The Power of Prayer

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend and that Advent has not caught you by surprise. Can you believe that we're already 3 days into Advent? What are your plans during this holy season? I enjoy the daily readings and meditations in the Magnificat Advent Companion which my generous mother buys for the whole family each year.  I also ordered a Daily Meditations booklet and CD from Belmont Abbey College.  The gorgeous artwork alone is worth the cost of the set.  I'm currently attending a weekly Bible study, taught by my wonderful pastor.  Of course we light our Advent candles each night during dinner, and I'd really like to make a Jesse Tree with my children.  If you have any interesting Advent practices, please leave a comment and share them.

I received some wonderful news!  My dad, who was in the ICU recently with an infection so serious that I flew home to see him, just saw his doctor yesterday.  Apparently, the antibiotics are curing his infection and he longer seems to need surgery.  He will rest at home and should be able to return to work at the beginning of next year.  Many thanks to those of you who prayed for him.  My family is famous for our prayer chains, and we had people all over the US and around the world praying for him.  Studies show that prayer can have a remarkable impact on illness and recovery.  Perhaps during Advent we can all pray for sick people who have no one to pray for them. 

My Journey Home

I forgot to post the information about my Journey Home appearance on EWTN, but I have been a bit distracted as my dear dad is in intensive care, clear across the country. He has the same infection that resulted in open heart surgery and an artificial heart valve 11 years ago. He has been feeling better, but I would very much appreciate your prayers for his speedy recovery, without additional surgery.

I was honored to be a guest on The Journey Home to tell the story of my "reversion" to Catholicism. For many years, I was a lukewarm Catholic, despite being raised in a very devout Catholic home.

The show will also air on EWTN on Thursday, Nov 11th at 2:00 pm ET and Saturday at 11:00 pm ET. If you don't have EWTN or can't watch the show, I've posted the youtube video below.

Sorry for the break

I apologize for the long break in posts, but I needed to leave the Latin Mass article up for awhile since the link was posted in my parish paper.  (If you're looking for the Latin Mass article, it's on the Oct 21st entry, below)

Before I resume my "Minute Meditations" on the Rosary mysteries, I wanted to share this wonderful video I came across.  It's just over 3 minutes, but is so interesting and inspiring: