying the Rosary, which she had that night. When Bundy came into her room to murder her as he had the other girls, the beads were still clutched in her hands.

Ironically, Bundy later sought out Msgr. Kerr as a spiritual counselor while he waited on death row. Over the course of their sessions, Bundy explained to Mgr. Kerr that when he entered the girl’s room, he just wasn’t able to continue with his spree, he dropped his weapon, and he fled.

Such is the power of our Mother’s protective mantle. Such also is the wisdom of a mom, who managed to give her daughter the most efficient, powerful weapon - the rosary, which later saved her life. "

Prayer to Our Lady of Perpetual Succor

I came across this prayer today and thought it was really special. Our Lady of Perpetual Succor is also known as Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Enjoy!

Prayer Found Under Christ's Sepulchre, 1503 AD

O God Almighty, who suffered death upon the cross, particularly for my sins, be with me.
Holy Cross of Jesus - have pity on me.

Holy Cross of Jesus - be my protector.

Holy Cross of Jesus - take away all bitter pains.

Holy Cross of Jesus - take away all evil.

Holy Cross of Jesus - let me walk in the way of salvation.
Preserve me from any temporal accidents, take away any danger of sudden death. I always adore the Holy Cross of Jesus Christ: Jesus of Nazareth crucified, have pity on me; make the spirit of evil leave me for all times. O Mother of Perpetual Succour. I come before Thy Sacred picture and with a child-like conscience invoke thine aid. Show Thyself a Mother to me now. Have pity of me. O, dearest Mother of Perpetual Succour, for the love Thou bearest to Jesus and in honor of His Sacred Wounds, help me in this my necessity.
( mention your intention here)
O Loving Mother, I leave is all to thee in the Name of the Father. I leave all to Thee in the Name of the Son. I leave all to Thee in the Name of the Holy Spirit.
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, pray for us.Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, pray for us.Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, pray for us.

Amen.

Nothing is Impossible with God!

I came across a great novena for the stickiest of situations, thought I would share:

NOVENA for IMPOSSIBLE REQUESTS

(This Novena honours the nine months during which Our Lady carried Our Blessed Lord in her womb)

"Hail, Holy Queen,
Mother of Mercy,
our life, our sweetness and our hope!
To thee do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve;
to thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy towards us;
and after this our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb Jesus.
O clement, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary. Amen."

V - Pray for us, most holy mother of God.
R - That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

"Virgin of the Incarnation,
a thousand times we greet thee,
a thousand times we praise thee
for thy joy when God was incarnated in thee.
Because thou art so powerful
a Virgin and Mother of God,
grant what we ask of thee for the love of God."

Here state your first intention.

Repeat all of above and then state your second intention.

Repeat all of above and then state your third intention.

CONCLUSION:
After the above prayers and intentions, say the Memorare.

Remember, O most Gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known
that anyone who fled to thy protection,
implored thy help
or sought thy intercession was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence,
I fly unto thee,
O Virgin of Virgins,
my mother.
To thee do I cry,
before thee I stand,
sinful and sorrowful.
Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions,
but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.

Hail Mary...

Blessed and praised be
the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar,
in Heaven, on earth and everywhere.

AMEN.

And when all seems lost, don't forget we have a nuclear weapon in our prayer arsenals...

The Most Powerful Prayer

Do you have an urgent prayer need?

Feeling hopeless?

Empty?

Lost?

Angry?

The answer is here.

For God and Country

Temptation to despair abounds at present.

The United States of America is run by a man who is doing everything in his power to violate some of the most sacred principles of the Catholic faith.

He seems capable of only spending massive amounts of money to morally and economically cripple future generations of America.

But a very smart group of people remembered that Jesus promised that the gates of Hell would not prevail against His Church.

They know that prayers from YOU could turn this country around overnight.

They know God responds to prayers from the heart by touching the most hardened of hearts.

These smart folks launched America's Prayer Campaign, an inspired initiative harnessing the power of promised prayers everywhere.

Visitors to their site make a prayer 'pledge' - rosaries, chaplets of Divine Mercy, alms giving, fasting, general prayer , etc. - offering prayers "... To Renew, Re-awaken and Restore our Nation"

"The constitution of the United States of America states clearly that we as citizens have the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Yet in this great nation that holds individual rights as supremely sacred, the most basic right, the right to life is systematically denied to its most vulnerable. Faith and God in our nation are under attack and new government policy is moving us even further down the path to atheism, secularism, and from the vision of our founding fathers.

I visited America's Prayer Campaign, and made my humble offering.

Guess what?

It was so much FUN to to offer those prayers!

I love my country. I don't want to see it destroyed with Godless secularism, socialism, immorality, greed and indifference. The United States of America desperately needs prayers. This is an opportunity for anyone, anywhere to serve this great nation of ours.

Please consider visiting America's Prayer Campaign and making a spiritual offering. Forward the link to friends and family, asking prayer warriors to join in the fight to renew the divinely inspired, Christian nation of the United States of America.

God Bless you.

God Bless America.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day.

Big, big day for my Irish American family.

I grew up being very fond of St. Patrick without really knowing why. Mere mention of his name generated warm and fuzzy thoughts of my proudly Irish family and our yearly festivities.

Turns out he was born in Scotland.

Was kidnapped when he was sixteen and sold into slavery.

Ended up in Ireland as the slave of cruel pagan master.

Escaped after six years of after being advised to do so by his guardian angel.

Studied under St. Germain and became a priest.

He accompanied the great Saint on many missions but longed to return to Ireland to evangelize.

St. Patrick is great example of how God can use any bad situation for good purposes for those who love Him.

Patrick was able to return to Ireland and evangelize to the pagan culture in their native tongue - which he learned in captivity. His cruel master was also a pagan drudical high priest, so he learned the ways of pagan culture.

Armed with this knowledge, incredible devotion to serving the Lord and a burning desire for salvation for the people of Ireland, he converted their population at an astonishing rate.

He used the three leaves of the shamrocks found throughout Ireland to explain the Holy Trinity.

The Lord worked many miracles through St. Patrick and word of this holy man spread.

But Patrick was not one to rest on his laurels. He knew the value of prayer and sacrifice and still had much work to do.

Here's an excerpt from Newadvent.org's lengthy encyclopedic entry on the great Saint.

St. Patrick, in obedience to his guardian angel, made this mountain his hallowed place of retreat. In imitation of the great Jewish legislator on Sinai, he spent forty days on its summit in fasting and prayer, and other penitential exercises. His only shelter from the fury of the elements, the wind and rain, the hail and snow, was a cave, or recess, in the solid rock; and the flagstone on which he rested his weary limbs at night is still pointed out. The whole purpose of his prayer was to obtain special blessings and mercy for the Irish race, whom he evangelized. The demons that made Ireland their battlefield mustered all their strength to tempt the saint and disturb him in his solitude, and turn him away, if possible, from his pious purpose. They gathered around the hill in the form of vast flocks of hideous birds of prey. So dense were their ranks that they seemed to cover the whole mountain, like a cloud, and they so filled the air that Patrick could see neither sky nor earth nor ocean. St. Patrick besought God to scatter the demons, but for a time it would seem as if his prayers and tears were in vain. At length he rang his sweet-sounding bell, symbol of his preaching of the Divine truths. Its sound was heard all over the valleys and hills of Erin, everywhere bringing peace and joy. The flocks of demons began to scatter. He flung his bell among them; they took to precipitate flight, and cast themselves into the ocean. So complete was the saint's victory over them that, as the ancient narrative adds, "for seven years no evil thing was to be found in Ireland."

The saint, however, would not, as yet, descend from the mountain. He had vanquished the demons, but he would now wrestle with God Himself, like Jacob of old, to secure the spiritual interests of his people. The angel had announced to him that, to reward his fidelity in prayer and penance, as many of his people would be gathered into heaven as would cover the land and sea as far as his vision could reach. Far more ample, however, were the aspirations of the saint, and he resolved to persevere in fasting and prayer until the fullest measure of his petition was granted. Again and again the angel came to comfort him, announcing new concessions; but all these would not suffice. He would not relinquish his post on the mountain, or relax his penance, until all were granted. At length the message came that his prayers were heard:

• many souls would be free from the pains of purgatory through his intercession;

• whoever in the spirit of penance would recite his hymn before death would attain the heavenly reward;

• barbarian hordes would never obtain sway in his Church;

• seven years before the Judgement Day, the sea would spread over Ireland to save its people from the temptations and terrors of the Antichrist; and

• greatest blessing of all, Patrick himself should be deputed to judge the whole Irish race on the last day.

Such were the extraordinary favors which St. Patrick, with his wrestling with the Most High, his unceasing prayers, his unconquerable love of heavenly things, and his unremitting penitential deeds, obtained for the people whom he evangelized.

Wow. Big, big favors that St. Patrick wanted from God.

So it required big prayers and big penance and he was up to the task.

Thank you God and Thank you St. Patrick!

May St. Patrick intercede for us, and help us all to become more fervent in our own prayers and penance.

Slainte!

PS St. Patrick's Breastplate is a favorite prayer, it can be found in the New Advent entry as well , here's the link

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11554a.htm

Rosary of the Seven Sorrows - Powerful Prayer for Tough Times

There are a lot of things these days that give my Catholic self cause for outrage and sadness - President Obama lifting the ban on federal funding of fetal stem research is a big one. The whole culture of death that our government is embracing. Socialism, opposed in strong terms by the Church, being touted as the only reasonable answer to whatever ails the USA. The sickening yet fast -approaching milestone of fifty million babies murdered in the wake of Roe v. Wade.

All so wrong.

Fortunately for Happy to Be Catholics, an ancient prayer is making its way back into the mainstream and serious prayer warriors everywhere are adding it prominently to their arsenals.


I had heard this prayer was powerful, it was not until I started praying it myself that I realized just how special it is.

It is called the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows, the Deven Dolors of Mary Chaplet, or the Servite Rosary.



Lots of promises attached to this one. I'll list them following an explanation of the prayer.



You can check around on the Internet for a seven sorrows rosary. It looks a little different from a standard five-decade rosary. There are seven mysteries, followed by seven small beads ( called weeks in stead of decades)

The prayer goes like this:

1) Act of Contrition

2) Announce the First Sorrow. Our Father... then pray


Seven Hail Marys while meditating on the Sorrow

3) Announce each respective Sorrow, pray the Our Father, then pray Seven Hail Marys while meditating on the Sorrow.

4) Finish with three Hail Marys for the Tears of the Blessed Virgin Mary, followed

5) Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be for the intentions of the Holy Father

6) Finish by praying ' Virgin Most Sorrowful, Pray for Us' three times.

The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, with thanks to TheGrotto.org

The First Sorrow

The Holy Prophecy of Simeon

The Blessed Virgin, filled with joy, presented her only son in the temple. How her heart must have broken to hear the prophetic words of Simeon as he foretold the suffering of the Savior and His mother.

The Second Sorrow

The Flight of the Holy Family into Egypt

On a moments notice, St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin must take the Infant Jesus on a perilous journey to evade Herod's men who hunted Him. They endured cold, hunger and many hardships as they made their way to a foreign land.

The Third Sorrow

Mary seeks Jesus lost in Jerusalem

It is every parents nightmare to lose their child, and the Virgin Mary understands firsthand this profound sorrow. For three agonizing days St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother searched for twelve-year-old Jesus, before finding Him among the scholars in the temple.

The Fourth Sorrow

Mary meets Jesus on the way to Calvary

Jesus, battered and condemned to crucifixion, meets His mother, on the road to Calvary. He is beaten and indescribably defiled; her sorrow is absolute as Jesus drags the cross on which He will be crucified.

The Fifth Sorrow

Mary stands at the foot of the cross

Mary stands near her dying Son, unable to minister to him as he cries "I thirst". She hears him promise heaven to a thief and forgive his enemies. His last words, "Behold your mother," a gift for all of mankind, as His Beloved Mother becomes Mother of All Peoples.

The Sixth Sorrow

Mary holds the body of Jesus

The Pieta. The passion and death are complete, but for Our Lady, grief continues. She holds His body in her arms. Meditate on her tears.

The Seventh Sorrow

Mary places the body of Jesus in the tomb

The sun goes down on the most tragic day in history. As she awaits in faith the resurrection of her Son, Mary alone in sorrow, lays the body of her Son in the tomb.

As promised, The Promises. with thanks to MotherofAllPeoples.org and piercedhearts.org


According to the visions of St. Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373) our Blessed Mother promises to grant seven graces to those who honor her and draw near to her and her Son every day by meditating on her dolors (sorrows) and entering into her grief.

"I will grant peace to their families."

"They will be enlightened about the divine Mysteries."

"I will console them in their pains and will accompany them in their work."

"I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls."

"I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives."

"I will visibly help them at the moment of their death-- they will see the face of their mother."

"I have obtained this grace from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness, since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy."

St. Alphonsus Liguori testifies to complementary revelations given by Our Lord to St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231) where He further promises four special graces to those dedicated to the sufferings of the co-redeeming Mother:

1. That those who before death invoke the Blessed Mother in the name of her sorrows, should obtain true repentance of all their sins.

2. That He would protect in their tribulations all who remember this devotion, and that He would protect them especially at the hour of death.

3. That He would impress upon their minds the remembrance of His Passion, and that they should have their reward for it in Heaven.

4. That He would commit such devout clients to the hands of Mary, so that she might obtain for these souls all the graces she wanted to lavish upon them.


Hard to describe the peace I feel when I pray this rosary.

Please, Lord, let your peace remain with me always. And please help my country.


Touch President Obama's heart so that he may understand that abortion really and truly is murder. Open the eyes and hearts of the nation. And if there is anything wrong with my prayer, please fix it, because it is too important of a petition to get wrong.

The Joys and Sorrows of St. Joseph

I have a BIG devotion to St. Joseph. More on that another day, but this is a new- to- me prayer that I wanted to share with others who are, or hope to be, Happy to Be Catholics.

March, the month dedicated to St. Joseph, is the perfect time to meditate on the joys and sorrows of the humble, the just, the Glorious St. Joseph.

You can pour out your heart to wonderful St. Joseph. Ask him to present your prayers to Our Lord.

Miracles are waiting for you.

Devotion to St. Joseph will bring you closer to Our Lord and closer to Our Lady.

The thing about the Holy Family is – everything is focused on Jesus. And that is the way life should be.

Also, I say thank you to God the Father Almighty for the graces you have given to St. Joseph and Our Lady. That they corresponded to such unimaginable graces brings tears to my eyes. I am humbled and so very grateful to be able to learn about them and from them. And I thank you again that sinners like me are able to ask for their intercession. You are so good, Lord.

Good night and God Bless.

PS it is not too late to contact the Norbertine order and have your intentions included in the annual solemn novena to St. Joseph. (See yesterdays post for link)

The Seven Joys and Sorrows of St. Joseph

1. The Doubt of St. Joseph and the Angel’s Message

"Her husband Joseph, being a man of honor and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit’" (Mt 1:19-20).
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.

2. The Poverty of Jesus’ Birth and the Birth of the Savior

"And she gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn" (Lk 2:7).
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.

3. The Circumcision and the Holy Name of Jesus

"When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised" (Lk 2:21), "he named him Jesus" (Mt 1:25).
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.

4. The Prophecy of Simeon and the Effects of the Redemption

"Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected7" (Lk 2:34).
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.

5. The Flight into Egypt and the Overthrow of the Idols in Egypt

"So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt" (Mt 2:14). "That day, there will be an altar to Yahweh in the centre of the land of Egypt and, close to the frontier, a pillar to Yahweh" (Is 19:19).
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.

6. The Return from Egypt and Life with Jesus and Mary in Nazareth

"But when he learnt that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as ruler of Judea, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the region of Galilee" (Mt 2:22). "When they had done everything that the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And as the child grew to maturity he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favor was with him" (Lk 2:39-40).
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.

7. The Loss of the Child Jesus and the Finding of Jesus in the Temple

"When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere. Three days later, they found him in the Temple sitting among the doctors, listening to them and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies" (Lk 2:45-47) (7).
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.

St. John shows us that the people asked, "Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph ... we know his father and mother" (Jn 6:42). O Blessed St. Joseph, who labored unselfishly through love to nurture the Son of God and Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We humbly implore:
Intercede with our Lord Jesus Christ, to assist us with His Divine grace; to follow the loving example of the Holy Family and live in peace and harmony within our own households.

Let us pray

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may our family life be a reflection of your household at Nazareth. Help me to be able to say ‘I love you’ to each member of my family. Let Jesus’ pure love be in all my actions (2 Jn 6; 1 Cor 1:4; 1 Jn 3:18). May I never go to sleep harboring anger or unforgiveness towards them! Help me to see in all of them the presence of Jesus, especially when there is pain, division and lack of peace (1 Cor 8:11-12; Lk 7:47; Mt 18:22).

O Family of Jesus, with the guardian angels, watch over my family. Protect us from all evil influences and harm. Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, so adored by the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the most chaste heart of St. Joseph, reign always in my heart and in the hearts of my loved ones. Amen