ROE VS WADE OVERTURNED ON THE FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART!

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NEW ADVENT

EWTN NEWS

As I groggily sauntered into the kitchen this morning, my husband immediately greeted me with the stunning news.  We all suspected this was coming, but you are never quite ready for that moment when something anticipated becomes real.  As I was still trying to absorb the information, I did my customary glance at the Catholic calendar and saw “The Sacred Heart of Jesus” as today’s feast.  Instantly I said to myself, “Not a coincidence!  Amazing!”  Tomorrow is also the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  After waiting just shy of 50 long years, the dice land on this day.  This shows God’s omnipotent Providence in all things and gives us great consolation.  This incredible day is graced by the Two Hearts!

After spending the past 34 years fighting for life, I never thought I would live to see this day.  There is a feeling of joy thinking of all my pro-life friends, past and present, rejoicing today.  A wave of positive energy has shot through the world…a world that desperately needs it.  It’s hard to believe it’s true.

Yes, there are those who will take this opportunity to do evil and to persecute us more viciously, but we cannot focus on that ugliness from Hell.  We must focus on Heaven, life and beauty.  Just look at a picture of a precious baby and you will regain your perspective.  Let us thank God in the coming days and continue to pray for peace and the safety of our people.  Let us continue the fight for life as never before.  Evil cannot stand forever.  Christ already has the victory on the Cross!  Alleluia!

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy upon us

“In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph”

March is the Month of Saint Joseph

The icon above is so sweet, how it portrays the Child Jesus’ love and affection for His Foster-Father, whose feast we celebrate this month on the 19th. May we further our own love for Saint Joseph during his month of March, as we also embark on the Season of Lent.

Ash Wednesday is the 2nd of the month-we begin Lent by contemplating our mortality and performing penance. There has never been a time in our lives when the world has needed more prayer and penance, so let us observe this Lent as well as we can, without stressing ourselves too much. When we stress ourselves, it has an immediate affect on those around us. As Saint Paul reminded us in the Quinquagesima Epistle:

“If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing…And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity.”

1 Corinthians 13:1

Adding to the penitential spirit of Lent, we have the Ember Days on the 9th, 11th and 12th. This is a time to pray and offer for blessings and mercy upon the coming season of Spring.

We remember the great event of The Annunciation of the Lord on the 25th. Some other notable saints which March celebrates are: 20th-century Saint, Katherine Drexel…martyrs invoked in the Canon, Felicity & Perpetua…Doctors of the Church Saint Thomas Aquinas, Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem and Saint John Damascene…our beloved Saint Patrick and Saint Gabriel the Archangel, just prior to The Annunciation. Let us give special mention to Saint Isidore the Farmer, who we particularly like here at Nomen Christi Apostolate!

What may we do this month to honor our dear Saint Joseph? Of course, last year was the Year of Saint Joseph. Maybe we could gain some inspiration from those former indulgences.

Finally, let us pray for peace, especially in the Ukraine. But remember, we live in an illusory world, where nothing is what it seems and the truth is often not what we are told. There is always more to the story. There is always information we are not privy to. But let us not forget the World Wars already waging…the war upon the unborn and the vulnerable…and the war upon freedom combined with the Covid bioweapon and the “Mystery Injection” being touted as a vaccine. Of course we never despair-we trust in the Most Holy Trinity, because we are God’s children and we know He loves us!

Here is your traditional Month of March calendar. Lenten blessings to all…

Saint Joseph icon at etsy.com.

Thought for the Day

The universe does not revolve around me. A little disappointing. But mostly a huge relief. Actually, it’s very good news for the universe.

Just sayin.

10 Reasons to Purge Your Home

Marie Kondo, famed home organizer, tells you to ask yourself, “Does it spark joy?” Here’s a different question…

C o u l d i t E x i s t i n H e a v e n ?

You may not know I have been blogging since about 2008. The original URL and title was “futurecatholic.net”. This URL still exists and directs to this current site. You also may not know that what you thought was gone from the internet may still be accessible at Wayback Machine. It’s hard to lose your past these days. My writing included more “conspiracy” stuff back then and when I started this site, I decided I should be less controversial. Since Covid, it doesn’t matter anymore. We now must all choose a side. So…I don’t care if you go back and look at it. Have fun with that!

Anyway, the point was, I posed the question above on the old site and got some flack for it. I recall someone saying this was too perfectionistic. Well, my only response to that is…

"Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect."

Matthew 5:48

Gonna argue with Him? For about the past 6 months, I’ve been purging and organizing my house. If you think I must be close to done, you think wrong, my friend! I do hope to step up the productivity in the coming months because it’s going way too slow. So far, I have worked mostly on books, papers, clothing and records (those things you used to spin and they would make music). Each type of item presents its own challenges, both emotionally and spiritually.

First of all, why purge at all? 10 reasons:

1) Your home will be more spacious and much easier to clean.

2) You will be better prepared if you need to suddenly move.

3) You will become more organized in the process, which is key to preparedness.

4) You will be letting go of things, helping you to confront emotional issues.

5) You will probably be ridding your family of sinful influences (and receiving graces for it!).

6) You will be giving to the needy.

7) You will be reducing pests.

8) De-cluttering your main residence can help you stock a remote location.

9) You can teach family members to do the same (and this can be great family-time as well!).*

10) You can bring in some income if you can sell some of it.

11) Bonus Reason: You will have more room for your important prepper supplies.

There are a few above points I’d like to expound upon…

#2: Moving-It is now time to begin creating our holy refuges, prophesied about by the mystics. If you don’t see why, pray on it and look around with a new set of eyes-this has been a long time coming. We can expect anything and everything from this point forward, as the New World Order advances its war on humanity and the Church. For a variety of reasons, you may find yourself needing to move suddenly. Being prepared to show your home and having less to pack will be much to your advantage.

#4: Letting Go-Many people never de-clutter because they do not want to deal with the memories and emotions that will come up. They may not even be consciously aware of this. The result is living in continued dysfunction and unfairly passing it all on to your children. This can create enormous stress and expense for them, on top of having to deal with death issues and selling a house. The fact is, those emotions belong to you. Dealing with them is part of your life journey and there is healing in the process. This summer, I finally went through my son’s baby clothes. It was hard. I cried. Much of it was still in good condition and we gave it to our local Saint Vincent de Paul thrift store. Physically holding the clothes in my hands, washing them, folding them one last time and sending them off to be worn by a new baby…it was a “letting go” ritual. It was something I needed to do and I feel so enriched by it. This is the kind of life experience that makes you are deeper, more sensitive person. And it helps you go on in a healthier state. As you continue to go through things, you will get stronger and come out the other side transformed. (Let me just say, if you super have trouble getting rid of something, that’s okay!-as long as its the exception and not the rule.)

#5: Sinful Influences-This one brings us to our question above, “Could it exist in Heaven?” What really happened on the Cross? When we die, we will see above all, that this life was not a joke. In this “Age of Separation” upon us, we must begin to see with greater clarity, the true corruption of the world. The world is regarding us more and more as enemies. It must go both ways. Let the separation begin. If we wait until these “precious” things are wrenched from our hands, we will have squandered any grace that could have been obtained by voluntarily letting go. We must secure mercy at this hour. We must make ourselves worthy to inherit the new world after all the dust settles. “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!”

This issue came up heavily when I was going through my records. In my youth, they meant everything to me. I would not have been able to conceive that one day I would be tossing them in the trash. I held myself to about the hardest standard, discarding those with only one offensive song or an immodest image. If the good is tethered to the evil, it must be cast into the fire with it. We can allow nothing corrupt to harm the little ones who will take refuge with us. The new world must be pure before God’s Heavenly Throne. After trashing most of them, I was left with folk, classical, “ambient” and some benign pop music. I was amazed how easy it was. After doing the baby clothes, I feel I can do anything. Another thing-corrupt items must be thrown out, no matter how valuable they are. Passing on the evil does no good. This is the kind of thing that separates the men from the boys in the spiritual realm.

#7: Pests-Didn’t know we had mice in the attic. Now I do.

#8: Remote Location-If you have a summer house or another property, some of the items you find may do well in that location. For a summer house, that extra veggie peeler or old vacuum could be useful and help save money. If you rent another property, you may wish to store some things there in a locked area.

When considering what to do with possessions you no longer need, it can help to think outside the box. For instance, I traded some of my books at a local used bookstore. The 2 books I wound up getting were on traditional woodworking and organic gardening. K-ching! Books I can really use going forward (and they are good hardcover ones). As for my experience purging piles of papers, we actually have a new usable chair in the dining room and it is so refreshing to be able to find something quickly and easily in my files. There are countless resources and systems out there now for de-cluttering. Half the battle is getting started, then you just need to incorporate it into your routine. If you’re really having difficulty, as with everything else, pray on it!

*Unless you’ve got hoarders in your family, in which case it will be “Dysfunctional Family Thanksgiving on steroids.”

Find the Spaces / Feast of Saint Clare

There is a reason the internet is called the “World Wide Web.” The truth is being told. It is one of the New World Order’s chief instruments of influence, control and surveillance. The “net” in “internet” is no accident either. Truth always must be shown in plain sight for those who have eyes to see. “Weaving Spiders Come Not Here,” from Shakespeares’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, was taken by the Bohemian Club in California, as their motto. Deeply ironic, since they are the weaving spiders, or at least a faction, behind the horrifying world which is encroaching upon us. When man loses his relationship with his Heavenly Father, we will inevitably begin to see a Hell on earth. That’s everything outside your window, in a nutshell.

But the wonderful thing about webs, is they contain lots of space. Space you can escape through. As we discussed recently, nature always teaches us something. It is never hopeless. There are wonderful worlds lying just beyond the entrapment. Find the space, crawl through, and you are on the other side…free. Always believe this is possible (if you’re on this blog, you’re already doing it). Find the places where you can function comfortably. Find the like-minded people. Find the gems just a stone’s throw from the prisons…the holy places apart from the degraded culture…and if you can’t find it, CREATE IT!

Today is the traditional feast of Saint Clare of Assisi, whose actual name was Chiara, which was the name of my Sicilian-born grandmother, who I was named after. Got that? Just as my patron saint, dear Chiara did when escaping her abusive father, we must have the fortitude and self-esteem to seek out our own freedom and well-being. She started the Poor Clares and became one of best known and loved saints of antiquity. How much can we, at this critical hour, accomplish if we take her example, detach ourselves from the world and create something new and amazing?

"Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you."

Matthew 7:7

Santa Chiara of Assisi, Pray for Us!

Image courtesy drugdiscoverytrends.com

Let Me Introduce Myself

After 6 years on this blog, maybe it’s time to tell you a bit about me. I initially did not want to write a bio because I do not like the focus to be on me. But recently, I have been thinking that it is probably important to give my readers more of a sense of a personal connection. So, here goes my life story (sorry, there is only one version…the long one)…

Chiara Florence Mathews

I was born in Levittown, New York, in the late 60’s. This was the first of William J. Levitt’s idyllic pre-fab post WWII communities. My formative years were a beautiful initiation into life. To some degree, my personality was formed by Levitt’s vision. I have never lost, through great trials, that spirit of beauty, order and exuberance that Levittown gave me. Of course, I also must credit my loving parents. Though not devout, they sent me to Catholic school and gave me some understanding of the Faith.

It all went south when my father died of heart attack when I was 7 years old. My mother was left confused and helpless, with 3 children still at home. 2 years later, she married a Jewish man and we lived a strange dual-religion life, with Judaism being predominant. This led to spending several months in Beersheba, Israel, when I was 10 years old. It was an incredible thing visiting the Holy Land at such a young age and it changed the direction of my thinking and my understanding of the world. I remember walking across the desert to the bus station (quite a walk) and thinking, “Maybe Jesus walked in this very spot.” We spent a few days in Jerusalem and visited the Western Wall of the Temple, the significance of which I did not comprehend at the time. As is customary, I wrote something and placed it within the wall. I have no idea what I wrote-I wish I could remember. This was nothing like a pleasure trip. The experience was fraught with difficulty and terror. But I am deeply grateful for it and everything I learned about Judaism, which enriched my understanding of Catholicism.

My teenage years were spent in New Jersey, in a spiritual search for truth and an immersion in music, creative writing and theater. After making the rounds of Protestant churches and considering conversion to Mormonism, a friend invited me to come to the city with his family, to see a priest they knew. This priest was none other than one of the greatest Catholic theologians of the 20th century, Fr. John A. Hardon (there is now a cause for his canonization). To me, he was just a nice old man. I spent a few minutes privately with him and confided that I was confused. The only thing I remember him saying is, “Pray the Rosary every day.” He handed me a pair of blue plastic Rosary beads, which I cherish to this day. Through the same friend, I met my future husband, also from a devout family. He was able to explain all the things about Catholicism which I did not understand. I made the decision at the age of 18 to return in fullness to the Catholic Faith.

At Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), NJ, I majored in music. After meeting Fr. Michael T. Mannion, famed for his work in post-abortion healing and the director of the campus Newman Center, I started a pro-life club. We accomplished some great things, but received flack for it, which included a run-in with the head of the music department. I left to pursue my dream of becoming a singer/songwriter in Manhattan (I wound up working all the time to pay my rent). Eventually, I continued college at the State University of New York in Purchase. I was one of a group of winners in a recorded music competition, which gave me the opportunity to present my work on a CD put out by the college. This led to a meeting in the Sony building in the city, with a well-known producer. He likened one song to Leonard Cohen and was interested in working with me. I was supposed to record a few more things and come back. I never entered the Sony building again.

With John Paul II’s “Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei" in 1988, my husband-to-be brought me to the Tridentine Mass. At the age of 21, just down the block from Grand Central Station, at Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s former parish, Saint Agnes, I wept while kneeling. Seeing what I had been deprived of growing up…The most beautiful thing this side of Heaven*, I was forever changed. In the ensuing years, this is where my spirituality and intellect would continue to take shape, through the extraordinary oratory of theologians Fr. George Rutler and Fr. John Perricone. This is where we would be married. This is where our son would be baptized.

Work during my 20’s included teaching music, a series of office jobs and a difficult position at Good Counsel as a live-in counselor at one of their homes for women and children. I got to know the director, Chris Bell, and his pro-life heroin wife Joan Andrews Bell (I had sung 2 of my songs at their wedding reception prior to working there-Joan had asked me to do so, because she really liked a pro-life song of mine). Fr. Benedict Groeschel was part of the ministry and we would occasionally have retreats with him. My pro-life activism also led me to NYC’s pregnancy center pioneer Chris Slattery and sidewalk counseling at some of the worst clinics in the city. All of this gave me life experience well beyond my young years.

From Levittown to the Negev Desert to the death camps on Main Street, it’s no wonder my music sounded like Leonard Cohen. But gradually, I realized Cohen’s “cold and broken Hallelujah” could not be mine. There was another “Hallelujah” which called me. And I began to see, looking at the Signs of the Times, that the jig was up anyway.

After 10 years with my best friend, I finally married the young man who helped me so much in the spiritual life. We had a beautiful big baby right away. This was to be our only child. I became ill with Chronic Fatigue/Pain Syndrome, which I still suffer from. We bought a house on Long Island, not far from Levittown. In the past 20 years, I have continued with pro-life work, in addition to volunteering in various capacities (church, school and community garden projects). I have had training in preparedness/back to nature issues, including the Cornell University Master Gardener course. I am also proud to have pioneered a program with a local Montessori school, which has introduced thousands of Long Island children to gardening, at the annual Huntington Tulip Festival.

Needless to say, as a New Yorker and as a human being, I was very deeply affected by the terrible events of 9/11. After watching Bush’s behavior in the classroom on that day, I realized this is not the world I thought it was. There was something very wrong and I had to get to the bottom of it. Hence my “truther” journey, which involved in-depth study of the true control-structure of the world. This led to many esoteric topics and back to Catholicism, in terms of prophecy. (I have been connecting the dots for the past 2 decades, which prepared me for understanding the events of the past year.)

Realizing, as I suspected long ago, that we are approaching volatile times, a new dream emerged, of creating a Catholic ministry to deal with the issues before us. I started a blog 13 years ago and this is the current version of it. The vision of Nomen Christi Apostolate started to form about 9 years ago, as ideas came into greater maturity, including my thesis of “The Authentic Life.” Simply stated, the way God intended us to live, close to nature and communal, is also the safest, most self-reliant kind of life (ultimately speaking). The vision continues to evolve, particularly in light of the past year, as things are clearly heating up. It is my goal to move out of cyberspace and into the real world. I have become more interested in helping people to create rural refuges from the world. Stick with me and there will be more talk on this. I touch on theology from time to time. I should say, I am not a theologian but I like to meditate on these topics. I have been influenced by the best of the best and I give them all the credit.

My husband is an Information Technology manager. I would never have been able to navigate the computer world without him, so he has been an integral part of this work. Our son has an engineering degree from the University of Southern California. Our Shihpoo Frankie (named after Saint Francis) has degrees in cuteness and begging.

As for music, I will sing with Saint Cecilia on a cloud one day…

PS What have I learned from it all? I’ve learned this.

* famous quote by Fr. Frederick Faber, 1814-1863

September Fatima Family Holy Hour for the Church

Thank you for joining our September Fatima Family Holy Hour for the Church! September 13th is the anniversary of the Fifth Apparition at Fatima. Following is the Holy Hour Format to print and perform at home.  If you cannot do this on September 13th, please choose another day during the month. God bless you and may Our Lady shower graces upon you and your family during this difficult hour in the Church and in the world. Please contact us above and let us know how this Holy Hour has blessed your family during this month dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. Let us console her heart by devoutly praying this Holy Hour…

PRINTABLE VERSION OF SEPTEMBER FATIMA FAMILY HOLY HOUR

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Candle-Lighting for Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

(please light a candle next to a picture or statue of Our Lady)

+   Sign of the Cross   +

O Jesus, we thank Thee for this anniversary of the Fifth Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima to the three holy children in Portugal and all the miracles and wonders which took place there.  We thank Thee for our togetherness today honoring this anniversary, though it is at a difficult time for Thy Holy Church and the whole world.  We light this candle for the intention of reparation to Thy Mother's Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, which so grieves over the sins of the world at this time.  We especially wish to console her for the terrible injustice to unborn children, for she is Mother to all.  May these little lights of ours ascend to her Queenly throne in Heaven, as she once ascended on the day of her glorious Assumption, and show her that indeed, there is still love for her on earth.  Love for Thy Mother always directs us to Thee, O Jesus, our Savior, Whom she holds up to the world in her loving arms.  Forgive us our sins and let us enter into this Holy Hour in a spirit of contrition and spiritual communion with Thee.  We beg Thee for a return of the normal functioning of the Catholic Church. Forgive us for the disrespect given to the Holy Eucharist for so many years. We offer as well, all the intentions of those participating and all the parents and children at the start of this new school year, during this trying time. Amen.

Saint Joseph, Pray for Us!

All Ye Holy Angels & Saints, Pray for Us!

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"Immaculate Mary"

Immaculate Mary, your praises we sing
You reign now in Heaven with Jesus our King
Ave, Ave, Ave, Maria!  Ave, Ave, Maria!

In Heaven the blessed your glory proclaim
On earth we your children invoke your sweet name
Ave, Ave, Ave, Maria!  Ave, Ave, Maria!

We pray for the Church our true mother on earth
And bless Holy Mary, the land of our birth
Ave, Ave, Ave, Maria!  Ave, Ave, Maria!

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Fatima Reading & Prayer

The Fifth Apparition ~ September 13th, 1917

On September 13th, very large crowds began to converge on Fatima from all directions. Around noon, the children arrived. After the customary flash of light, they saw Mary upon the Oak tree. She spoke to Lucia: “Continue to pray the Rosary in order to obtain the end of the war [World War One]. In October, Our Lord will come, as well as Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Saint Joseph will appear with the Child Jesus, to bless the world. God is pleased with your sacrifices." Lucia then began to put forward the petitions for cures, and was told: “Yes, I will cure some, but not others. In October, I will perform a miracle so that all may believe.” Then Our Lady began to rise as usual, and disappeared.

Text courtesy World Apostolate of Fatima, USA, edited.

The apparitions of Our Lady to the children were not their first encounter with Heaven.  An angel appeared to them previously, three times, and gave them two prayers, as follows:

"My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee!  I beg pardon of Thee for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee!"

"Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I adore Thee profoundly.  I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He is offended.  By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners."

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Glorious Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary

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Litany of Our Lady of Fatima

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for our dear country.
Our Lady of Fatima, sanctify our clergy.
Our Lady of Fatima, make our Catholics more fervent.
Our Lady of Fatima, guide and inspire those who govern us.
Our Lady of Fatima, cure the sick who confide in you.
Our Lady of Fatima, console the sorrowful who trust in you.
Our Lady of Fatima, help those who invoke your aid.
Our Lady of Fatima, deliver us from all dangers.
Our Lady of Fatima, help us to resist temptation.
Our Lady of Fatima, obtain for us all that we lovingly ask of you.
Our Lady of Fatima, help those who are dear to us.
Our Lady of Fatima, bring back to the right road our erring brothers.
Our Lady of Fatima, give us back our ancient fervor.
Our Lady of Fatima, obtain for us pardon of our manifold sins and offenses.
Our Lady of Fatima, bring all men to the feet of your Divine Child.
Our Lady of Fatima, obtain peace for the world.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Let Us Pray: O God of infinite goodness and mercy, fill our hearts with a great confidence in Thy dear Mother, whom we invoke under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary and Our Lady of Fatima, and grant us by her powerful intercession, all the graces, spiritual and temporal, which we need.  Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

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Final Prayer

O Most Holy Trinity, look upon the work of Thy Hands with mercy and give us the peace we so desperately need.  Shower Thy graces upon us like the rain, like a great flood engulfing us and end these many sorrows.  We live in unprecedented times, uncertain times.  Deliver us from all evil, visible and invisible and from all fear.  Help us to prepare for the days to come and to extricate ourselves from this inauthentic culture.  We pray for the triumphalism of Holy Mother Church and the salvation of all souls.  Give us peace in our hearts and courage to face the future and win our Heavenly reward.  Our Lady of Fatima, we love you!  Pray for us!  In the Holy Name of Christ, Nomen Christi.  Amen.

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"Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above"

Hail, holy Queen enthroned above, O Maria
Hail, Queen of mercy and of love, O Maria
Triumph, all ye Cherubim
Sing with us, ye Seraphim
Heav'n and earth resound the hymn
Salve, Salve, Salve, Regina

The cause of joy to all below, O Maria
The spring through which all graces flow, O Maria
Angels, all your praises bring
Earth and heaven, with us sing
All creation echoing
Salve, Salve, Salve, Regina

O gentle, loving, holy one, O Maria
The God of light became your Son, O Maria
Triumph, all ye Cherubim
Sing with us, ye Seraphim
Heav'n and earth resound the hymn
Salve, Salve, Salve, Regina

Thank you for joining us~see you October 13th for the final October Fatima Family Holy Hour, which celebrates the 103rd Anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun!

For email reminders, please contact us at: director@nomenchristi.org

Image courtesy catholic.org

Update

Sorry I have not posted much…this past week has been rough because I had some dental treatment and also had to buy a car. My mouth is still hurting and I still can’t figure out how the locks work on my new 2020 car. I have been driving a 2004 and have no idea how all this stuff works. It is so weird to turn the car on with a button instead of a key and when I’m backing up, I don’t know whether to look in the rear view mirror or the camera. My fancy audio system keeps going on and off. I’m watching YouTube videos now to figure out how this car works. I never needed a tutorial on how to operate a car before! This could become a whole post on the woes of technology…I have spent my entire life meditating on this, since I was a teenager in the 80’s. There is a point where technology becomes so cumbersome, time-consuming, fragile, privacy-reducing…that the detriment exceeds the benefit. I think we are at that point (with the advent of 5G, we also have a host of new problems). Perhaps this is a “singularity” of a sort. Ask 10 people what “singularity” means and you get 10 completely different answers. What is the solution? Go back. That’s my 2 cents and I’m stickin to it. I realize this is radical. If you are not willing to be radical, the coming days will rake you over the coals. Either way, you are in the pressure cooker. Choices must be made. Difficult ones.

Anyway, I TOTALLY LOVE MY NEW CAR!!!!!!!!!!!! Really, I do. (My old one is literally taped together with duct tape-sadly, that is not a joke! But a guy is actually giving me $500 for it and is going to fix it up. I think I will leave a 6-pack in the back seat for him. He will need it.) TY for your patience:)

Welcome to "In Search of The Authentic Life!"

Hi, I'm Chiara F. Mathews and I'm so glad you have found my new blog! I really hope you enjoy it and get something valuable out of it. This blog will explore (in an organic way, by creating an environment of ideas) the question, "How did God intend for His children to live?" Obviously, we as faithful Roman Catholics (BTW, I am faithful to our Holy Father Francis) must pursue holiness in accord with Catholic teaching. These topics will be dealt with, but we are also concerned here with how God intended us to live in practical everyday life and social structure. It should be obvious that western culture is desperately in need of a reality check. We are not living anything remotely like an "authentic" life. And this will surely have consequences.

In my study of disaster preparedness and sustainability (2 aspects of survival), I have begun to see a picture emerging....a thesis that the safest way to live, the surest way to survive, also happens to be the way our Creator intended us to live....close to the earth, with respect for it. This is not a new idea, I only seek to bring my own contribution to the table.

Due to limitations that I have right now, we are going to start this blog off slowly. I hope to post about once per week. Unfortunately, I do not have the time right now to moderate comments, so there will be no comments. However, please email me if you like, with any comments or feedback and I may decide to post them. My email: [director@nomenchristi.org]

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will continue to take this exciting journey with me.:)