Oh, is that all?

A  hermit  had a gift from God to cast out evil spirits.
One time he asked to learn what they feared most and what compelled them to flee.

“Perhaps it is fasting?” he asked one of them.
“We,” the evil spirit replied, “neither ever eat nor ever drink.”

“Sleepless vigils, then?”
“We do not sleep at all.”

“Flight from the world?”
“Supposedly an important thing. But we spend the greater part of our time wandering around the deserts.”

“I implore you to confess what it is that can subdue you,” insisted the elder.
The evil spirit, compelled by a supernatural force, was pressed to answer: “Humility—which we can never overcome.”

— The Ancient Fathers of the Desert: Section 1
V. Rev. Chrysostomos, trans.

The Litany of Humility
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
          From the desire of being esteemed,
          Deliver me, Jesus.          

From the desire of being loved...
          From the desire of being extolled ...
          From the desire of being honored ...
          From the desire of being praised ...
          From the desire of being preferred to others...
          From the desire of being consulted ...
          From the desire of being approved ...
          From the fear of being humiliated ...
          From the fear of being despised...
          From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
          From the fear of being calumniated ...
          From the fear of being forgotten ...
          From the fear of being ridiculed ...
          From the fear of being wronged ...
          From the fear of being suspected ...

That others may be loved more than I,
          Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

            That others may be esteemed more than I ...
          That, in the opinion of the world,
          others may increase and I may decrease ...
          That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
          That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
          That others may be preferred to me in everything...
          That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…            

The Litany of Humility at EWTN

Humility does not disturb or disquiet or agitate, however great it may be; it comes with peace, delight, and calm. . . . The pain of genuine humility doesn’t agitate or afflict the soul; rather, this humility expands it and enables it to serve God more.

—Saint Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, 39:1-2

To the Nice Fellow at the McDonald's Drive-Through

Yes, that was the same lady in the big van three different times on Saturday. I was sick. My kitchen sink wasn't working. The dollar menu was my friend.

And to someone who might benefit from the large sum of money I just spent to get a plumbing education: Don't put eggshells down the garbage disposal. Apparently, "It's like pouring gravel down there."

And now we all know.

The Parents of St. Therese will be beatified in 2008

Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Cause of the Saints, has announced that the beatification of the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, Louis Martin and Azelia Guérin, will take place later this year!
Read more at Shower of Roses (where else for news such as this?)

A Little Romance

So, it's an absolutely dreary, icy February day and I haul my sick self out of bed to lay on my keyboard and write an overdue column. When it's finished, I do what I do promptly every other Thursday before the office opens every other Friday. I email it to Ann, the managing editor at the Herald and ask her to let me know she got it. Ann is my friend. We've worked together long distance for fifteen years. I've trusted her with my heart my columns all that time. She knows me pretty well--she's probably the only person on the planet who has read every single column I've ever written. And I know her a little, too. I remember writing to her in the early morning just before I went to the emergency room when I thought I was miscarrying last time I was pregnant. And she wrote back and comforted me and promised her prayers. Then, she understood the bittersweet news when I relayed that there were two babies but just one heartbeat and she shared with me a little bit of her own sorrow. Ann is my age and has never been married. She is a wonderful, talented, woman of grace and God. On that day, I began to offer a prayer every time I sent a column that God would send someone her way.

Today, when she tells me she's received my column, she passes along some happy news! She's engaged! He's the associate publisher of the Florida Catholic (I'm afraid to ask what this means for us).She also tells me that she's in the running for a wedding photography prize package. Ann is used to being behind the camera. What a great gift it would be for her to spend her day being captured by someone else's professional camera. If you're a sucker for a love story, go read Ann's (written by the love of her life) and  then scroll to the bottom and vote for "Ann and Chris."

Not just your ordinary de-cluttering

This is a holy mission, a quest to find time and space for God.It is an imperative for authentic Catholic homemaking. This is a clearing of soul as I pursue a clearing of space. And time. Colleen captures it better than I do:

Over and over I have talked myself out of this being the problem.  Overand over I have reasoned that I just needed more containers and bookshelves (stuff for my stuff).  And over and over I have found myself lying in bed at night feeling like a total failure because of the state of my stuff.  Even on a day when we have prayed together, learned together, played together, I can often find myself guilt-ridden at night because I was not able to manage my home as I think I should. If stuff is in the way of my experiencing God's love and mercy, it's definitely the problem. Read the rest here.