Road of Hope

     The first time I remember reading about this remarkable man was in a book called A Priest Forever: Nine Signs of Renewal and Hope by Alfred McBride, O. PREAM. I still find it astonishing how this priest lived a life of such profound faith, real hope, and genuine joy in the midst of tremendous suffering. A brother in Christ I had loaned the book to was equally inspired by the mention of this man’s dedication to the Eucharist and Christ, so he got a copy of the DVD entitled Road of Hope: The Spiritual Journey of Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan.
     My husband and I watched the documentary last evening and are still letting the magnitude of grace, perseverance, holiness, joy, and hope Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan exuded settle in. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for him to be locked in a prison camp in Vietnam for thirteen years, nine of which he spent in solitary confinement.  For days, weeks, sometimes months, he lived in complete darkness. The only personal possession he had when taken to the prison was a Rosary.      He had prayed that if there was no more work that he could do for the Church that the Lord make his sacrifice complete by taking his life while he was in prison, but that if there was more work he could do to glorify God through serving the Church then he wanted to live long enough to do whatever that would be. At one point his tuberculosis had gotten so bad, they were going to do surgery to remove the largely infected area in one of his lungs. He was on the table prepped for surgery, when everything was stopped so another x-ray could be taken. This x-ray showed that his lungs were both perfectly fine. Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan attributed his miraculous healing to the intercession of the Blessed Mother.
     God had much more to do in and through this man to bring others closer to Him, to shepherd Christ’s flock, and be an inspiration to Catholics all over the world. His life journey is well-documented. The DVD includes interviews with Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan, his sister, footage of his parents, clips of him when he worked at the Vatican, and it chronicles some of the most challenging periods of suffering in his life.
     He modeled the true love and forgiveness of Christ, thereby converting many. I wouldn’t recommend showing such graphic images of suffering and poverty to children, however, teens and adults will definitely be given a clear picture of what it means to say yes to God no matter what. I don’t see how you could fail to be spellbound by this man’s unfailing commitment to living joyfully and hopefully for God in the face of unimaginable suffering.
     You can purchase this DVD here.
     I wrote this review of Road of Hope for the Tiber River Blogger Review program.  Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases.  I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.

Thinking about Nana

      Ever since my dad passed away, I’ve thought more about my nana, his mom, who was one of my favorite people in the world. Recently, the smell of sweet perfume mingled with the scent of cigarette smoke reminded me very strongly of Nana. I was holding a precious little one which made me recall the month before she passed away. My youngest sister Theresa was born that Halloween, and Nana came to stay with us that Christmas and New Year’s.

A Memorable, Movable Feast

Laura, Jeff, Me, Kevin, & John after a summer feast at Famous Dave's.

     Creative, beautiful, heartwarming, classy, delicious, loving, and fun best describe everything from the handmade invitation to the homemade turkey and pies. Kevin and I had been looking forward to this event since last year. Laura and Jeff invited us over last November to have a Thanksgiving dinner at their place with some mutual friends.

Do You Have Enough Oil in Your Lamp?

     The Mass Readings they did at St. Joseph’s Little Sisters of the Poor yesterday were about a woman being dedicated to the service of the Lord, and the Gospel was about the brides who were waiting for the bridegroom to come. Some had enough oil and others didn’t have enough, and when they went to buy some more, the bridegroom came and the doors were closed. The bridegroom tells those who hadn’t had enough oil in their lamps that he didn’t know them when they returned and knocked.
     The priest’s homily made me wonder: do I have enough oil in my lamp to wait for Christ’s coming?

The 13th Day: The True Story of Fatima

     The 13th Day: The True Story of Fatima is a beautiful, very moving rendition of Our Lady’s appearance to the three shepherd children Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta in Fatima, Portugal. Mary appeared to them on the 13th day of each month from May to October 1917. Breathtaking countryside shots, a well-selected, very talented cast, and a captivating plot based on the true story of the Marian apparitions in Fatima make this an exceptional work. The courage and faith of these children’s witnesses in the face of so many adults who vehemently refuted what the three saw and experienced are portrayed exceptionally well in this film.
     Though it’d been years since I’d read any books about the Fatima apparitions, much of what I’d read, heard, and gleaned from a variety of sources came back to me when watching this film. Plus, the dramatization of the story really drove home the incredible faith and grace these three children were given to stand firm and hold on to the Truth even when it meant they were abducted from their homes, thrown into prison, and threatened with death because they had the audacity to remain faithful to the Lord and Mary’s message.
     The powerful intercession of Mary and her role as Mediatrix are clearly defined in this movie. State-of-the-art digital special effects are used to create the images described by the children, mainly in the memoirs of the oldest child Lucia Santos, and by the thousands of eye witnesses present on October 13, 1917 when the promised Miracle of the Sun occurred.
     Even those who have read a number of books written on the Fatima apparitions and studied the prophetic messages that the Blessed Mother gave to these poor peasants I believe will enjoy and be pleased with how the story, setting, and people come across onscreen.
     I highly recommend this film as being quite inspirational. It reminds us of God’s faithfulness, Mary’s power and tenderness, as well as Christ’s love in the midst of a culture of death, the experience of personal physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering, and the ongoing challenge of living out and proclaiming the Truth when challenged from all sides to stop doing so.
     You can purchase this DVD here.
     I wrote this review of The 13th Day for the Tiber River Blogger Review program.  Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases.  I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.

Today You Are with Me

     We can easily get caught up in the mess we’ve made of things in the past or the allusions of grandeur we predict for the future, but living in the present moment, being aware of Christ’s presence and being present to others is what Christ did and calls us to imitate.

Something Old Becomes Renewed

     Last weekend was a wonderful reminder that we never know how or when friends from long ago will come back into our lives. Kevin and I went to Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend to be there for the wedding and surrounding festivities of a friend I first met when we were in fifth grade together at St. Mary’s School.
     It was funny when people at the informal gathering at her brother’s apartment on Friday evening asked how Meghan and I knew each other,

Healing Life's Hurts Through Theophostic Prayer

   I became interested in Theophostic Prayer when a friend of mine and her family who are Charismatic Catholic talked with me about it in the context of being a powerful method for healing. My friend shared with me the experience she had during her first Theophostic Prayer session, and I immediately wanted to hear more about the ministry which focuses on prayer as a means of mind renewal and experiential healing of lie-based beliefs with the Holy Spirit’s Truth.

Loving Your Marriage Enough to Protect It

     In the beginning of October, I unearthed while sorting and cleaning out stuff a book called Loving Your Marriage Enough to Protect It by Jerry B. Jenkins that I picked up from the give-away pile at church when I was on team for a Christ Renews His Parish retreat in August. In the book the author, who is a novelist, biographer, Christian husband and father talks about planting and maintaining hedges. I definitely think many people would get a lot from this book. I learned quite a bit about things from the male perspective regarding the importance of “planting hedges” as he refers to it as a way of protecting your marriage.

All Saints, All Souls, All Loved Ones Gone on to Eternal Life

     With this past Monday being All Saints’ Day and Tuesday All Souls’ Day, I’ve been thinking a lot about the lives of the saints as well as those of the loved ones who have gone before us. At Mass on Monday evening, we heard about some of those in the communion of saints and were reminded that each and every one of us is called to become a saint, to become holy and sanctified in this life.

Prodigal Daughters

     Prodigal Daughters is collection of coming home stories that is open, honest, well-written, and hope-filled. These seventeen women with a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, life experiences, and levels of faith formation discuss in detail how and when they strayed from the Catholic faith, and how God eventually guided them back to the Church.
     Some of these women came from very devout Catholic families and drifted from the faith, as so many do, once they were out on their own at college or in the world without anyone checking to see if they were going to Mass, participating in the Sacraments, making time for personal prayer, and thereby growing in holiness and closeness to the Lord.
     Many were disillusioned by the watered-down version of the Catholic faith they received growing up
after Vatican II at a time when women’s rights and sexual freedom were being heavily promoted. In most cases, God worked through a friend, spouse, child, family member, and/or a clergyman to guide these prodigal daughters back to the loving Father, the Blessed Mother, and the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.     
     The most prevalent reasons for these women to abandon their faith for a time were that they got caught up in sensual pleasures espoused by the sexual revolution and feminist movement, became focused on winning worldly success, embraced New Age thought and practices, and/or were disillusioned by religious men and women who made the mistake of adopting ideas from popular culture and passing them off as Church doctrine, though they were and are clearly against the Magisterium.
     This book gives me hope for the many Catholics who have fallen away from the faith and may even condemn the Church and its teachings. These stories prove, yet again, that God doesn’t abandon His Children, not even when we turn our backs on Him. He remains faithful to us always. He is the loving, enthusiastic, warm father who welcomes us with open arms however and whenever we finally hear His call to return home.
     One of the most poignant observations made by Archbishop Fulton Sheen which sums up this book so very well is that there are millions who hate what they think the Catholic Church is, but not a handful who hate the real thing.
     Lord, thank You for loving us so much that You never give up on us. You are always inviting us home and rejoice when we finally accept Your invitation.
     You can purchase this book here.
     I wrote this review of Prodigal Daughters for the Tiber River Blogger Review program.  Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases. I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.