Whether You Vote or Not

Every Catholic should be aware of the California Catholic Coalition AND be signed up with the Catholic Legislative Network.

This past week Bishop Gerald Wilkerson was speaking with the local area priests and he basically stated the above.  He couldn’t stress it enough, because if we are not educated on the issues within our state government, decisions will be made without our input.  If we are to have informed consciences we need to know what God wishes to inscribe on our hearts.  We also need to know where to best apply our voice in the world, that we may actually make a difference, we may actually do something!

I offer you the following links, as we prepare for the upcoming election in the Fall, but more so what we may continue to allow God to inform our conscience in each of us.  It may give us some points of discussion, as we faithfully, thoughtfully, and compassionately navigate our political world–but for a very good reason–that we may actually do something about it.

Catholic Legislative Network Sign up
(an arm of the California Catholic Coalition, but important enough to list first)
http://capwiz.com/cacatholic/mlm/signup/

Catholic Legislative Network
http://capwiz.com/cacatholic/home/

Press Releases
http://www.cacatholic.org/documents/press-releases.html

California Catholic Coalition
http://www.cacatholic.org/

Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship:
A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States (Document)
http://www.faithfulcitizenship.org/

Best Sports Drink Ever

 

Two Movies

The Forbidden Kingdom

Not an academy award winner, but a fun, action packed, kung fu movie.  It is great to see Jackie Chan and Jet Li do a movie together.  Here’s the yahoo synopsis:

While hunting down bootleg kung-fu DVDs in a Chinatown pawnshop, Jason makes an extraordinary discovery that sends him hurtling back in time to ancient China. There, Jason is charged with a monumental task: he must free the fabled warrior the Monkey King, who has been imprisoned by the evil Jade Warlord. Jason is joined in his quest by wise kung fu master Lu Yan and a band of misfit warriors including Silent Monk. But only by learning the true precepts of kung fu can Jason hope to succeed - and find a way to get back home.

Bella

I saw this movie when it came out five or six months ago.  It was a small independent film that surprised everyone in how well it did and how long it stayed around.  As it turns out it is ranked #3 in yahoo’s all time top movies, because of it’s popularity.  I suspect it will be out on DVD soon, if not already.  If you didn’t see it when it was in the theatres, I highly recommend you rent it or buy it.  It is very good.  Here’s yahoo’s overview:

Nina, a young, unmarried waitress at a Mexican restaurant, finds herself pregnant and without work after coming in late several days because of morning sickness. Jose, the restaurant’s chef, is taken by Nina’s plight and becomes her sole confidant. Jose helps her walk through her decision on what to do with her pregnancy. In the process, he bears secrets from his own mysterious past, which reveal his tenderness and passion for her and the child she is carrying.

 

Next up: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian; Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Who wants to join us for either of these two movies?  Let me know and I’ll organize a date.

Judgement

My-Oh-My

How does one pay tribute to someone who has been, just to name a few, a teacher, a doctor, a spiritual director, a guidance counselor to you as you are growing up?  She hurts when you are in pain, she worries when you are out of sight, she prays for you endlessly, she hopes only for your happiness, she accepts you for who you are, she is truthful and honest when something needs to be said, and she is forgiving when you make a mistake.  A Happy Mother’s Day to all moms, and a special shout out to my mom!

My mom’s faith in God has kept me strong in my times of weakness and despair.  She has taught me to be grateful when all is well, AND her going to church led me to be graced to be able to volunteer for the church.  Thank you mom for EVERYTHING!!!

Renew TOT Meeting This Saturday!!

Our next meeting is at 10 a.m. May 10, at Coco’s Restaurant, at 10841 Sepulveda Blvd. in Mission Hills for bruch.

The agenda includes finalizing the core team for TOT, finalizing topics and speakers, as well as picking committees…

If anyone is interested, leave a comment or feel free to email me - abigail.alcaraz at gmail and I’d be willing to give you more info about it or even to carpool if you’re too lazy to drive all the way out there! 

Longing to Worship

I first heard this song from our Music playlist, sung by Evie Haskell. 

I came alone ashamed
You gave me a new name (?)
So I’ll pour out all I have, all I am
Longing to worship you. 

I long to see your face
Rest in your warm embrace
Linger once more in your presence, Oh Lord
Longing to worship you.

So I come here before you
Worship, adore you
Bringing you all that I am.
I bow down before you
Worship the great I AM,
Who holds me in His hands.

As I pour my life on you
Come anoint my soul anew.
As I pour my love on you
I can see how your love floods over me (?)

Click here and click on ‘Longing to Worship’ to hear song.

Disturb the Peace of Mind

Can you guess what word is defined as ‘disturb the peace of mind’ from the dictionary?

As I mentioned in one of my comments, I signed up with Sparkpeople, and one of their support tools is sending you a daily dose of ‘healthy’ reflections. I shared about ‘persistence’ yesterday, and today, I’ll share with you their reflection on ‘worry’.  And yes, that is the answer to my above question.  Worry, as a verb, is defined as ‘disturb the peace of mind.’

They begin with this quote…
Worry is the darkroom in which negatives are developed.
     - Church billboard in Colorado

“Once film negatives are exposed to the light of day, they’re ruined. In the same way, once you see your worries for what they are–self-inflicted doubts–their power disappears. If you give your doubts and fears too much development time, they’ll take hold and start to color all of your thinking in a negative light. Pessimists have more health problems, are less productive, and are generally unhappier than optimists. People that don’t worry as much, spend more time coping with the realities of life, and less time occupied with would-be problems. To get rid of worry, think more confidently. Know that you can handle anything that comes along. Know that with loss comes opportunity. Know that things generally have a way of working out. Stay out of that dark room and picture something better.” - Sparkpeople.com

If you really know me, you’d think my 2 middle names are ’worry’ and ‘fear’.  I do try to walk away from both.  It’s not even funny when I am always searching for peace of mind and soul when it is actually already in me.  I just have to get rid of all my worries.

Adaptation

How many times have we been dealt with difficult situations that we consider to be beyond our capabilities? But somehow we begin to accept it and face it, and then grow into adjusting to surviving through it, having to see things from a different light. This article was shared with us at work today.

As heard on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday, April 27, 2008.

Adapting to the Possibilities of Life
by Donald Rosenstein

I believe in adaptation — that is, the same stimulus does not invariably elicit the same response over time.

The first time I saw my son flap his arms, I nearly threw up.

My son Koby was 2 at the time, and he and my wife and I were at an evening luau in Hawaii. Dancers emerged from the dark twirling torches to loud, rhythmic drumbeats. I thought it was exciting and so did Koby. He began to flap his arms — slowly, at first, and then with an intensity that mirrored the movement of the dancers.

In an instant, I was overwhelmed. I knew just enough about arm-flapping to know that it was characteristic of autism. I was confused, panicked and strangely preoccupied with the fear that I would never play tennis with my son as I had with my father. That one movement took on immediate, powerful and symbolic meaning: Something was terribly wrong with my boy.  Read the entire story.

Persistence. Persistence. Persistence.

Quoted from Sparkpeople.com

“We keep hearing about how persistence is often the key to success. But what do you do when you’ve been striving for so long that it seems like your goal is never going to see light? How do you deal with the fear that you’re about to fail? Simple. Give it just one more shot. And then one more. Think about the sweat and time you’ve committed already. You’ve come this far, you’d be unfair to yourself if you quit without a fight. Even if the odds are way out of your favor and you can’t see how it can possibly help, reach out and take one last swing. You never know what will happen. Big, meaningful achievements don’t just happen when everything goes your way. How many times have you seen tennis players make miraculous winning shots while lunging for a ball that seemed impossible to reach? Sometimes, you can find victory in the effort.”