This I know

The other day I had a conversation with a priest. He made this comment to me, "You really love Jesus don't you?" Of course I said yes.
I do, but sadly, some times I don't act like it and sometimes I don't feel like it.

But this I know!
Jesus loves me.

I have this little theme in life and its called perseverance. It's very biblically based. I actually started writing a book about perseverance a few years ago. I had started from the beginning of the New Testament and was looking for every instance of perseverance. I made a few comments on each passage. I managed to get through Matthew and Mark and was into Luke. Maybe some day I'll begin to persevere on writing my book again. Do you think you'd read it? Here are some of the passages I found:

My first passage was Matthew 4:1-2: "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwords He was hungry." Wow, Jesus really persevered in his fast!

I found this one: Matthew 8:21-22 "Then Peter approaching asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times? Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy seven times." Wow, you really gotta persevere in forgiving...... A LOT. That's love!

Oh and in Mark 15:3-4 there's this one, "The chief priests accused him of many things. Again Pilot questioned him, "Have you no answer? See how many things they accuse you of." Jesus gave him no further answer that Pilot was amazed."
Jesus sure persevered in silence, maybe I could learn something from that. Maybe I could actually amaze somebody by being quiet some day. It's a thought.

And then in Luke 8:43-44 and 48: "And a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years, who had spent her whole livelihood on doctors and was unable to be cured by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the tassel on his cloak. Immediately her bleeding stopped. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you, go in peace." Ah....her long suffering was not in vain....her perseverance had meaning. Notice it didn't say she was healed, which indeed the implication is she was, but it said she was saved.

If our long sufferings aren't healed certainly our long faithfulness will save us. Stay faithful and you will be saved.


Persevere in Faith....Because This I Know.....Jesus Loves You Too!!

The Beginning of School Should Remind Us to Start Saying Some Special Prayers for Our Children!

I am the president of the Confraternity of Christian Mothers at my church and we meet once a month. Our regular meetings begin with Mass followed by a special set of prayers and then a breakfast and talk by a guest speaker.

Our July speaker was Shane Kennett, mother of seminarian Cole Kennett. Shane was a fabulous speaker and I think I can speak for all the women present at her talk, we hung on every word! Shane had so much wisdom to pass along and she was a convicted woman! Regretfully I didn't take notes at the meeting but I did e-mail her later to refresh me on the intentions she always says for her 4 children and I'd like to pass them on to you. This is such a good time of the year, with the start of school right around the corner, to start praying in a special way for our children.

Here is what Shane sent to me about our morning and what she prays for her children:

"It was quite a morning...so great to see all of you and your smiling faces. The three things I petition for while my kids are students are:

1. They have one really good friend and that they are a really good friend.
2. Someone at school fans the flame of their faith and they fan the fire of someone elses faith.
3. They discover what their gifts are so they can glorifying God with their gifts.

I also pray that they have a deep desire for Jesus, that they are evangelizers, that their faith is firmly planted and that they pass this faith down from generation to generation. I ask that if they ever leave the church or sin mortally that God changes their hearts. I ask that God helps us put them through college and on the path that He wants and where He wants. And finally I ask God to pick out really virtuous individuals for them to marry someday (if they do marry) or help them to discern what their vocation in life is. I ask God that if they do marry, that these inviduals will either be good Catholics or be willing to become Catholic. Oh, Jackie, there is so much to pray for."

God Bless you and may your school year start with prayer!

A Little Wisdom From the Saints

I love my Holy Hours of Adoration I do every Sunday evening at Church. It is a quiet time of reflection to adore, pray, read, and ask God for my needs. My Church provides a mini library of books to read and of course the bible is right there to pray with as well. Last night at my Holy Hour I came across several Saint quotes that I'd like to share. I loved the first one that I am sharing because I was at Church and had the ability to imitate this Saint's little piece of wisdom. Maybe you can benefit from his wisdom too.

"When tempted to despair, I have only one resource: to throw myself at the foot of the Tabernacle like a little dog at the foot of his master." St. John Vianney

I went into my Holy Hour last night looking for God to provide me with an answer to a big question. He didn't whisper the answer into my mind or provide some sort of direct response to my question but he asked me to trust in Divine Providence for my needs with the following:

"In building, we need not act as the people of the world do. They first procure the money and then begin to build, but we must do just the opposite. We will begin to build and then expect to receive what is necessary from Divine Providence. The Lord will not be out done in generosity." St. Alphonsus Liguori

"The more you abandon to God the care of all temporal things, the more He will take care to provide for all your wants; but if, on the contrary, you try to supply all your needs, Providence will allow you to continue to do just that, and then it may very well happen that even necessities will be lacking, God thus reproving you for your want of faith and reliance in Him." St. Jean Baptiste De La Salle

And Finally, "Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure that if He wants anything of you, He will fit you for the work and give you strength." Philip Neri


These quotes were from the book: "The Wisdom of the Saints." by Jill Hawk Adels pg 55-58

God Bless You and May You Trust in God!!

Just Sharing!

I don’t know about you but sometimes I can really become desolate. I’ve had a dry spiritual feeling lately and I kind of know why but I haven’t really tried to make the necessary changes in my life to get the consoled feelings of God’s presence back into my life. My excuses are that it has been a crazy busy summer and it's hard to take the time for God. But I know I need to get to Confession, and I need to get to daily Mass more often. I was recently reminded by a friend that Mother Teresa lived with spiritual aridity for fifty years. And she didn’t have excuses like me, she got to daily Mass, did a holy hour daily, prayed her rosary constantly and gave her life to the poor. After hearing my friend remind me of this I realized how weak I am that I have to be consoled all the time. For heavens sake it has only been about a month that I have felt this way.

But anyways, last night I was lying in bed feeling completely desolate and wanting God’s help. I just laid there and prayed a couple times, “Jesus Help Me.” My prayers became, “All the Saints in Heaven Pray for me. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Pray for Me, Help Me. Father, Son and Holy Spirit heal me.” I found myself praying very deeply. My acid reflux had flared up and I was having a serious bout of heart burn. It didn’t really burn though, it hurt, and it felt like it was deep down in my chest. It was my heart that hurt and I was worried. And guess what, after a few minutes of heartfelt prayers my pain subsided, I got a warm feeling all over and I could truly feel the presence of God. Then I laid there in awe and thanksgiving.

My previous desolation had come not only from a lack of a strong Sacramental life, but a recent scandal in the Church. The scandal of Father John Corapi has really bothered me. If you don’t know, he is a very Charismatic Priest that has fallen away from the Priesthood. If you want to know more I’m sure a quick google of his name will give you plenty of information about him. But my husband used to love to listen to Father Corapi as did thousands of others who really connected with his style of preaching. He indeed brought many into the Church and back to the Church doing wonders it seemed.

Well, I had started doubting, but miraculously God healed my heart in more than one way. Not only did I receive a physical healing but a spiritual healing. I know for a fact God is present, he has not abandoned me, he is here. And he is just a good heartfelt prayer away always.

This was a small thing for me to share…..and I share with trepidation because I don’t want to receive a bit of attention for it. In fact no need to comment about this post because through it I give all the Glory to God because it is He that is here to heal us all. I’d like to thank a good friend who encouraged me to blog about this, you know who you are, for it is the little things done with great love that God seeks of us. This blog is but a little thing I do for God and I praise Him for giving me the courage to share.

God Bless You and Know that God Never Leaves You, whether you feel his presence or not!!

NEWS FLASH: 100 men pray at porn shop!!!!

Click on the link below for the incredible story of men standing up against our cultural scourge of pornography. This is POWERFUL. I hope it will inspire more men to do the same. Men you must fight in this way. Women encourage the men in your life to do this.

AJ's life in FOCUS: Father's Day and Porn Shop: "That title should grab some attention......My Father's Day Sunday started off with mass with my girlfriend who drove down (5ish) hours to su..."

Eric Emanuel Varicak, Happy 9th Birthday

Eric holding his cousin and sitting with Daniel

June 10th is always a big day in the Varicak house, it’s Eric’s birthday. So…..I’m going to take this occasion to give you my complete unbiased opinion, because I’m his mom, that Eric is a totally cool kid!! He and all his coolness have turned 9 today!

Here are some totally awesome things I can tell you about my third child Eric: He loves Nebraska Football, probably the biggest Husker fan ever. He plays the piano, and is pretty darn good at it. He had his recital pieces memorized! He is on a baseball team with mostly older boys and can keep up, he made a good play at second base last game. He is at camp with Michaela now and she texted me that he was able to climb to the top of a rock wall and is doing really well and getting along with everybody. He is an impersonator of Michael Jackson and wowed crowds by dancing in the last two year’s St. Teresa’s talent shows and was a hit. He loves to eat donuts, ice cream, candy, pizza and any other typical kids food, but donuts top his list of all time favorites. I could go on and on about my Eric!!

But those are things Eric does, here is what Eric is to me: a surprise! He was when I found out I was pregnant and now he is one of those calm quiet kids at school that gets good grades but excels quietly and unexpectedly. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not perfect, he has to go to speech therapy and all and he can really get on my nerves some days with his persistent need for whatever it is from moment to moment about things that he wants to accomplish that instant, but I never could have told you that he would, be totally excited about babies, be a big helper with a two year old cousin, and I mean reliably so, take advantage of going to Confession whenever he can, and have as his favorite mystery of the rosary the “Coming down of the Holy Spirit.”

It is Pentecost weekend and I can’t help but to remember all those repeated times that Eric would point our entire family to the Holy Spirit. We have, for several years now, said a decade of the rosary every night at prayer time. While we may only say a decade, which is 1 mystery and 10 Hail Mary’s, for you non-Catholics, we review all the Mysteries that are usually prayed for on that particular day. And every evening we let one of the children pick which mystery we should do. I would estimate that when Eric was about 4-5 years old, that for about a year and a half solid, he would request that we pray the mystery that he called the, “Falling Down of the Holy Spirit.” This is the mystery of Pentecost. We didn’t always all pray it but I would encourage him every night to pray that one himself.

Pointing our family to the Holy Spirit repeatedly is Eric’s spiritual contribution to our family and I pray that the Holy Spirit will fill his heart forever with his guiding presence.

May Eric’s Birthday be a Happy One at Camp today. We will surely celebrate more in the days to come!!!

As I contemplate my blessing of Eric on his birthday today I also wish you all a Blessed and Holy Pentecost!!! May the "Falling Down of the Holy Spirit" bring you much peace and joy at the Love between the Father and Son our Lord Jesus Christ!!

Repeated Messages

What is God saying to you? How do you know what he wants of you? Do you ever stop and think about it, pray about it or evaluate what it is that He wants of you? I’m always asking these questions but a lot of times fall short of stopping to listen, see or hear what God wants.

I have finally figured out the best way God gets my attention is that He speaks to me through repeating Himself in different ways. For instance, I have blogged repeatedly about St. Francis of Assisi because he has popped up in various ways and places for me and I just cannot ignore this Saint. The latest way God has pointed me to him is that my Parish will be getting a new Priest who happens to be a Franciscan. When I heard that I about dropped my jaw.

Along with St. Francis, another repeated theme in my life is the importance of the Priesthood. It is no wonder that God has combined my two themes by sending a Franciscan Priest my way. I continue to be reminded about priests every single day when my three year old insists that I play Church with him. And when we go to daily Mass or Sunday Mass he always wants to give a little hug to the Priest at the end of the service. Literally these desires of my small son have been going on for about six months now. I cannot ignore that he keeps pointing me to priests. It is so repetitive in an amazing way that only God could have designed it so that I take notice.

If you have taken the time to read this than you may want to evaluate the themes in your own life that God keeps repeating to you. And…….if you are a regular reader of this blog maybe God is repeating the same message to you about St. Francis and the Priesthood. If you take the time to read the life of St. Francis of Assisi you will be amazed at the similarities of his age and our own.

Since I have been getting various reminders about St. Francis I decided to read up on him. I have three different books about his life. The last one I read was suggested to me by a friend who has also been getting the same repeated themes pop up in her life. She has read the book twice now and it is called “God’s Fool, The Life and Times of Francis of Assisi.” by Julien Green, Copyright 1985. I would like to share some excerpts from this book and you will understand what I am talking about regarding the similarities of St. Francis’ time and ours: First you will read the condition of the Church in his time, then the condition of the people and finally a little of what he did to turn it all around:

“Francis’s filial love for the Church of Rome remains one of the most striking aspects of his character. From his youth till the day he died, his fidelity to it never wavered. He may have hesitated on the road to his conversion, but he had no doubts about an institution that Christ himself said was on the point of collapsing-an idea the young convert couldn’t understand. Paradoxically, his very faith resisted such a message. That San Damiano (the physical church building) might come crashing down was evident, but not the Church. That was unthinkable. It was there forever, until the end of time. The Church was the Church as permanently as the sky was the sky.

Yet he couldn’t have been blind to the facts. Any picture one draws of the Church in the year 1200 would have to be, by and large, very dark. There is no need to look for proof of this among the Church’s enemies; we have plenty of evidence from within Catholicism, beginning with the many papal bulls issued by Innocent III against the most scandalous abuses. But if the pope was worried about the general decay in Europe, his comminatory bulls could do little to stop the usury, the venality, the gluttony and sexual excesses of many priests, even in the monastaries. Scandal was everywhere. There was unheard of luxury in the Church, luxury and lust. People sang songs mocking lecherous monks. Defrocked clerics gadded about and burst into song, blasting church dignitaries…..
For all it‘s excesses the Church still had the power of the keys, to open the gates of paradise by absolving sins. Francis remained unshakably Catholic all his life.

There were plenty of faithful Christians, to be sure. Francis knew some perfect priests, but he was also aware that the Church was passing through a period of disturbances.”
(p 92-93)

“We have a hard time imagining the enthusiasm Francis stirred up in a country as spiritually weakened as Italy was in those days. Sensibility was paralyzing the flow of grace. People were often misled by a purely formal, ostentatious piety. The period also felt-thereby resembling our own era-a void that pleasure couldn’t fill, a hunger for something different, a restlessness of the heart. The Church had forgotten how to speak to the soul, because it was bogged down in the material world.

Then in the piazza or at a turn in the road, there appeared a man with bare feet, dressed like a begger and crying in a joyful voice, “Pace e bene!” One listened to him despite oneself. The fellow knew how to talk, and what he said was so simple that everything seemed new in his language, which had no hard words, those words that make thinking a muddle. No need to have studied to follow him-and they did follow him, first of all because he spoke as he went along, and especially because he believed everything he said. He believed it so strongly that they believed as he did and along with him. They felt that all the things they had learned as children and almost forgotten were now beginning to come true in a terrifying fashion.

He said that God was in love with us all. How did he go about turning them from love to uneasiness? By conjuring up before them in a flash the wall of black fire that cut them off from the heavenly garden and eternal bliss. 'Miser, throw your gold in the devil’s face, as if it were the most nauseating ordure, if you want to enter paradise. Libertine, drop all your women and all your pleasures that keep you from seeing death hot on your heels.'

They felt terror from the secret sins their lives were full of, without Francis’s having to tell them. But he told them anyhow, not with the trumpeting of righteous indignation, as the clergy did, or with their threats of fire and torment, but with an inconsolable sorrow and bursts of searing tenderness, as if he were about to lose his beloved children. And, no longer able to find the words, he began to gesture, his face streaming tears. What eloquence could match those hands stretched out to them? They felt like throwing themselves on their knees to comfort him and to promise him they would return to the Lord. There were women who did this at once, un-self-consciously, carried away by love of God, of heaven, of everything, no doubt including the preacher. Some of the men imitated them, the young ones especially; they were all moved.

Priests who happened to be passing by watched in silence.” pg 124-125

How did Francis know to do what he did, “Francis plunged deeply into prayer to ask God what he wanted of him and his followers.”pg 107 In so doing Francis, “Didn’t want to trim the Gospel, to be “reasonable.” (and for which he was persecuted towards the end of his life) He was one of those uncompromising people whom the world sooner or later breaks, so long as they’re on earth, but who win the victory on the other side of the tomb. Saint Francis of Assisi was never more alive than he is today, whereas the great personalities of his age have faded away. He wanted to save the world; in the end he saved hope.” pg 233

Thank God for St. Francis of Assisi!!! Thank God for Priests, may they follow and preach the Gospel as St. Francis did.