Feast of the Miraculous Medal

Today is the feast day of the Miraculous Medal!  I am so devoted to St. Cathrine Laboure, she is my patron saint!  When I am confirmed I am going to take Cathrine for my Conformation name!  I wear my Miraculous Medal everyday I never take it off.   I am convinced that my hubby converted to Catholicism because of the this medal.  I gave him the medal this last spring and he has since decided to become a Catholic and is in RCIA as we speak!  Actually he request for Christmas he would like a more masculine Miraculous Medal.  He was in the Air Force and I found a Miraculous Medal that would suit him. I'm so glad that my hubby is becoming Catholic, I hope he loves our religion as much as I do!  Here is a picture of the Miraculous Medal I am getting him for Christmas!

Miraculous Medal

RCIA

Today was our first RCIA class with our sponsors.  So far so good.  I really like my sponsor she is older in her 70's and I'm sure I can learn a lot from her!  Her husband is very nice too!  I did hear some scuttlebutt while waiting for Mass to start.  Our music director who is also a candidate to become Catholic said he heard I would be getting confirmed February 7th!  That would be awesome!  Hopefully I will be able to become a Eucharist Minister before my hubby makes his first communion and I might be able to give him his first communion! Not holding my breath for that (oh yes I am!). How cool would that be? We will see how it all plays out.

I hope that my hubby gets his sacraments before Easter, not that I don't like our classes but it will be nice to have Chris become a full Catholic before Easter. I've been working on my brother to try and get him back into the church. I don't know if that will happen but miracles happen everyday!

Holy Water

The deeper I go into my faith the closer I get to God, as it should be!  I've been researching different aspects of the Catholic religion and came across and article that was was posted 2/25/11 (February 25th is my birthday! How approiate!) about Holy Water Fonts in the home.  What a great idea this was!

I read the article and decided to buy a font for my home.  I just got it in the mail a few days ago and was very glad I decided to do this.
In the article is said that St. Teresa of Avila believed that the devil hates Holy Water and they fly more quickly than from Holy Water. They also fly from the Cross, but they return almost immediately.  I thought this was very interesting!  Devil Be Gone!!!!!!

I also found this to be amazing....that Holy Water is sanctified by the blessing of the Church, that it benefits the faithful by obtaining actual grace and the remission of temporal punishment; that it is a most effective aid in all conflicts with the powers of Hell.

I love this.......Whenever the faithful make the Sign of the Cross devoutly with Holy Water and pray: “ In the Name of the Father, etc.” they gain a partial indulgence.

I recently lost my best friend from Catholic grade school all the way through high school and beyond, I new have appreciation of Purgatory, something I have always know but it got shoved to the back burner for quite sometime. Funny how a death can revive things you once knew.  I now pray for the souls in Puratory every day, especially my friend Kim. What I didn't know and learned from the Totus Tuus Family Blog was, when sprinkling Holy Water for your loved ones, your friends, etc.,  In gratitude, you should give them sprinkling of Holy Water several times daily and have Masses offered up for the repose of their souls.  Sprinkle a few drops of Holy Water and pray fervently: “O God, in Your Mercy multiply these drops into as many drops of Holy Water as there are souls in Purgatory, and allow them not to fear the pains of Purgatory, as long as the moisture of Holy Water is present.”

I give credit for most of this post to the Totus Tuus Family Blog.

Grace...What is that?

What is the Catholic concept of grace?


grace [greys]
noun

1.  favor or goodwill. Synonyms: kindness, kindliness, love, benignity; condescension.

2.  a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior: It was only through the dean's grace that I wasn't expelled from school. Synonyms: forgiveness, charity, mercifulness. Antonyms: animosity, enmity, disfavor.

3.  mercy; clemency; pardon: He was saved by an act of grace from the governor. Synonyms: lenity, leniency, reprieve. Antonyms: harshness.


There are two kinds of grace:

Actual Grace is a supernatural push or encouragement. It’s transient. It doesn’t live in the soul, but acts on the soul from the outside.  Temporary supernatural intervention by God to enlighten the mind or strengthen the will to perform supernatural actions that lead to heaven. Actual grace is therefore a transient divine assistance to enable man to obtain, retain, or grow in supernatural grace and the life of God.

Sanctifying Grace is grace that stays in the soul. It’s what makes the soul holy.  The supernatural state of being infused by God, which permanently inheres in the soul. It is a vital principle of the supernatural life, as the rational soul is the vital principle of a human being's natural life. It is not a substance but a real quality that becomes part of the soul substance. Although commonly associated with the possession of the virtue of charity, sanctifuing grace is yet distinct from this virtue. Charity, rather, belongs to the will, whereas sanctifying grace belongs to the whole soul, mind, will, and affections. It is called sanctifying grace because it makes holy those who possess the gift by giving them a participation in the divine life.