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July 2011
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World Youth Day 2011 Has Gone DIGITAL!
This year you can follow all of the World Youth Day events in Madrid from the comfort of your own home. Some of you may be making the trip and we wish you safe travels and we pray that you have an awesome and fulfilling experience. But for those who cannot make it, click on the image or click here to learn more about participating in WYD 2011!
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It's Summer Time! While the month of July falls in Ordinary Time on the liturgical calendar, we know that summer is more like "extraordinary time." Just like school days, our summer days can become filled to the brim with activities and adventures. July 29 is the Feast Day of St. Martha of Bethany. She was a close friend of Jesus and he visited with her and her sister, Mary and brother Lazarus many times. Jesus' lesson for Martha, and for all of us, is that while we might busy ourselves with many things, the one thing that truly matters is to be fully present and open to Christ each day. To read the entire article about Teaching Catholic Kids, click here. |
Faithfilledmom
By: Lori Hadorn-Disselkamp
Summer time is family vacation time. A stay at a lake house, a weekend camping trip, a jaunt to Florida, or a long dreamed of trip to Disney. We look forward to the time we get to spend on our summer vacations all year long. We enjoy traveling to distant locations away from home. We love to relax, renew our spirits and find time with the ones we hold dearest.
One of my favorite things to do on vacations is to visit different Catholic Churches. Years ago we took my four children to a small Catholic Church in Kentucky during a camping trip. It was like traveling back 50 years in time, a completely Latin Mass, a Communion rail, bells and a priest who did not face us. What an experience for my family. On a vacation I took with my husband to California we stumbled across a Saturday evening Mass in Beverly Hills. That Mass taught me a valuable lesson; we are all alike whether we are millionaires, movie stars or a couple from Kentucky, we all kneel, fold our hands in prayer and pray to God together as community of believers. Catholic means universal. So no matter where you choose to go for your summer vacation take the time to make Mass part of the relaxation, renewal and time to spend with your family in God's house.
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God's Aquarium By: Clare Vize, Archdiocese of Louisville Ninety feet under the water is not where I expected to find myself thinking about God, but I was surrounded by His beauty in the colorful fish that were swimming past me, in the rainbow colors of the coral, and even in the wreck I was scuba diving on. I thought about the people who were on that ship when it sank so many years ago, and whether or not they were thinking about God as it slipped under the waves. Did they cry out for His mercy? Did He hear them? Did they survive? How did He change their lives that day? Scuba diving is a dangerous sport. You take your life in your hands every time you jump in the water. A small problem at ninety feet can quickly turn into a life-or-death situation. I don't do it because I like to flirt with danger. I do it because it's beautiful down there. I get to swim in God's big aquarium. Everything is so peaceful when you are drifting along with the current. It's just you and the sound of your breathing, and occasionally the sound of nature in this strange, wonderful environment. Like the sounds of a parrotfish eating the coral, or the click of a dolphin nearby as it searches for an easy meal. God's beauty is all around me, and I feel closer to Him when I'm in the water, away from the distractions of life on the surface. Cell phones and i-pads won't work down there. The water is my sanctuary, my time to think, and my time to enjoy what God has allowed me to see and hear in His great big aquarium. |
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Quote of the Month
"I miss the days when summer vacation was about relaxing and hanging out with friends. Now it's all about working and squeezing your friends in when you can."
-Author unknown
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