"The first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God; secondly, to do it in the manner he wills it; and thirdly to do it because it is his will." St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
As a Catholic revert, it was with great joy and surprise that I was introduced to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. I, like many, at the beginning of my faith journey, viewed sainthood as something that was only attainable to priests and religious who dedicated their entire lives to prayer, fasting, and extreme penances. In other words, it wasn't for a lay person like myself. Mrs. Seton taught me differently.
Feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
(1774 - 1821)
"Live simply, so that all may simply live."
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
For Reflection:
Today, I will do an examination of conscience according to this quote and ask myself these questions: "What two virtues are implicit in this quote?" "To what extent has a consumerist mentality prevented me from living these virtues?" What positive steps can I take, beginning today, to remedy this situation?"
"A person's prayer often keeps step with his moral life. The closer our behavior corresponds to the Divine Will, the easier it is to pray; the more our conduct is out of joint with Divinity, the harder it is to pray."
Fulton J. Sheen
For Reflection:
On a scale of one to ten, with one being "easy" and ten being "most difficult," how would I rate my experience of prayer? In light of Bishop Sheen's quote, is a serious examination of conscience in order?
(Please note the word "often" in Bishop Sheen's quote. Other reasons exist for difficulty in prayer such as distraction or aridity. However, it is always good to examine our conscience as a first prevention against difficulty in prayer time.)
"When prayer is humble, trusting, and persevering, it obtains for us a more lively faith, a firmer hope, a more ardent charity. Thereby we see how fruitful mental prayer can be; how it draws God strongly toward us that He may give Himself intimately to us and that we may give ourselves to Him."
Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.
For Reflection:
Is my prayer "humble, trusting, and persevering?" In which of these three do I most need to grow? What benefits can I expect to receive if I do so? Can I recall a time when I experienced the profound presence of God in prayer? How does this help me to remain steadfast to the resolution I made yesterday regarding my time of prayer?
"Everything starts from prayer."
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
For Reflection:
What is noticeably different about this statement is that Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta says that everything starts from prayer, not everything starts with prayer. What is the significance of this? What does it say to me? What resolution am I willing to make at the beginning of this new year regarding my prayer life?
The countdown to the New Year is fast approaching. Will you be making resolutions?
For most of us, the answer is yes. If you are a regular reader of this blog then you know that last year, I wrote a blog using the acronym R-E-S-O-L-V-E-D to help us focus our resolutions on the things that really matter. The "L" in the acronym stood for "Listening" in which I encouraged the cultivation of a listening spirit so that we could hear the voice of God in our everyday circumstances. In addition to prayer of the Holy Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration, and Lectio Divina, one of my favorite ways to practice "listening" is spiritual reading.
I've compiled the list below which features some of my all time favorite books for spiritual reflection, prayer, meditation and direction. I hope that you will incorporate one or several of them into your Catholic library because I know that you too will see much fruit in your relationship with God as a result. They are in no particular order.
This month's Facilitator Spotlight is Jennie Stanbro. Jennie experienced many challenges, including cancer, as she went forward in her mission to begin Women of Grace in her parish but she persevered and through it all, Our Lady was there to guide and direct her efforts.
I have been married for 36 years and am the mother of six children (four married, and 15 and 13 year old sons). My husband and I decided early on that God had called me to be a stay at home mom, and I’ve served in that role for the last 35 years, which at times has been difficult due to a society that was no longer supporting this traditional role. I have witnessed in my lifetime a grave deterioration of womanhood through false promises and images portrayed in our culture then and still today. I knew I wanted to reach out to women who struggled with these false promises, but I didn’t know how.
Here's an inspiring video to carry you into the final week of Advent. Please pray for Michael Hennessey and his family as he races to beat the world record for the number of triathlons competed in a year AND raise awareness and funds for children with Trisomy disorders. God bless you Michael!
Fr. Solanus often encouraged people to pray for vocations just as he did to discern his own calling to the Capuchin Order. It is related in his biography that he invited his mother and sister to join him in a novena of prayer before the feast of the Immaculate Conception in 1896 to determine which Religious Order he should enter. At the end of their novena after Holy Communion, he felt Our Lady was telling him “go to Detroit.” That meant going to the Capuchins whose headquarters were in Detroit. Many years later he made a short reference to this in a small notebook found among his writings.
Knowing how special this novena was for him, we at the Guild Office invite you to join us in a private novena from November 30 to December 8, ( making this in connection with Fr. Solanus’ novena) to pray for the advancement of Venerable Solanus’ Cause for Beatification. But as well to add your own intention for discernment of ones life’s path, with a vocation, or other special needs for yourself or loved ones.
The novena maybe prayed privately at a time and place of your own choice with prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Prayers are posted on our web site at www.solanuscasey.org or call (313-579-2100 ext. 161).
Our Women of Grace® Facilitators are truly on the frontline of the cultural battlefield of souls. Through the gifts of receptivity, trust, and surrender, they are assisting women around the world to gain a deeper understanding of their call and vocation to authentic femininity and spiritual motherhood. Each month, we will highlight one of our facilitators and how they are using Women of Grace® to touch the lives of women in their hometowns. Vicki Crispo is a leader in the Women of Grace® movement and her story is below.
My Women of Grace® journey began in 2003 at the first conference in Doylestown, Pa. I had recently experienced a tug at my heart by Our Lady to help bring her to other women, and she lead me to that inaugural conference. It was life changing. All the truth about who I was and why I was came into a clear focus that weekend. I experienced this transformation immediately and completely and was blessed that another woman from my parish, Peggy Pritchard was there as well and since that moment we have been on this journey together. In those early years, we jokingly called ourselves "Women of Grace® Groupies" because we attended all the conferences.
Looking to the future, we also anticipate working with our diocesan Adult Ed coordinator to offer the Women of Grace® study to parishes through presentations to the pastors. All of course is in the hands of Our Lady in her perfect timing! To whom much has been given, much will be asked!
When the Foundational Study was finally unveiled in Chicago in 2005, we brought it home to Pennsylvania and began offering it to our closest circle of friends, and then to anyone who felt called to it. Always it was Our Lady who called the women; our job was simply to trust HER with each group. When the women registered for a study group, we immediately sent them the novena to the Holy Spirit to begin praying. When we met for that first evening, we all prayed that novena together and that set the tone for the whole study. He was in charge and Our Lady would ultimately be our facilitator.
We named each group after Our Lady: Ave Maria, Magnificat, Lourdes, Guadalupe etc. Her presence with us was so tangible. Women would complete the study and immediately want to repeat it. Some repeated it 3 or 4 times. When challenges or glitches occurred, we invoked the assistance of "Our Lady Undoer of Knots" trusting that she would intercede. As we were enrolled in the school of Our Mother and learned to sit at her feet, she taught us to put aside our opinions and egos and allow the Holy Spirit to do the work. Before we left each session, we exchanged nametags so each woman would have her special prayer sister and would have an opportunity to voice what her prayer need was until the next session.
We tried to be creative and offer the study in unique ways such as a summer study for teachers or moms who were able to get childcare during the summer. Some women had lives that just did not permit extra time to do the study guide, so those women did what reading they could in the text yet still gleaned so much from the videos and discussions. The key is and always will be hospitality. We simply need to place Our Lady in our heart then as the warmth and tenderness of Our Lady shines through us, each woman is touched by Her Son.
The Women of Grace® message and mission took such root in my life that my husband's life was deeply touched and he credits my transformation for his following the prompting of the Holy Spirit as well. In 2007 he was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate in our diocese.
Following Our Mother's lead as we learned in session 8 of the study, Peggy and I became lay associates of the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life, dedicated for life to pray and work for the sanctity of life. Immediately we began a monthly outreach to post abortive women. In this way we live out our call to spiritual motherhood as we offer recovering women an opportunity to experience authentic femininity and sisterhood in Christ in a confidential setting. Very often we find ourselves using elements from the WOG study in these sessions.
In January, 2011 we will begin to offer monthly mini retreat "Mornings of Grace" for any women in our region who are Women of Grace® alumni or who simply long to connect with other authentically feminine spiritual mothers of grace. These mornings will feature opportunity for Holy Mass, light breakfast, a DVD of a Women of Grace® Show, sharing, testimony of a Woman of Grace, and prayer for healing and renewal.
To find out more about how you can become a Women of Grace® facilitator, please contact us at 1-800-558-5452 or visit our website at www.womenofgrace.com. If you are a facilitator and want to submit your story for the Facilitator Spotlight, please e-mail us at isabelle@lhla.org.
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"The first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God; secondly, to do it in the manner he wills it; and thirdly to do it because it is his will." St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
As a Catholic revert, it was with great joy and surprise that I was introduced to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. I, like many, at the beginning of my faith journey, viewed sainthood as something that was only attainable to priests and religious who dedicated their entire lives to prayer, fasting, and extreme penances. In other words, it wasn't for a lay person like myself. Mrs. Seton taught me differently.
The countdown to the New Year is fast approaching. Will you be making resolutions?
For most of us, the answer is yes. If you are a regular reader of this blog then you know that last year, I wrote a blog using the acronym 
I have been married for 36 years and am the mother of six children (four married, and 15 and 13 year old sons). My husband and I decided early on that God had called me to be a stay at home mom, and I’ve served in that role for the last 35 years, which at times has been difficult due to a society that was no longer supporting this traditional role. I have witnessed in my lifetime a grave deterioration of womanhood through false promises and images portrayed in our culture then and still today. I knew I wanted to reach out to women who struggled with these false promises, but I didn’t know how.
Fr. Solanus often encouraged people to pray for vocations just as he did to discern his own calling to the Capuchin Order. It is related in his biography that he invited his mother and sister to join him in a 
Our Women of Grace® Facilitators are truly on the frontline of the cultural battlefield of souls. Through the gifts of receptivity, trust, and surrender, they are assisting women around the world to gain a deeper understanding of their call and vocation to authentic femininity and spiritual motherhood. Each month, we will highlight one of our facilitators and how they are using Women of Grace® to touch the lives of women in their hometowns. Vicki Crispo is a leader in the Women of Grace® movement and her story is below.
