I'm Alive!!!

Just a quick update to say that: yes, I made it out of my Oceanography midterm alive. Barely, but I did it. I'm pretty positive I didn't pass the exam because it was insane but if I did, it's all St. Joseph of Cupertino and St. Thomas Aquinas who lent me a hand. I was even able to keep a little prayer card of St. Thomas Aquinas on my desk as I did my exam. I flew by the multiple choice questions (which were worth 70% of the grade) but had problems with the 2 essays. Do YOU want to write 2 essays when you can barely remember all the 300 pages worth of data you had to cram in your head all weekend? Yeah, not so much. lol. But, I am ALIVE! Whooo! lol. Okay. This short lived celebration must come to an end. I still have an (online) assignment to turn in to my Oceanography professor and then work on the "Sir Gawain" critical analysis essay I have to turn in tomorrow in English Lit class. *breathes in and out* I will be SO HAPPY when this weekend ends because I'll be able to slow down quite a bit.

And, hey, no anxiety! No panic attacks! Thank you, St. Dymphna! :D

Hopefully I'll be able to write a longer post tomorrow or sometime soon. A BIG THANK YOU to those of you who prayed for me! I greatly appreciate it! :D

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless! :D
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Listen to: Daily Breakfast 547 - Beauty and Soul

I think everyone should listen to "the Daily Breakfast with Fr. Roderick", especially today's podcast episode about beauty. I agree with everything he said, wholeheartedly. So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and listen to the podcast. You can also subscribe to his podcast on iTunes. :D

Daily Breakfast 547 - Beauty and Soul

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Thanks for reading (and hopefully listening) and God Bless. :D
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Proud to be Catholic When No One Else Speaks Up.

I got back from my British Literature class a little while ago. We're starting to dive into some of the stories that are part of the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (I can already imagine some of you rolling your eyes, lol). Well, before we really dove into it the general prologue, she asked how many of us were Roman Catholics. Take a wild guess at who was the only one who raised their hand without hesitation. Yup, I was the only one. I spoke up too. I said "I'm Roman Catholic... and I'm proud!" I even pumped my fist up in the air for emphasis. lol. No one else spoke up. Well, no, the guy who sits next to me said he was born Catholic but I guess is a lapsed Catholic. If any of you read one of the last entries in August about when I was in the History of Religions class, the first day back, you'll remember I was the only one who spoke up and said "I'm Roman Catholic." (Side note: I also did the Sign of the Cross with my Rosary and kissed the Crucifix on it, out in the open, right before I entered the classroom).

All of that got me thinking... why are some young Catholics either ashamed of being Catholic or why do they just not acknowledge it? I know, personally, I used to hesitate to say that I was Catholic because of negative connotations that word has, especially in today's society. I just didn't want to deal with all the "stupid questions" (this is my mind frame at the time; I was away from the Church at this time) people wanted to ask so I just said I was Catholic and just stayed quiet. Now, since I no longer care what other people think and because I'm a stronger (spiritually) Catholic, I speak up. I acknowledge that I'm Catholic, and I always say that I'm proud because I am.

It makes me sad that I used to be one of those people who were silently Catholic amongst the masses. It makes me even sadder that there are still A LOT of young people who are that way. It's like you're denying the Lord, in a sense, because you're afraid to speak up and say that you believe in Him. Guess what... no one's gonna make you feel like crumbs if you speak up. No one's made me feel bad about being Catholic. Maybe it's because I live in such a diverse city (Los Angeles) and thus everyone's a little more open-minded. Maybe it's because people are much nicer than others believe. Or maybe I've just been lucky. I don't know. All I know is that it's not going to hurt to speak up once in a while. On the contrary, it'll make you feel spiritually stronger and you can bet you'll earn points with God because it's showing your love for Him and for your faith. :D

I believe that's all I'm going to write for now... and quite possibly for a few days. I'm still getting over my cold so my nauseousness is still present. Yuck. I'm also a week behind schedule so I'm going to play catch up (especially with my British Lit and Oceanography classes). Hope everyone is having a good week. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God bless. :D
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Much Better; Feeling the Love of the Blessed Virgin Mary

I am feeling better today. I missed class yesterday because I woke up feeling very warm (and I was, I checked with a thermometer) and with a headache. Ugh. I honestly like missing class because I feel like I fall more and more behind. There's no way I would've been well in class though. My temperature didn't go down (much) for the rest of the day but at least the headache stopped until about after 1 p.m. But, positive thing, I was able to rest a little (which means faster recovery) and I got to feel closer to our beloved Mother, Mary. :D

I went through a really hard time yesterday morning. I shut the door in my room, knelt down in front of the big Our Lady of Guadalupe and bawled my eyes out. Of course, I also prayed in between sobs. Feeling like crumbs, I somehow found the strength to kneel and stay like that for quite some time. I asked Our Lady to help me understand why some things were said and why I felt the way I did. There was a time when I asked her to please make someone stop saying what they were because it really hurt my feelings, but I ended up changing it to "please help them understand that what that person is saying is very hurtful and doesn't help matters." I honestly felt very alone... and then, a bit later, I had this beautiful feeling like there's no way I'm alone. It's really weird but I felt as though I had our Blessed Virgin Mary there with me. I don't know how many Hail Marys I prayed (I lost count) until I felt better, but I DID feel better.

Every time I go through something where I feel like that -- like I'm alone in this world -- I always pray to her, and to the Lord, to please help me feel like I'm not alone. And every time I ask that of them, I always feel a warmth in my heart that's indescribable. It erases irrational thoughts I have in my head and it makes me feel so much closer to Our Blessed Mother and to Our Lord. It's amazing. I wish I'd started doing this, praying to them, at a earlier age (despite being the youngest of 7, I grew up as if I were an only child)... it would've saved me a lot of heartache. It is definitely something I will teach my (future) children to do. Hopefully they won't stray as I did; though I'm incredibly happy that I found my way back. :D

Alright, well, I'm going to go over my notes for the Philosophy of Logic course because we have a big test due today... then go read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight for British Lit... then try to finish my History of World Religions assignments early... so I can cram for my BIG MIDTERM (oh, how I dread that word) exam for Oceanography. Remember, my Oceanography course crams 16 weeks worth of work into 8 weeks so it's midterm time. *shudders* Prayers to St. Joseph of Cupertino, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Dymphna (for my sanity) will be said this entire week. Oh yeah... bring it on! lol.

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D
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Complaints Challenge... Ay!

Hello there everyone! I'm still pretty much confined to my bed (you darn cold!) and all but I thought I'd get up for a few minutes to write a little something.

You know what I've noticed? Everyone complains an awful lot. I know I do. Yesterday I noticed that I was complaining to my mom about how my History of World Religions professor didn't let me know that I had an extra something due (well, my name wasn't attached to a particular group) until the day before or day it was due. The last time I'd checked it, on Wednesday, my name wasn't on there. When I checked last night, minutes before it was due, I noticed she'd added my name. I hadn't checked on Thursday or earlier in the day yesterday because I'd been stuck in bed. That's when it hit me that it could've been prevented and that a lot of things we complain about usually can be. So, I've decided to challenge myself. Every time I feel like I'm going to start complaining, and it was preventable, I will remind myself that it was my fault for not being more careful. I'm going to learn from it and try to not make the same mistake again.

If it wasn't preventable, I am going to turn it around into something positive. Example: I feel miserable with this cold and it's slowing me down in terms of finishing my coursework BUT I've been finding more time to pray so this cold has becoming a blessing in disguise. I was having less and less time to pray because of my chaotic schedule. Since I've gotten this cold, I've been able to slow down enough that I have time to give thanks to God, and all the saints I've asked for intercessions, for all the wonderful things I've been blessed with lately.

Any else up for this challenge? Let me know if you'll consider it! :D

Alright, it's back to bed for me. I need to get well as soon as possible. Ever since my anxiety's diminished significantly (thank you God and St. Dymphna!), I haven't been wanting to stay indoors. Yup. lol. Okay, I'm done. lol. :D

Hope everyone has a great weekend! As always, thanks for reading and God Bless! :D
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Cold, You are NO Friend of Mine; Dreams: End of the World (Again).

I think I have my first actual cold (not just cold-like symptoms) in nearly 3 years. Yes, you read that correctly. The last time I had a full blown cold/flu was in November 2005. You see? I'm pretty healthy, except for my anxiety. :D This blog won't be too long because I want to get back into bed soon. Hopefully my anxiety won't get worse. Prayer to St. Dymphna will definitely be said today! Mister Cold, you are definitely NO friend of mine! I missed my British Lit class yesterday... and my paper was due! UGH! But, trust me, I spent most of the day in bed because I felt like passing out. I only went to the hospital to get the heart monitor taken off. Hey, maybe the whole episode on Sunday was just a warning that a cold was on it's way. Ah!

I had yet ANOTHER end of the world dream. It's been quite a while since I've written about my dreams, eh? I've only had one dream about what happened after the world ended (which I wrote about a few months ago). Most of my dreams that are about the end of the world never get beyond what's happening as the world is ending. Only that one in April has been about what happened afterward -- walking through Purgatory and all of that with my parents and maternal grandmother. Last night's dream was typical except that it went a little further than usual.

In the dream, we looked up to the sky -- the sun was setting behind us and we could see the sky getting darker and all the stars shining like little diamonds in the sky. Then I saw three bomb explosions happening right next to each other in the sky. The explosions were very golden but think of the color of 10 karat gold. That light golden color. Then I saw something silver/metallic coming down from the sky and the earth began to shake violently. I remember going to grab the Our Lady of Guadalupe framed picture that's up on my way and then grabbing the St. Jude statues (kind of like what I do in real life when there's an earthquake) and hold them close to me. I remember seeing a life sized crucifix, with Jesus nailed to the cross. I remember it getting nearer and nearer but then I woke up. Yeah. It's been quite a while since I've had any dreams like that.

Dreams are just weird, man. I haven't told Fr. Leo any of my recent dreams but I know he's interested in them. As Fr. James once told me, my dreams are better than movies. lol. He's absolutely right. :D Hopefully I'll be able to chat with him once my cold goes away. I need to talk to him anyway, see if he can help me with something. :D

Alright, well, I need to get back to bed and drink plenty of fluids. I want this cold out of me as soon as possible. One positive thing about this cold, I have more time for prayer and for movies about saints! WHOO! lol. Hey, when I get sick, I find more time to devote myself to the Lord and prayer so I see it as a blessing... despite the gross feelings. :D

I hope everyone's doing well. As always, thanks for reading and God Bless.
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Heart Monitor; Religion in Beowulf and Literature; Novel Playlist.

As I type this out, I am on hour 2 of wearing a 24-hour heart monitor. They want to make sure the palpitations I've been having, as well as the shortness of breath, is due to my stress and anxiety levels and not my heart. I already had an echo-cardiogram done last *thinks* November and my heart is completely healthy but they want to rule everything out. I would've been very nervous a few months ago but, with all the tests they've done for various things, I'm used to it. The only thing is that this little monitor is a pain in the tush. lol. It hangs around my neck and it weighs me down a bit... not to mention all the electric wires taped on me. It's also annoying because I can't sit or do many normal movements. I feel stiff, ick. But it's all for the best (and only a little under 22 more hours, WHOO!) so I'll suck it up. lol.

Of course, the day that I had this thing put on is the day I had problems with an academic counselor and the financial aid office. Hey, it's not my fault they don't know what they're doing. To try to put the blame on me for things they messed up IS messed up. As I said a few entries ago, I knew I would have problems with the financial aid department but I never thought they'd make me shed tears. I'm a sensitive person so the way I got treated (honestly, I felt an inch tall -- and I have NO FAULT in the matter) just opened the water works. Can I start my transfer applications yet? lol. (ed.: I have to wait until next month to begin those.)

I am going to try to finish this blog so I can work on my critical analysis of Beowulf that is due tomorrow morning. I chose to dissect it from a religious prospective (makes sense, as a Religious Studies major, right?). I never noticed how many religious symbols were in Literature. I honestly didn't notice it until my Brit Lit professor pointed it out. Just looking at Beowulf, he (Beowulf) represents all that is good and holy, Grendel symbolizes all that is evil, and the materialism can be seen as avarice (greed) which is a sin. It's all really interesting. If anyone is (or will, in the future) do anything like this for a Lit class, please feel free to ask me questions or compare notes. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to write and which examples I'll be using, I just have to finish Beowulf. Hey, haven't I been saying that for the past couple of blogs? lol. Well, I can't help if I am not a big fan of it thus making it harder for me to finish reading it. lol.

Alright, well, before I conclude this blog (wow, that sounded so formal), I want to give you guys something fun. Well, I think it's fun. lol. I decided to upload some songs (and more to come throughout the day) that have either inspired scenes in my novel/screenplay or are mentioned in it (there's quite a lot of music in it). Since I didn't write it in order, the songs are not in order. Just a few clues: it's a dramedy (dramatic comedy), the story is seen from both the male and female protagonists points of view, and it takes place in 3 different countries (the U.S., a British country, and a Spanish-speaking country). The more alternative/rock songs were mainly used when working on the male protagonist; the jazz/swing/pop were mostly for the female protagonist with a few songs used for both or for certain scenes. That's all I'm saying. :D

Oh, and side note: The Donna's "Fall Behind Me" has a word that some of you might be uncomfortable hearing. You may want to skip over it. It's not a bad, bad word; it's another word for "mess" up and it's also the name of something you need a screwdriver to put into place. You've been warned.

The playlist will be on the right hand side so you can always come back and listen to it or see what I've added.

That's it for now. I have a lot of work to do so... as always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D
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Brain Overload; Feeling Blessed and Thankful.

Oy. My brain is overloaded with facts of Hinduism. I'm about 2 days late on my paper about Hinduism, as well. :( Bah! I didn't have the cash, or transportation, to get the book on time thus making me fall behind. Luckily, we have a 2 day grace period so... I am going to get to that as soon as I finish this blog. Between my History of World Religions and British Literature courses, I have very little free time. I am not too stressed about my other courses because they don't make my head and eyes hurt as much (in other words, not as much reading). I will be so happy once we're a quarter into the semester because that's when the professor stop loading us with huge amounts of work. I will also need a massage by the end of this coming weekend because I already have knots in my shoulders and back from all the stress. Okay, I will stop my ranting right about... now. lol.

I went Mass today but left about a bit early because I felt like I was going to pass out (I also left my Oceanography course earlier in the day early for the same reason). Since my father and I weren't seated together (long story), he didn't see when I slipped out. I had to wait out by the car until Mass was done... but what I received during that time made up for my missing Mass (well, at least the bummed out feeling of not making it through the Mass) was fantastic. A young girl came up to me (while I was dabbing my forehead with a cold paper towel I got from the bathroom) and asked to borrow my cell phone. She then started up a conversation in which she was very open about her life with me. I've never encountered someone who was that trusting with a stranger. Even though she's a decade younger than I am (wow, that make me feel old, lol), she's lived so much more than I have. She has a child and has gone through heck and back. As she was telling me all these things, I felt very sad for her but personally very blessed at the same time. She asked me questions like whether I had a boyfriend or had kids, whether I was in school, and whether I was saving myself for marriage (though she used more colorful words). I was VERY shocked she would ask me such personal questions but I felt like I had to be very honest with her. I usually just say "I'm sorry but it's none of your business" but I answered all her questions. I think she was very surprised by my answers, especially when I told her I was 23 and not 15 years-old like she thought I was. (Side note: Yes, I'm often mistaken for a teenager. I look anywhere from 15-19 according to people.) I was shocked when she started using the foul language she used. Every other word was the f-bomb. This was on a bench outside of church, too. I kept thinking "How can someone be so disrespectful at church?" Granted, we weren't inside but we were still a couple of feet away. Talking to her and hearing her words, I mean really hearing her, made me very so blessed and thankful for the life I've had.

Even though I've had really sad things happen, I've been able to stay on a pretty good path. Even during my time away from the Church, I didn't go crazy. I never really went through a stage of teenage rebellion. I did sort of have a mini one when I was 18-19 but it was in the form of getting home a few minutes (like 10 minutes) later than I said I would be (coming home from a concert). That's not exactly rebellion, is it? lol. I never did anything anyone else was doing in my circle of "friends". That was my rebellion; not doing something because everyone was doing it. Though I did have some slip-ups, like lying and swearing (I call that the "Lost" part of my youth; all around the time I was away from the Church), I never got to the point of doing huge self-destructive things. I think God blessed me with enough common sense to not do those things. There have been a number of times where I could have easily strayed and done things I would've greatly regretted. Thankfully, I've always known how or when to get myself out of those situations. Once, I sent my friend an S.O.S. text, he called me and got me out of the situation and I'm forever grateful for it.

So, during my chat with the young woman, I thought about all I've gone through and I was so thankful to God for everything. I honestly feel so blessed to have had the experiences I've had (both good and bad) because they've gotten me to where I am in life. Though I have sinned (but, really, who hasn't?), I've confessed those sins and I've made a great effort to stay on the right path. And I owe it all to my faith and to God. Without my faith, prayer, and everything else I would be completely depressed and probably still sick from all the negative thoughts and feelings. If I didn't have the Rosary or my own little journal thing I keep to Our Lady (Blessed Mother), I would've been nutty (well, nuttier, lol).

Isn't it amazing how I got all of this from church though not through Mass? Of course, I would've stayed for the entire Mass if I hadn't felt lightheaded and faint like I did. And, of course, I would've learned a lot for today's readings. I think that this whole thing happened for a reason -- me leaving a few minutes early and chatting to the girl. It certainly made me appreciate everything, especially my parents. :D

Alright, well I think I've taken enough of your time for today. :D I have got to get back to cramming more Hinduism facts into my brain (so many deities in that religion...) so I can finish that paper.

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D
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Philosophy of Logic, God, and Narnia.

This is going to be a semi-quick blog because I still have a discussion thing to write for my Philosophy of Logic course which is due in like... 8 hours. It's something I can do in a couple of minutes but I want to get it done early.

I just finished my third and fourth Philosophy of Logic quizzes/exercises. My professor lets us re-take them twice if we get them wrong the first time. I've gotten a couple answers wrong... on purpose. There are some answers that I don't agree with, i.e. "Only things that are material exist. Therefore, God does not exist." (Friedrich Engels, Socialism: Utopian and Scientific). For this particular quote, the answer is that the statement is correct, well, according to the test answer and the quiz's objective. I obviously don't agree, though I can see how it would be the "correct" answer, so my answer was that the statement was an assumption (inductive vs. deductive for you Philosophy buffs). I got the answer wrong and then had to go back and fix it to the "correct" answer it. Maybe next time I'll just leave it like it is, even if it's a borderline grade and thus getting me a lower grade. Like I said, I understand how some people would argue that Friedrich would be correct but, though we can't see God, we can see what He's created therefore we know He exists. Unfortunately, I can't say that because it's a multiple choice quiz and no essay portion. We'll see what I do next time.

One thing that made me smile was when I saw a Chronicles of Narnia reference in the fourth quiz/exercise. Well, to be precise, it was a quote from Professor Kirke (The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe book): "There are only three possibilities. Either your sister is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. You know she doesn't tell lies and it is obvious that she is not mad... we must assume (ed.: conclude, on test) that she is telling the truth." I got the answer correct. lol. I love little unexpected surprises like that. :D

OH!!! Quick novel/screenplay update: it's going well. I've been finding time to work on it despite my crazy schedule. To give you a hint of the mood/tempo of the scenes I'm currently working on... listen to the song "Outside" and "Strange and Beautiful" by Aqualung. Specifically, look at the lyrics. That's all I'm saying. :D

Alright, well, I've got to get back to work. I need to finish my work (for the week) for Philosophy of Logic and then finish my History of World Religions work early so I can hopefully take a carefree road trip tomorrow. Sorry the blog was a bit academic but, what can I do? I'm immersing myself into all my courses. :D

'Til next time, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D
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Class Surprise: Saints; Personal Message from Pope Benedict XVI.

I'd been nervous about my English (British) Literature course since the minute I knew I would be taking it. Honestly, it's the only course I've been really wigging out over. I don't know why. I know the professor well (she's the BEST professor I've ever had). I was nervous in class; not to the point of anxiety or a panic attack but pretty nervous. I was taking down notes to distract myself when I heard her (my prof.) mention St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine of Canterbury... which just grabbed my attention. See, she was giving us a little bit of a History lesson so we could understand the whole Anglo-Saxon/Norman thing better (trust me, you don't want me to go into that. lol). So she mentioned them and I got very excited... and was even going to correct her about them being Roman Catholic but someone beat me to it. After that, we viewed paintings of the Madonna (the Blessed Virgin Mary... and on her birthday no less!) from the Medieval and Renaissance periods to make one of her points more clear. By that time, the class seemed to go by really fast and I was sad to see it end. I'm now less nervous about the class. Whoo! Who knew that the mention of either saint or of Our Blessed Mother would erase all my nerves in a nanosecond? :D I'm happy now and look forward to class... even if I still haven't finish Beowulf. lol.

I wanted to post a blog about the Blessed Virgin yesterday for her birthday but I was so exhausted. I had such a heavy day that I just got home, jumped on my bed and stayed there until I felted better. In fact, I'm still feeling icky but hopefully it's just the stress. Oy. This is when I'll be asking St. Joseph of Cupertino and St. Dymphna for their intercessions but the stress is big. I am optimistic though. :D *whispers* In any case, please say a little prayer that my anxiety doesn't act up because of the heavy load.

Oh, and before I forget, it was WONDERFUL to wake up yesterday to a personal message from Pope Benedict XVI! All of us who are registered on www.xt3.com (think facebook but Catholic and safe for all ages) received a message from His Holiness in our own inbox. It was awesome, especially for someone like me who was wigging out. lol. If you haven't registered on the site, you can and I believe you can still receive that message that we all got from the Pope. So, what are you waiting for? Go sign up or go check your inbox if you're already a member! :D

Alright, well, I have to go completely my things for Philosophy class because it's due tonight... and then I have to go finish reading Beowulf (have I mentioned that enough times yet? lol) and the intro to Medieval lit in the book before tomorrow morning so... I gotta go. Let the headaches begin! lol.

Hope everyone's having a good start of week. :D Until next time, thanks for reading and God Bless!

P.S. I added some links to the Aquinas and More store in case you ever need something from one of the saints mentioned on this blog. I've always found what I needed at this online store. :D
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Missing Mass; Prayer Updates: St. Timothy, St. Dymphna, & St. Martha.

I feel very childish today. Why? Because I cried when I found out I wasn't going to make it to Mass. Mom comforted me (as she always does) saying that things happen for a reason and that God knew that I wanted to be in Mass but couldn't.

See, I had my Oceanography class today. I'm taking a fast paced 8-week Oceanography course that meets once a week on Sundays. I had already planned on leaving early so I could make it to my usual Mass (last English Mass at my parish). Luckily, the professor let us out an hour early since it was the first meeting. I was excited because it meant we would be able to make it to Mass. We stopped at a Target on the way to kill a little bit of time. BIG mistake. When it came time to leave for the parish the car failed to start. Dad took some time trying to find a gas can and then to walk to the gas station. By this time, it was about 15-20 minutes into the Mass. I still had hope we could rush there and at least make half of it. Dad comes back with the gas and then... the car STILL won't start. He then decided to ask people if they would give a jump start to the car's battery in case that was a problem. Quite a few people said no until a woman took pity on us and brought her truck to help. I'm glad we had the jumper cables or else it might've been even more difficult to find help. We finally left the Target parking lot around the time the Mass would've ended. I ended up in tears on the way home.

So, as you can see, it was a pain and it wasn't like I didn't want to go to Mass, I just couldn't because of the car stalling. This is something I always do -- the tearing up. I always get really sad when I can't make it to Mass. *sigh* I'm even MORE bummed out than usual because I had dedicated the Mass as a thanks to Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Timothy for their intercessions. (Though I will keep why I gave to Our Lady to myself. That's between her and I. :D)

For those of you who have read my blog long enough, you know how I suffered from an intestinal virus (which I got around the time I started traveling) a few months ago. It took about 2 months for it to completely leave my system. It totally threw my digestive system out of whack. I started asking St. Timothy for his intercession (since he is the patron saint of digestive and intestinal problems) and it started getting better. Thankfully, I'm back to normal now and my way of saying "Thank you" to St. Timothy was the Mass. Oh, and while I'm publicly saying thanks to St. Timothy (WHOO!) I want to update some of you on other miracles other saints have done recently.

To further prove how amazing St. Dymphna is (my anxiety is virtually gone now!), I have yet another miracle she's done for someone else. A few months ago, in May, I wrote about the husband of a friend/co-worker of my mother's (Roadtrips, Relationships, Tests, and Prayers Everywhere -- second to last paragraph). Remember how I mentioned he was suicidal? Well, they kept tabs on him and he actually DID read the prayer daily. It seems to have really helped him! He's back to his old self, pre-suicide attempts! It made me SO happy to hear that and I hope that others will see that prayer works! Depression, anxiety, panic disorder, etc; just pray for her intercession and St. Dympnha will help you out. :D

Also, St. Martha has helped my mom out a lot lately at work. Mom said both times she's asked St. Martha for her intercession, it seems like either the time has flown or like there wasn't much heavy labor work to do in the first place.

You can always go straight to Christ and ask him for help or you can find the saint that's the patron of a particular thing and ask them for their intercession. Either way, prayer works... and boy, does it! :D

Alright, well, I have to go read/finish "Beowulf" for my English Lit class tomorrow. Oy, I don't even want to think about how long the day will be. lol. :D I hope everyone had a nice weekend! :D

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless.
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The Rose of St. Jude Thaddeus

Almost two weeks ago dad got 3 roses from the rose bush in front of our home. He put two in front of a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe that's in his room and one in front of the statues of St. Jude Thaddeus that are in my room. All three were placed in their own water, in the exact same type of glasses, etc. What's odd, in an amazing way, is that the roses that were placed in front of Our Lady wilted within a few days. The rose that's in front of St. Jude has not wilted that much. Really, almost not at all. We don't know why it's lasted so long but we're amazed that it has. I took a picture of it with my camera phone since my digital camera needs batteries (which I still need to get). Oh, and the rose looks better in person than it does in that picture.

We haven't done anything to the rose. It, like the roses that were placed in front of Our Lady, were kept inside with the air conditioner on (we have a central AC so the air's distributed equally throughout the house). Nothing's been added to the tap water that was used. It's definitely weird, in a good way, though. I still have a few days to go in a novena I'm saying to St. Jude as well. I started a novena before we noticed the rose's staying power, though. I don't know what's up but I just thought I'd share this little story with y'all. Maybe it's St. Jude's way of letting me know he's listening to me? If so, man, what an awesome patron saint! :D He's already done so much for me; never lets a prayer go unanswered. :D

Hmm... I wonder if the pink roses I left in front of the Our Lady statue at our parish, last Sunday, have wilted yet. They probably have. *sad sigh*. I'll find out when I go to Mass on Sunday! :D

Alright, well, I have to go read the "argument" section of my Philosophy textbook and then read "Beowulf" for my English Lit course (trying to get everything done a.s.a.p. so I can enjoy the weekend). That is all for now.

'Til next time, thanks for reading and God Bless.
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Come On, It's a Joke!

While I wait for my Philosophy professor to e-mail me back, I'll share this joke someone posted on the Roman Catholic (Global) facebook group.

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An atheist was walking through the woods.
'What majestic trees'!
'What powerful rivers'!
'What beautiful animals'!
He said to himself.

As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards him.
He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder & saw that the bear was closing in on him.

He looked over his shoulder again, & the bear was even closer. He tripped & fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw & raising his right paw to strike him.
At that instant the Atheist cried out, 'Oh my God!'

Time Stopped.
The bear froze.
The forest was silent.

As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky. 'You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident.' 'Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer'?
The atheist looked directly into the light, 'It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian'?

"Very Well," said the voice.

The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head & spoke:

"Lord bless this food, which I am about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen."
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Badda-ching! I can't help but laugh at this joke. lol.

And, that's all. Really. I still have to keep an eye out for what I need to do in my courses so I can try and do them as early as possible. :D

Hope everyone had a great weekend! 'Til next time, thanks for reading and God Bless!
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