Good Morning

The sun is shining. The birds are chirping. The sky is blue.

Why are the shrubs in the parking lot covered in red when it's not fall but spring? Ahh, I really should learn more about different plant types. Maybe some day...although I have my doubts. I like to just enjoy the beauty without understanding the visual detail.

This morning I've been commenting at a couple blogs as I visit them, and I decided I really ought to say hello to my own blog readers -- if I still have any.

One blogger was wondering why she blogs and whether it's worth it. I told her - basically - that it's just good to know her. I guess I guilt-tripped myself into blogging this morning.

Why did I start my blog? At the time I started it, I was working part time in retail sales at a department store. I wanted to share with people how it felt to be a retail clerk, how we can lift their day for love of God with just a smile or a good word. As time went on, I also wanted to help others who were struggling financially to know they were not alone and offer a few tidbits of advice now and then.

When my second son began losing his vision, I threw myself into blogging daily. It gave me something to do, not that I didn't have enough to do, but something positive and uplifting to do.

As time went on, I continued, hopeful that maybe I could start a part-time writing "career", and blogging would be a good networking opportunity for that. I got some kicks out of watching my site meter, but my greatest joy has been getting to know some really wonderful people...not for anything they can do for me, but just for who they are.

Eventually, I realized I was not launching a writing career - at least at this time. And I did need to make that little bit of extra money. So I got a part-time job. I will probably always write in some way. I have books on back burners. I have to keep buying more stoves to have enough back burners to put them on. You should see my kitchen. Ha. Just kidding. As you may know, I live in an apartment with a little kitchen, but yeah, I have a lot of ideas for books that I never quite get around to writing. Sometimes I think them, and later on someone else writes them. And that's okay, too.

So for now my life has taken a different turn. I'm working part-time in an interesting job. Interesting to me, but probably sounds boring to some. I try to describe my job and people yawn and their eyes glaze over. Let's just say I work in a billing department of a medical office but I don't get on the computer. Suits me fine because my responsibility is simply to be accurate. When I go home, the work doesn't go with me.

I've gotten more involved in our homeschool co-op, where as some of you know, I have been teaching preschool this past year. I will be more involved next year than this year. This blog used to be my apostolate. Having relocated, it was also where I had most of my friends. Now that I've entered the...I won't say the "real world" because this virtual world is very real...but now that I've submerged myself into a different world of apostolate and friends whom I can see and touch, I don't have as much time for this one. But I have so many wonderful friends from this blogging experience, this whole online experience.

Hey, I am not saying good-bye, but only good morning!

God bless you all! (If there is any "you all" still reading).

Novena to Saint Jude - Day Nine

Novena to Saint Jude

Day Nine

O Holy Saint Jude, Apostle and Marytr, grant that we may so dispose our lives that we may always be pleasing to God. In working out our salvation in this vale of tears we have many needs and necessities. Today we turn to thee, asking you to intercede for us and obtain for us the favors we ask of God. Especially do we petition for [here mention your intentions].

May we not so much seek temporal good but rather what will avail our souls, knowing that it profiteth us nothing if we gain the whole world yet suffer the loss of our soul.

Therefore, may we incline ourselves towards the Divine Will, seeing God's grood and gracious purpose in all our trials.

Saint Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy!

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You can find the prayers for all nine days of the St. Jude Novena by visiting the Scriptures and Prayers page.

Novena to Saint Jude - Day Eight

Novena to Saint Jude

Day Eight

O Saint Jude, Apostle of Christ, pray that we may ever imitate the Divine Master and live according to His Will. May we cooperate with the grace of God and ever remain pleasing in His sight. Especially do we ask you to plead for us and obtain whatsoever is necessary for our salvation. Forget not our special petitions [here mention your intentions]. May we always be thankful to God for the blessings we have received in the past. Whatsoever we ask for the present or future, we submit to the Divine Will, realizing that God knows best what is good for us. We know He will respond to our prayers and petitions in some way or other.

Saint Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy!

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You can find the prayers for all nine days of the St. Jude Novena by visiting the Scriptures and Prayers page.

Novena to Saint Jude - Day Seven

O Holy Apostle Saint Jude, in whose honor we are gathered today, may we never forget that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ chose you to be one of His twelve Apostles. On this account and on account of the martyrdom you suffered for the Faith, we know you are a close friend of Almighty God. Therefore we do not hesitate to petition you in our necessities, especially [here mention your intentions]. We humbly submit ourselves to the Will of God, knowing full well that no sincere prayer is ever left unanswered. May we see God's good and gracious purpose working in all our trials.

Saint Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy!

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You can find the prayers for all nine days of the St. Jude Novena by visiting the Scriptures and Prayers page.

Novena to Saint Jude - Day Six

Novena to Saint Jude

Day Six

Saint Jude, Apostle of Christ, and helper in despairing cases, hear the prayers and petitions of those who are gathered together in thy honor. In all our needs and desires may we only seek what is pleasing to God and what is best for our salvation. These, our petitions [here mention your intentions] we submit to thee, asking you to obtain them for us, if they are for the good of our souls. We are resigned to God's Holy Will in all things, knowing that He will leave no sincere prayer unanswered in some way, though it may be a way unexpected by us.

Saint Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy!

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You can find the prayers for all nine days of the St. Jude Novena by visiting the Scriptures and Prayers page.

Novena to Saint Jude - Day Five

Novena to Saint Jude

Fifth Day

O Holy Saint Jude, Apostle and companion of Jesus Christ, who has shown us by example how to lead a life of zeal and devotion, we humbly entreat thee today to hear our prayers and petitions. Especially do we ask you to obtain for us the following favors [here mention your intentions]. Grant that in praying for present and future favors, we may not forget the innumerable ones showered upon us in the past but often return to give thanks. Humbly we resign ourselves to God's Holy Will, knowing that He alone knows what is best for us in our needs and our necessities.

Saint Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy!

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You can find the prayers for all nine days of the St. Jude Novena by visiting the Scriptures and Prayers page.

Novena to Saint Jude - Day Four

Novena to Saint Jude

Fourth Day

Saint Jude who was called to be one of Christ's chosen Apostles and who labored to bring men to a knowledge and love of God, listen with compassion to those gathered together to honor thee and ask thy intercession. In this troubled world of ours we have many trials, difficulties and temptations. Plead for us in the Heavenly Court, asking especially that our petitions may be answered, especially the particular one we have in mind at this moment [here mention your intentions]. May it please God to answer our prayers in the way that He knows best, giving us grace to see His purpose in everything.

Saint Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy!

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You can find the prayers for all nine days of the St. Jude Novena by visiting the Scriptures and Prayers page.

St. Jude Novena - Day Three

Novena to Saint Jude

Third Day

O Saint Jude, Apostle of Jesus Christ, thou who has so faithfully and devotedly helped to spread His Gospel of Light, we who are gathered together today in thy honor, ask and petition thee to remember us and our needs. Especially do we pray for [here mention your intentions]. May it also please our Lord to lend an ear to your supplications in our behalf. Grant that we may ever pray with fervor and devotion, resigning ourselves humbly to the Divine Will, seeing God's purpose in all our trials and knowing that He will leave no sincere prayer unanswered in some way.

Saint Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy!

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You can find the prayers for all nine days of the St. Jude Novena by visiting the Scriptures and Prayers page.

St. Jude Novena - Day Two

O Blessed Apostle Saint Jude, who has been instrumental in gathering us here together today, grant that we may always serve Jesus Christ as He deserves to be served, giving of our best efforts in living as He wishes us to live. May we so dispose our hearts and minds that God will always be inclined to listen to our prayers and petitions, especially those petitions which we entrust to thy care and for which we ask you to plead for us [here mention your intentions].

Grant that we may be enlightened as to what is best for us, in the present and future, not forgetting the Blessings we have received in the past.

Saint Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy!

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You can find the prayers for all nine days of the St. Jude Novena by visiting the Scriptures and Prayers page.

St. Jude Novena

St. Jude was one of the apostles and a cousin of Jesus. People often pray to him for "impossible" or difficult situations. If you have a situation like this, perhaps you'd like to join in this novena to St. Jude with me. You can leave a request in the comment box if you'd like (you don't have to say what your request is; you can simply say you'd like to be included). Whether you leave a comment or not, I will include the needs of anyone who reads my blog...and if you say the prayers, I would be thrilled if you would include my requests in your intentions, as well.

I am taking this novena from a book called The Catholic Family Book of Novenas, copyright 1956 by John J. Crawley & Co. with Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur. (For you who are non-Catholics, those two Latin names grant permission to publish and assurance that the prayes are approved by the Catholic Church. And a "novena" is a prayer repeated for a specified period of time, often for nine days. The repetition shows perseverance as in the parable, where Jesus said that if someone keeps knocing on the door, the master of the house will let him in just because he keeps knocking).

I am posting these prayers in good faith, assuming that the 1956 copyright has expired. If I find out that the copyright was renewed, I will remove this from my blog.

NOVENA TO ST. JUDE

INTRODUCTORY PRAYER:
Glorious Saint Jude, by those sublime prerogatives wherewith thou wast enobled in thy lifetime namely, Thy kinship with Our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh and thy vocation to be an apostle, by that glory which now is thine in heaven as the reward of thy apostolic labor and thy martyrdom, obtain from me from the Giver of every good gift and every perfect gift all the graces whereof I stand in need, especially [Here mention your request.], in order to treasure up in my heart the divinely inspired doctrines which thou has transmitted to us in Thy epistle, that is to say, to build our edifice of perfection upon our most holy faith, praying by the grace of the Holy Spirit to keep ourselves in the love of God by all means, to help them that go astray, exulting thus the glory and majesty, the dominion and power of Him Who is able to keep us without sin, and to present us spotless, with exceeding joy, at the coming of our Divine Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

FIRST DAY:
O Blessed Apostle Saint Jude, who labored so zealously for the conversion of the Gentiles in many lands, and performed numerous miracles in needful and despairing cases, we invoke thee to take a special interest in us and in our needs. We feel that you understand us in a particular way. Hear our prayer and our petitions and plead for us in all our necessities especially [here mention your intentions.]. May we be patient in finding out God's Holy Will and courageous in carrying it out.

Saint Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy.

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You can find the prayers for all nine days of the St. Jude Novena by visiting the Scriptures and Prayers page.

Just Visiting

Like in monopoly, I am just visiting. I'm not really back from my sabbatical. Or perhaps it's changed from a sabbatical to a change in priorities. I may not be able to post frequently anymore.

Since a public blog is very public, I haven't felt I could post all my personal business here...which is also my personal "busy-ness". But I will say that I've had a lot on my mind and been very busy.

I will say that in addition to homeschooling and teaching a weekly preschool class, I have started working a part-time job.

I will also share with you that one of our children will be entering the Air Force in May, one of our children just launched her career, and one of our children was just accepted into his college of choice...

Other than that, there's nothing new going on. That's supposed to be funny, of course. Well, and it's not quite true, either; but, as I said, it's a public blog.

God bless you, my friends.