Dominican Sisters of Mary on Oprah Today!!

Be sure and try to catch Oprah today, Tuesday, February 9th. The show will be featuring The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. These devout Orthodox Sisters having been getting much attention paid to them because of their rapid growth since their humble beginning in 1997, when four nuns responded to John Paul's call for a new evangalization. The Domincan Sisters now have 100 members, and their mother house is already at capacity. At a time when most have an anverage age in their 70's, the average age of a sister here is 26! What a wonderful proclamation to the world that these young nuns will be making today! Let's be sure to pray for their continued success!

Recipe Sucess!

Did anyone try out a new recipe this Superbowl Sunday that they deemed a success? We would love to hear from you! This year we made Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts, and they were unbelievable!! Sweet and crunchy, in the beginning I thought I made too much but we actually ran out! Here is the recipe:

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

2 cans whole chestnuts
1 pound bacon

Sauce

3/4 C brown sugar
1/2 mayonnaise
1/2 cup Chile sauce

Wrap 1/2 piece of bacon around a chestnut, secure it with a toothpick. Place the on a cookie sheet, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. At this points, add the sauce and bake 20 more minutes. I kept mine in a crock pot afterwords. Delicious!

Free Giveaway!! Register by 2/9 for free Grandparent Gift!

For this weeks launching of The Catholic Mom's Mentor, for every 30 people who register to bea a follower via Google, we will be giving away a Grandma & Grandpa's Love personalized gift as seen at the bottom of the page(if this poem does not suit you, you can click on it to view the others that are available, free to choose any poem (First Communion, Baptism, Birthday. . . ) .This is a wonderful personalized gift that can be adapted to read Grandma & Grandma, Nana, Papa, or whatever the term of endearment for the Grandparent(s) may be. This is personalized with the child(s) name make this such a wonderful gift to give,one that will certainly be cherished for a lifetime!! This prize measures 8 x10, and has two openings, one with the personalized verse, and the other for any 3 1/2 x 5 inch picture of your choice. Deadline for registering is Tuesday February 9th. Winners will be posted early on 2/10, be sure to check and see if you are a winner so you can give me your personalization, we would love to be able to get this out to you in time to give as a Valentine's Day gift! The cut-off is at 150 followers, so be sure to register today!!

Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life

What is the Most Talked About Ad of the 2010 Superbowl?I am sooo happy to say that the most talked about ad this year for Superbowl is a 30 second commercial about the sanctity of life with star Quarterback Tim Tebow and his mom. Check out www.citizenlink.org to watch a short video from Stuart Shepard and Gard Schneeberger about the ad. People are already protesting, let's show our support!! This story is truly inspiring, I can't wait to see it!!

Archbishop Fulton Sheen's Museum Exhibit Opening

Our eparchy is currently hosting an exhibit on the life of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. The exhibit opening occured this past Wednesday, February 3rd. There to tell us about Archbishop Sheen's life was Fr. Andrew Apostoli who is heading the the cause of the Archbishop to become a Saint. He gave an outstanding talk, certainly inspiring me to go read the the book "Treasure in Clay", which is the Archbishop's autobiography.

His famous "Life is Worth Living" (1952-1957) had an estimated audience of over thirty million people despite the fact that his show was opposite Milton Berle, aka "Mr. Televesion". His second year on television, the Archbishop earned an Emmy winning despite the tough competition of Lucille Ball and Milton Berle. When Archbishop Sheen gave his acceptance speech, he quipped, "I would like to thank my writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John".

Another quote of his that I took away as a keeper was, "We don't need a voice that's right when everybody else is right; but we need a voice that's right when everybody else is wrong."

To anyone out there that is an EWTN junkie, you will know what I mean when I say the highlight of my day was meeting Fr. Andrew Apostoli. It is truly a meeting that has left me a changed person. What a holy, humble man he is. He is so on fire about teaching the message of Fatima, he also recommend the movie that has been released about Fatima, "The Thirteenth Hour" which is available from Ignatious Press. We still need to pray for the conversion of Russia, as well as keep the first Saturday of each month.

Another interesting tidbit, Fr. Andrew Apostoli was actually ordained by Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

Prayer to Obtain a Favor Through the Intercession of the Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Eternal Father, You alone grant us every blessing in Heaven and on earth, through the redemptive mission of Your Divine Son, Jesus Christ, and by the working of the Holy Spirit. If it be according to You Will, glorify Your servant , Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, by granting the favor I now request through his prayerful intercession (mention your request). I make this prayer confidently through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

If you would like to obtain prayer cards or for information about Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, or to report any spiritual favors granted through his intercession, you can head over to: http://www.archbishopsheencause.org/.

Family Super Bowl Party

I have to say, I am not the biggest fan of football. But, I do enjoy creating traditions and memories of what we do as a family. So with three men in the house, having s Super Bowl Party is a simply a must! This week, I am making my lists and checking them twice: wings, pulled pork, nacho's & cheese, brownies in the shape of footballs. . . In short, we will be feasting on everything that is not good for us this day. I have picked up through the years at discount & party stores different parafanlia like bowls and serving dished in the shape of footballs. Today is a family day of fun, no "real" meals, everything is kid and dad friendly, a day to throw the old diet out the window and just have some family fun!

Getting Ready for Lent - Part 1

Has anyone out there started to prepare for Lent? It soon coming upon us, wouldn't it be great to make this the best Lenten Season of our lives? I am praying that God will send forth many Graces this year. I want to be transformed, and for my family to have a deeper desire to be close to God, as well as the desire to love and serve others.

Lent is a forty day period which is marked by fasting, both from foods as well as festivities, and by doing other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up during the season of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Usually, people break the fast on Sundays (the day of the resurrection).

Every year, I try to get a new book on the life of a Saint for each member of my family to read during the season of reflection. There also some wonder books written specially to read during the Season of Lent.

I encourage you to begin thinking about the Season of Lent. Things that bear consideration, what will you be eating (or not eating)?, what will your prayer life be like, what will you be reading, what about almsgiving, or your service to others? Let's make this Lenten Season indeed a very special one, one in which we will be blessed by many graces. Let's rise above just giving up candy for 40 days, and make is truly a season of repentance. I have a great quote regarding detachment to the world and love and service to others:

Faith and love which are gifts of the Holy Spirit are such great and powerful means that a person who has them can easily, and with joy and consolation, go the way Jesus Christ went. Besides this, the Holy Spirit gives man the power to resist the delusions of the world so that although he makes use of earthly good, yet he uses them as a temporary visitor, without attaching his heart to them. But a man who has not got the Holy Spirit, despite all his learning and prudence, is always more or less a slave and worshipper of the world.

St. Innocent of Irkutsk, Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven.

New York City, N.Y., Jan 29, 2010 / 04:28 pm (CNA).- After the U.S. Postal Service announcement that they are featuring Mother Teresa on an upcoming stamp, the atheist group Freedom from Religion has urged its supporters to boycott the stamp on the grounds that it violates postal regulations. The group is also encouraging a letter writing campaign site Mother Theresa's "dark side".

Postal Service spokesman Roy Betts commented on Thursday that “Mother Teresa is not being honored because of her religion, she's being honored for her work with the poor".

The stamp is reported to be released on August 26, which would have been Mother Teresa's 100th birthday. Mother Theresa won the Nobel Peace Price in 1979.

"Noted for her compassion toward the poor and suffering, Mother Teresa, a diminutive Roman Catholic nun and honorary U.S. citizen, served the sick and destitute of India and the world for nearly 50 years," the Postal Service said in a press release. "Her humility and compassion, as well as her respect for the innate worth and dignity of humankind, inspired people of all ages and backgrounds to work on behalf of the world’s poorest populations."

“Her contribution to the world as a humanitarian speaks for itself and is unprecedented.”

Gosh, I have say, did anyone boycott the Rev. Martin Luter King, or Malcom X because they were religious figures? Let us pray for those who are opposing this stamp, and let us all learn from the life of Mother Teresa.

Bristol Palin On Oprah

Bristol Palin begun her work the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and the Candie's Foundation to inform young people about the negative consequences of teenage pregnancy in May of 2009. Oprah Winfrey recently grilled Bristol regarding her abstinence views and pledge, and asked Bristol if this new lifestyle was unrealistic and that she was setting herself up for failure. Bristol replied with a firm, "No, I don't".

My question for pondering is this: if Bristol was making a pledge to quite smoking, drinking or doing drugs, would Oprah have the nerve to ask such a question? My guess is that she would never say anything like that, infact she would encourage her new clean lifestyle. We should encourage our youth to live pure, chase lives. It is possible, and this is the answer to children having babies before they are ready for them, not abortion.

Let's be postiive encourages to all, and be a postive example to our youth. I want to leave you with this quote:

"My dear mother with the truthfullness of a mother's heart, minstered to all my woes, outward and inwards, and even against hope kept prophesying good" ~Thomas Carlye

Prayer of Mothers

Father in heaven,
grant me the grace to appreciate the dignity
which you have conferred on me.
Let me realize that not even the Angels
have been blessed with such a privilege—
to share in your creative miracle
and bring new Saints to heaven.
Make me a good mother to all my children
after the example of Mary,
the Mother of your Son.
Through the intercession of Jesus and Mary
I ask your continued blessings on my family.
Let us all be dedicated to your service on earth
and attain the eternal happiness of your kingdom in heaven.