Solemnity of St. Joseph

Today is the feast day of St. Joseph, the husband of Mary. Given the current trying times, below is a prayer to St. Joseph, patron saint of workers (May 1 is the feast day for Joseph, the worker).

Prayer to Saint Joseph for Success in Work

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my many sins; to work with thankfulness and joy, considering it an honor to employ and develop, by means of labor, the gifts received from God; to work with order, peace, prudence and patience, never surrendering to weariness or difficulties; to work, above all, with purity of intention, and with detachment from self, having always death before my eyes and the account which I must render of time lost, of talents wasted, of good omitted, of vain complacency in success so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all after thy example, O Patriarch Joseph. Such shall be my motto in life and death.
Amen.

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! One of my favorite saints, along with St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Francis of Assisi, St. Patrick was instrumental in converting all of Ireland. He used the shamrock to explain the Trinity. For more information, please go here.

St. Patrick's Breastplate (short version)

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
Amen.

It's also my birthday. Despite it being a rather significant one, my anxiety stems not from the age number but from the economic turmoil that is catching up with our family. I know I should trust in God, but the selfish part of me wants to know why I can't have a fun and present-filled birthday. Deep down I am thankful that I have my family, my house, my health, and my job (at least for now).

I must remind myself to take a deep breath and pray. On that note, the Chaplet of St. Patrick is said on 12 beads (mine are green and include a Celtic cross at one end and a St. Patrick medal at the other end). The purpose of this Chaplet is that through the intercession of Saint Patrick, God Almighty will strengthen one's faith and grant the grace of faith to others.

Chaplet of St. Patrick
On the medal, say the Apostle's Creed. On each of the twelve green beads recite the Glory Be. Conclude with the Breastplate of St. Patrick (above).

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to my little one! I can't believe you are three years old. Your daddy and I love you very much. May you grow strong in body, mind and spirit, and be blessed always.

(Sorry this is two days late.)

Love,
Mommy

Lenten Praying

My Lenten plan this year was to repeat what I so successfully did last year (pray the rosary daily, read/study the Bible, start a prayer journal) and add reading a couple of meaningful books. Last year's Lenten season was so rewarding to me, and although I slipped out of some of my Lenten prayer practice, I have retain others.

Except this Lent I don't seem quite as drawn to reading and studying the Bible. Or recording in my prayer journal. I want to be, but I am just not feeling it. And I feel horrible about it. Needless to say, these are the two practices that have slipped a bit since last year.

I will say that I am reading an excellent book: The How-To Book of the Mass by Michael Dubruiel. Very interesting and thought provoking.

Moderating Comments

If you've commented recently and are wondering why it takes so long for your comment to appear, I apologize. I am still getting the hang of the idea of moderating comments. Because of recent spam issues that many of us experienced, I turned on the "moderate comments" feature.

I really have to pay more attention to what I am reading in my emails since they clearly ask me if I want to accept, moderate, or delete your comments.

I've got to take a vacation (again).

Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Announced on Monday: President Obama signed an executive order that opens up federal tax dollars for embryonic stem cell research. Quoted on CNN.com, Obama says,

"In recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values," Obama said at the White House.

"In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research -- and the humanity and conscience to do so responsibly."

I don't really have an answer beyond the fact that this doesn't make sense to me. First, I understand that adult stem cells have shown far more promise (I don't have a link, but I've seen and heard this a number of times). Second, yes, I would love to ease all human suffering, starting with not killing people.

I'm a bit too tired to post a more thoughtful, well-written response, so I will go with this for now.