Catholic Cysters Corner - Page 2

tigir · 08-11-2006, 04:46 PM

I definately need to be saying prayers to St. Philomena! Sounds like she will cover all my bases.

Julie ~ I am hoping my DH will convert. Someone asked him when he was going to and he told them probably on his death bed.

So I am praying for that if we can't have it before. He is very supportive of me and raising our children that way.

Lemonade Ladybug · 08-11-2006, 07:41 PM

Tam...your girls have beautiful names!

Jenny (thread boss, ha ha)...could we start giving intentions, you know... to pray about. Just curious...I think it would be a neat way to connect us all. Or learn more about St. Philomena together?

jennynd · 08-11-2006, 09:03 PM

Hey, this thread is for everyone... I just wanted to get the ball rolling

Anything you want to do with it is fine by me!

Julieh - I went to RCIA with DH a year after we married & oh my gosh - I went to 12 years of Catholic schools & still had so much to learn! It was a great experience for us both. We plan to keep going every year (as just inquiry class) - it's so fun to meet all the new people wanting to join the faith. I almost cried this year at the Easter Vigil seeing all the people from class! They even did our church's first adult immersion baptisms which were really cool.

My big sis went away from the church & now she's thinking about coming back again. I am conflicted about how much of a "nudge" I should give her back into the faith... I want to give her a BIG one but I'm afraid it will drive her away again (did more than once before). Please pray for her everyone! I know she has it in her heart but there are a lot of things in her life she'd have to change & I don't think she's really ready for that.

08-11-2006, 09:09 PM

Thanks for the welcome ladies!

I think that "silent support" is best sometimes. I know thats hard when we are taught to spread the word and encourage others to enter our faith but to me thats not always the best route. Maybe its easy for me to see it that way as a convert who would not be where I am today if I would have had direct pressure. I know me and I would have rebelled. Some people need to come around on their own time. Jenny, it sounds like this is how your sister is. She knows what you want for her so to much of a push again might be overwhelming. If you let her take her time and find her own way, you might be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

jennynd · 08-12-2006, 02:27 PM

Thanks so much Julieh. Yes, I struggled with this for a long time b/c I was just jumping out of my socks to bring her back! Finally, I talked to my priest about how I felt like I wasn't doing enough & he said the best way to lead someone to the faith is to be an example of it myself. He said that seeing me & DH grow in our faith together & how it nurtures our relationship is more powerful than we think. I believe he was totally right, because when I stopped bothering her about being Catholic & only talked about it in reference to me & DH (I told her about a time when we went to church mad at each other & the homily was about marriage. The priest was looking at us a lot the whole way through - I think he could see we weren't our usual selves - and by the time church was over we had let all our anger go

) I saw an immediate difference in the way she reacted to me.

Also, just so no one misunderstands, when I desire for someone to be Catholic it is really because I have found so much joy & peace in it myself & I want them to experience that too... not because I think they are going to hell if they don't. I'm sure all you Catholic cysters know that though

tigir · 08-12-2006, 04:29 PM

LL ~ Thank you! My eldest DD was named after my great,great, grandmother Anna and my DH's grandmother DeEtte (who passed away just after I found out I was pg). The other two were harder to come up with. Mack was out of a baby book and I just love older names like Grace ( happens to be my grandpa's mom's name) Edyn was a last minute thing out of the baby book - it was between that and Vivian, and DH liked Edyn better. Alexandra is a name DH and I really liked and actually a left over from #2 - Gracie Alexandra was the other choice we had, but when Mack came out with reddish hair DH said she looked like a Mackenzie.

Alexandra was another of my great grandmothers.

I like picking out names that have neat meanings too, but I am running out of names I like! I told DH he better start making boys so he gets to pick out some names for a change - that was our deal, he gets to pick out boys names and I the girls.

If one of us really hates it then we can veto, but usually we are on the same page.

jennynd · 08-14-2006, 06:24 AM

Hey ladies... I've got a ?? for you (sorry, not PCOS related). My priest was at my grad party this weekend & he said that if a priest gets married in Lebanon & then comes to the US that the marriage is still valid. Apparently they allow priests in Lebanon to marry. He said that this is a Church law, not a scriptural teaching, so technically there could be a change in the Church on this teaching. What is with that? I totally trust this priest & have to talk to him more about this later but just thinking maybe you cysters would know more...

I was thinking, if the all male priesthood has scriptural basis in how Jesus was male & choose all males, then I'd think the same would go for priests having a wife & children. As far as I know, none of the apostles were married & they were even asked to leave their boat & nets to follow Jesus. This is much like the model now... a priest is asked to "leave everything" to join the priesthood. They sacrifice a lot to commit their lives to follow in Jesus' instituted discipleship. Being married, I can't imagine a priest being able to fulfill his duties if he had a wife & family to worry about (recognizing the difference b/n priests & pastors, of course). Any thoughts?

This all came up b/c my brother is considering the priesthood! Please pray for him... he is really confused about his vocation right now.

annem84 · 08-14-2006, 03:00 PM

Thanks for the welcome. Finally found a spot I can come and not get judged for past "mistakes"

Lemonade Ladybug · 08-14-2006, 05:34 PM

Anne - Welcome! Nope, no juding here... lol...we are all human and all have mistakes past, present, and future! Thankfully we can ask for forgiveness for it! Congrats on the baby!!! YIPPEE!! How very exciting! I love seeing those baby things in people's signatures!

Tam - That's so interesting! Family names are so significant. I love names that have meaning...If God ever allows me to get pregnant...a baby girl with the name Hope thrown in... will have plenty of meaning! If not, maybe a foster baby! Who knows...where God is taking us on this ride...but we trust His map over ours!

ha ha... Veto on names... I love it...we do that too! I will be praying for our husbands to convert too! I can't wait for RCIA to start...I just wonder if this will be how his heart is touched. He's agreed to attend to learn...and that's all I really encouraged. It's between he and God.

Jenny - Was the church in Lebanon a Roman Catholic Church tied to the Vatican?? That's fascinating...I know if you are married and a priest in the...is it Lutheran church?? and covert to Catholicism, you are fine to stay married and still be a priest that way. My parents church has a married priest and everyone loves him... is that sorta the same thing? WOOHOO on your brother! Many prayers going up for him and your sister!

Things I currently ponder and pray about: What exactly is the best thing to pray for regarding the wars/conflict? I end up just praying for world peace, hoping God can see all the other things in my heart that are tied to that. I pray for my Mom...she just had a hip replaced a few days ago. I pray that if we can't have babies on our own, that God continues to show me what exactly my role in life is...I also thank Him for my PCOS... (EKK!!) because as much as I hate being sick all the time, I never would have found all my cysters and I never would have realized how strong I really am.

Blessings to all,
LL

Lemonade Ladybug · 08-14-2006, 05:43 PM

Okay...I wanted to post this...it certainly seems that many of the things we mention are covered by this little lady...
*********************************

Saint Philomena is:
The patroness of youth, with predilection for babies and children.
The protectress of young married couples, and many times has given the joys of motherhood to sterile women.
The assistant and protectress of those giving birth.
The consoler of afflicted mothers who invoke her for material or spiritual help for their children.
The helper of the poor and orphans.
The great helper of students and those who must undergo examinations.
The comforter of the afflicted and imprisoned.
The solace of the suffering and sick.

The Background of St. Philomena
On May 25, 1802, excavators in the ancient Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome came upon a well-preserved shelf tomb sealed with terr-cotta slabs in the manner usually reserved for nobility or great martyrs. The tomb was marked with three tiles, inscribed with the following confusing words: LUMENA / PAXTE / CUMFI. However, if one places the first tile last and separates the words properly, the very intelligible sentence emerges: Pax tecum, Filumena, which is "Peace be with you, Philomena." Also inscribed on the tiles were symbols: a lily, arrows, an anchor and a lance, which would appear to indicate virginity and martyrdom. Inside the coffin there were discovered the remains of a girl of about twelve or thirteen years of age, along with a vial or ampulla of her dried blood.

Transferred to the Treasury of the Rare Collections of Christian Antiquity in the Vatican, the remains were soon forgotten by the public, especially since no record existed of a virgin martyr named Philomena. But in 1805, a Neapolitan priest, Don Francesco di Lucia, traveling to Rome with his newly appointed bishop, requested and, after a brief delay, received the relics of this martyr "Philomena" to enshrine in his village church at Mugnano del Cardinale, near Naples.

Immediately upon the official donation of St. Philomena's sacred remains, signal favors began to be granted through her intercession and unusual events to occur. The favors, graces and even miracles started to increase, even before her enshrinement at Mugnano, and they steadily grew in number thereafter - such that this virgin martyr soon earned the title, "Philomena, Powerful with God". In 1837, only 35 years after her exhumation, Pope Gregory XVI elevated this "Wonder-Worker of the Nineteenth Century" to sainthood. In an act unprecedented in the history of Catholicism, she became the only person recognized by the Church as a Saint solely on the basis of her powerful intercession, since nothing historical was known of her except her name and the evidence of her martyrdom.

St. Philomena has been successfully invoked by her supplicants in every sort of needed, such that she has become another patron of "hopeless" and "impossible" cases, like St. Jude or St. Rita, but she is known to be especially powerful in cases involving conversion of sinners, return to the Sacraments, expectant mothers, destitute mothers, problems with children, unhappiness in the home, sterility, priests and their work, help for the sick, the missions, real estate, money problems, food for the poor and mental illness. But truly, as her devotees discovered, no case, of whatever matter, is too trivial or too unimportant to concern her.

taken from:http://www.saint-philomena.com/background.html

LL

08-14-2006, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lemonade Ladybug

I also thank Him for my PCOS... (EKK!!) because as much as I hate being sick all the time, I never would have found all my cysters and I never would have realized how strong I really am.

Blessings to all,
LL

Amen to that!

O, I need to pray more often. I have never been consistant and that drives me crazy!! I dont know why I cant dicipline myself in this area.

THanks for the info in St, Philomena. That is jsut great!

Lemonade Ladybug · 08-14-2006, 06:19 PM

Hey Julieh...you are so darn welcome...love the pics in your signature...

You mention needing to pray more and aren't disciplined... I used to guilt myself about that too...BUT GET THIS! ha ha...

My Deacon at church did a class (there was a book with it...it's at home. I can email the title later) this past fall and we did a personality test online and then based on that we learned about ways to pray that 'fit' our personality...for example...I thought if I wasn't praying my rosary, that I was a bad girl. My mother prays them everyday...why can't I do that/pray like her... ha ha... Anyway, based on the profile and book...I pray better when I write a letter to God/make it personal, or I write a letter to ME, from GOD and let God guide the pen in my hand...does that make any sense? When I read scripture...I PUT myself in the story/words, in place of whoever I read about. My husband, reads the scripture and is solely looking for facts. He reads for data...he doesn't make it personal/apply it to his life... isn't that interesting? So, writing a letter to God is a waste of time for him. He prefers to learn facts...which I am hoping that RCIA will give him those 'facts'....

So, dearheart...the book was saying that there are MANY ways to pray...you just have to find the way you connect with most and go with it.

LL

tigir · 08-14-2006, 07:28 PM

Jenny ~ I am going to look into the priest/marriage issue more.

LL ~ I think I need to look at adding a thank you to my prayers about PCOS! I have been able to talk to a few people with it and give them info, maybe I have it to help others?

The info on St. Philomena is so interesting - I always wondered how they came to the conclusion to switch the words around. Does it mean anything the way it origianlly read? She definately covers everything I have been upset over this past year.

CelticSpirit · 08-14-2006, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lemonade Ladybug

I also thank Him for my PCOS... (EKK!!) because as much as I hate being sick all the time, I never would have found all my cysters and I never would have realized how strong I really am.

Blessings to all,
LL

It's funny that you said this...I had a m/c that really devastated me. If it wasn't for that m/c, I wouldn't have found out about PCOS and as a result, I wouldn't have met all these wonderful women here. The women on the mommy board have been especially helpful to me through my parenting crises and I'm so very thankful that I found this place and all the wonderful cysters here.

****As for the Lebanese priests being married, there's a link in my siggy to another Catholic thread. Ask that question over there. There is a WONDERFUL cyster (Swingin'Cyster) who works for a Catholic Radio station and is just FULL of the best answers on all this. In fact, she just mentioned married priests in her last post.

God bless!
Stacie

Lemonade Ladybug · 08-15-2006, 07:20 PM

Tam - Yes, you should thank Him (I know it's not easy!) for PCOS...because YOU literally do not know what a GIFT you are to me and others here... if you didn't have this, then we wouldn't have you! Your love and support totally flow through your posts.

You help many...I think we all do.

Tigir - I love that you mention your experience with the mommyboard and m/c. We are soooooo very blessed to have this community and anything that is on our hearts at any given moment is being discussed or can be discussed here.

Today's prayer: God, I know I've never ovulated before but if you just let me TRY it once, I know I can do it good! ha ha...

I LOVE YOU GUYS! Can I just say that! lol...
Thanks for always being here.
LL