Video: St. Dominic Savio

Direct link at http://divine-ripples.blogspot.com/2009/12/video-st-dominic-savio.html

 I went to church yesterday and as I received Communion, a boy in front of me knelt down.  He must have been 7 or 8 because he was tiny.  But he knelt when his turn came.  I was touched by his devotion and my thoughts went to another boy who became a saint at 15, St. Dominic Savio.  He told St. John Bosco to turn him into a garment for the Lord, to help him become a saint.  He was God's seal of approval to St. John Bosco's preventive system - a method of education and formation that uses kindness, reason and religion.  It does away with punishments if possible.  But it wasn't lowering the bar.  When St. Dominic made his first communion, he resolved that Jesus and Mary would be his friends and that he would chose death rather than sin.  Death rather than sin.  If only our Catholic representatives, senators and judges would care about holiness and sanctity, then America would become a more civilized, moral and decent nation.

Blog: Feastdays - a celebration of the spirit & the body

In St. John Bosco's schools and youth centers, feast days are celebrated with fanfare.  There were stage presentations - operettas back in his day, sports competitions and something special at the table.  It is a time of  merriment.  Since yesterday was the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, I started a tradition at home.  It was nothing big - just having soft-batched cookies and chocolate milk for dessert.  This is special because my wife does not let the kids have chocolate milk.  I explained why we're having something special and told my son to remind me next year, so I can get the treats.  My eldest asked for the date and I bet you, he'll remember.  He tells me of events that happened when he was 4 or 5

Change, some things never ... (On the denial of humanity)

Supremacists believe that blacks are not human.

Nazis asserted that Jews were not human.

Some Democrats act or maintain that born babies are not human.
Inhofe: Some Senators Share Holdren’s View That Born Babies Are Not ‘Human Beings’

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, says he believes some of his Senate colleagues share the view expressed by White House science adviser John P. Holdren in a 1973 book that human fetuses do not become “human beings” until sometime after they are born.  Read the rest here or type http://cnsnews.com/news/article/58229

It's about life not politics.

Blog: Granny goes back to Church after reading this story

For whatever reason, my late grandma stopped going to church while I was growing up.  When I entered the seminary after high school, I sent to her a story and that changed the rest of her life.

This was from the "5 Minutes a Day" book of meditations.  There was an old woman who went to church daily all year round.  On one harsh winter day, she was the only one there.  After Mass, the priest asked her how she managed to get to the church when all others stayed away.  She said, "I just say to myself, one more step for Jesus."

After reading that letter, my granny became a daily communicant and her disposition became a lot better.

When I entered the seminary, I told myself that if I can save even just one soul by becoming a priest, then it would be all worth it.  Even if I did not make it to the priesthood, I think that this is the Lord's gift to me for giving it a try.

Blog: Love from Little Hearts

A co-worker told me that he did not want to bring children into the world because it was a messed up place.  I  had kids anyway and here's how it turned out.  Last Sat., I woke up to the sound of heavy breathing and crunching.  My 2 year old daughter was lying above me with a bowl of cereal.  She just wanted to be near me because I have been working a lot lately.  My 7 year old boy asked if I can just work in the grocery store nearby, so that I can come home earlier. My 10 year old son planted on his own the bushes that I bought to please me.  Then, there is my 6 year old daughter who asked, "What will make you happy, Daddy?"  While the world can be a dangerous place, that should not be a reason to deprive oneself of the love that comes from little hearts.

Video: Sermon in a Song

A preacher uses secular songs in his sermon and those get a fresher and deeper meaning when used for God.



Link at http://divine-ripples.blogspot.com/2009/12/video-sermon-in-song.html

Video: the Greatest Woman for all time

Source http://divine-ripples.blogspot.com/2009/12/video-greatest-woman-for-all-time.html

Dec. 8 is the feast of her immaculate conception.