Happy Palm Sunday

One more week of Lent! Then I can text, IM and eat all the peach rings I want :)

40 Days For Life, Day 6 (33 Babies Saved!)

Intention:

That those tempted to abort may understand that their child is already present, and already a real person.

Scripture:

And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

-- Luke 1:41-44

Reflection:

Jesus not only loves unborn children -- He was one himself!

Think about this for a moment.

We often hear people speak of a pregnant mother by saying, "She's expecting a child." Now if one is expecting a package, the package is not yet there. As reflected in our verse for today, however, this is not the case with the mother. Her gift is already there. The pregnant woman, a mother already, does not have a child "on the way," but has a child, already present and in full possession of his or her human rights, starting with the right to life.

Prayer:

Jesus, open my eyes to your presence in the life of every child. Open my heart to joy in the birth of every child, a birth that reflects the joy of your own birth in Bethlehem. As you shared life in the womb of Mary, so now send your protection upon every child still in the womb, and grant to their mothers the strength and joy that comes from welcoming the gift of life. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

Thank You!

Thank you to all who commented! I have so far raised $0.85! I know it doesn't seem like alot, but please keep commenting and tell your friends, family and fellow bloggers to, too! I'm saving every bit of change I can and my sister is giving hers to me too! :)

Anyway, I've been looking at charities to give my money to, and I've decided that I want YOU to tell me about your favorite charities! If you tell me (comment on this post) before Sunday, I'll make a poll and put it in there. :)

Some of the charities I'm looking at include St. Jude's Children Hospital, Priests for Life, The Sisters of Life, and Plan USA. But, please tell me about YOUR favorite organizations/charities so I can look at them. :)

Thankya!

Ash Wednesday "Mass"

At our parish, they had three Ash Wednesday masses. 7am, 8:30am, and 6pm. We woke up at nine, so we couldn't make the morning masses. My mom left for Florida today at 4:30, so the 6 was out of the question. So, we went to the big church in our town for 12 mass.

The priest was a talker, that's for sure. At 12:45, he had just finished his sermon. Now, for a regular Sunday Mass, this is NORMAL. For a weekday mass during people's lunch hour when they don't really have two hours for Mass, it's pretty bad.

So, after we got our ashes, we rushed out so my mom could finish packing.

It was weird. o.O

Ash Wednesday

Happy Ash Wednesday!

Here's a meditation for my favorite blog readers :)

And remember to comment for the poor!

The ashes we use are the burnt palms from last year's celebration of Passion Sunday.
We begin our Lenten journey aware of where we are going.
We want to enter into the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus for us more fully.
That is the purpose of our journey. It is why we mark our heads with his cross.
It is why we fast today and abstain from meat.

Our Lenten program is not an effort to save ourselves.
We have been saved by his sacrifice.
Our self-denial helps us, in the darkness that surrounds us,
to prepare ourselves to receive his light.
For this is a journey to the Easter font,
where we will renew the promises of our Baptism,
remembering that in dying with him in the waters of Baptism,
we are re-born with him to everlasting life.

This year's journey begins today.

Yet even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;

Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
- Joel 2:12-13


I KNOW! Comment to let me know what you're giving up for Lent! I'm giving up Peach Rings, Texting and IM!

My wicked cool Lent idea.

So, last night, I randomly looked at my calendar, and realized that LENT is soon! I lay in bed pondering, "What will I give up?" etc.
As I lay in bed, it hit me.

I read in a magazine about a woman who gave a dollar for each comment she got to charity.

Well, I don't have that much money, but for Lent, I'm doing something similar.

For each comment I get, I will donate a random COIN to charity. I'm collecting all the change I have.

And there's ONE rule: You can't comment randomly saying something like, "Hi." or just like that spam. It has to have SOMETHING to do with my blog or the post. And you can't repeatedly comment. I'm really not that rich, guys. o.O

Anyway, this will start on ASH WEDNESDAY and I will keep count of how much money I get on the blog. I'm bugging my sister to give me her change, too. she's a sweetie and said, "Yes." :D

Lent

Soo, Lent starts tomorrow. Lent is a time of prayer, solemnity, and sacrifice for us Catholics. Lent starts with Ash Wednesday. Ever since I was little, I would give up my favorite things for Lent. Candy, Ice Cream, TV, Computer, etc. This year I'm giving up sugar and TV. I've given up computer for the last couple of years, and I would love to again this year, but since I have Catholic Chick, It wouldn't work.

HAPPY MARDI GRAS!