Mapping Out Our Nations Sin

The link below is to a posting on Faith and Family Live - It is a study of our nations sin.

What’s your hometown’s sin of choice?

A team from Kansas State has mapped out our nation’s hot spots for the 7 deadly sins by plotting per-capita statistics of things like violent crime, STDs, and numbers of fast food restaurants.

Some might question the “science” of these findings, but the maps sure are an interesting way of looking at our country’s regions.

I especially like the fact that the map for pride is an aggregate of the other six maps “because pride is the root of all sin.”

http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/mapping_out_sin

Seven Things I love ...

Tagged by Cheri over at As the Family Goes.... Thanks!

Seven Things I LOVE!

1) Joe! Being married to Joe. Talking about how cool it is to finally be married. Be watching a movie or cleaning the house or driving somewhere and saying .... "ummm We are married!" It still doesn't get old and is so fun.

2) Though I miss Minnesota and our friends there very much - I LOVE being in Washington and seeing either my family or Joe's family every weekend. We have been having a great time doing little adventures around the state. Last weekend, we went to Zillah and went to 3 different wineries.

3) Reading about and learning things I never knew. As I mentioned in a previous post I have been reading Beautiful Boy. It is a book writen by a father about his son who is addicted to drugs and they cycles of heartaches he and the rest of his family go through. I am facinated by this whole other world that I had no idea about.... The book is honest and thoughtful. The father is a writer for the New York Times and is very eloquent in his heartfelt love and deep suffering as he watches his son destroy his life. Everyone knows about suffering and heartache - David Sheff makes his come alive on the page. He isn't a man of faith, but slowly comes to see God as necessary.

4) Lazy mornings, hot coffee, catching up on good prayer time, reading books and blogs and new recipes to make for the week.

5) Being crafty. I made 2 sets of curtains and feel so accomplished.

6) Thinking about, talking about, praying about, and trying to make real long term goals or ideas. There are so many things we want to see, do, experience, try ..... It is fun to dream, and to make a reality.

7) New friends, old friends, catching up, getting to know, and loving people where they are at.

You are supposed to tag 7 people, some I would tag have already been tagged .... but check out their posts and new people can participate!
Kristine, Carrie, Laura, Sarah D, Janelle, Amelia

Cathedral of St. Paul - New National Shrine

Not that anyone needs another excuse to come to Minnesota - (what many people around here call "God's Country") - but now the Cathedral of St. Paul has been established as a National Shrine!

As the Year of St. Paul draws to a close on June 29, the Cathedral of St. Paul announced its new designation as National Shrine of the Apostle Paul.

The Cathedral is among about 100 U.S. Catholic churches that have been honored with the designation — and it’s the only one dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle, said Msgr. Anthony Sherman, executive director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Divine Worship.

The designation comes from the Holy See and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at the request of Archbishop John Nienstedt.

The title ‘shrine’ recognizes the Cathedral’s national importance and designates it as a pilgrimage destination for groups from across the United States, said Father Joseph Johnson, the Cathedral’s rector.

The Cathedral began the application process when the Year of St. Paul was announced, Father Johnson said. He felt the Cathedral had a particular responsibility to heed the jubilee year’s call to greater devotion to the Apostle Paul.

He also thinks the national shrine designation honors the vision of the Cathedral’s founder, Father Lucien Galtier, the first priest to establish a parish in the area in 1840. Because of his devotion to the saint, he named the log chapel he built after St. Paul, which led to the name of the city. “Father Galtier looked to the person of Paul when he arrived in this wilderness, and it’s interesting that now the universal church has said we’re all going to do that,” Father Johnson said.

Because of the shrine designation, the Cathedral will continue some of the programming it began during the jubilee year, including its First Saturday series, which featured speakers, prayer and reflection. It already offers several weekly tours.The new shrine has also established the Archconfraternity of the Apostle Paul to help people feel connected to the shrine, Father Johnson said.

Members serve as the spiritual apostolate of the National Shrine of the Apostle

Paul in five particular ways:

- Greater devotion to St. Paul and his intercession.
- Study of and reflection on the Pauline epistles in the New Testament.
- Practice of corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
- Commitment to evangelization, especially in everyday encounters
- Connection with the spiritual life at the National Shrine of the Apostle Paul.

Last week, as a going away present, my co-workers and I all went on a tour of the Cathedral, something we have "always wanted to do", but never got around to. When you live in a particular city, I have noticed you often don't do the "touristy" things associated with that region. I have been to the Cathedral - perhaps hundreds of time - for Mass or other events, but never had a complete understanding of what each window, or fresco or marble stone meant or came from.

The experience was truly memorable. We spent time in each side chapel honoring the saints and learning about what went into building their chapel. Each marble slab in the side chapels came from the country of origin for the Saint. The stained glass windows and "rose windows" are priceless, yet at the time when the cathedral was constructed, they were a few thousand dollars. Unbelievable.

I will admit that the Connemara Marble from Ireland (the picture in the link does not do it justice) from St. Patrick's side chapel was the most radiant and beautiful of them all.

All in all, I highly recommend an organized tour of the Cathedral, it has given me a much greater and renewed sense of wonder and awe for this building men erected in honor of our good and loving God.

3 Crosses Retreat Center

This past weekend, Joe and I, along with our great friend, Megan and Mikey, took Friday off and went to 3 Crosses Retreat Center in Cannon Falls. Gary and Barb have transformed their own home into a beautiful retreat center/get away for anyone who wants to come. Megan, Mikey and I were 1st exposed to this place while we were on a team together for NET Ministiries. They are such beautiful people - and while they live in their home (the retreat center) they also work to maintain the grounds, prayer gardens, and welcoming environment of this Christ-centered place. The 4 of us decided, though we will not live near each other, to return to this place with our growing families routinely, to enjoy God's creation in the place where we feel so at home. Here are some pictures.

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Joe helping me down from a tree.


Totem Poll shot

Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe - LaCrosse, Wisconsin

On Saturday -Joe and I planned a trip down to La Crosse, WI. It is about a 3 hours drive, so we made a fun day out of it. Joe had been sick with the flu - influenza - all week, and we were both glad he started to feel better. We took the road that runs along the Mississippi River and enjoyed the view. All of the leaves were off the trees which made the view of the river perfect, though we both commented on how it would have been nice to do that same drive in the fall or spring when things were in bloom. In La Crosse, there is a new Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is just beautiful. Below I posted some pictures. I don't think words will do it justice, but at least you will be able to see. Each set of mysteries of the Rosary had one of these 1/2 circles devoted to it. The tiles were hand painted I am certain and the light blue color made each image shine. Up close view of the Wedding at Cana. Each of the side chapels in the Cathedral were devoted to "modern day Saints" - those from the 18th and 19th centuries. This is St. Maria Goretti, a young girl who died at the hands of the man trying to molest her. He, Alessandro, is also in the picture. Maria said as she was dying that she wanted to see him in Heaven, and while he was in prison, he had a vision of her saying that she forgave him - making him repent and seek forgiveness. When he was released, 27 years later, he went straight to Maria's mother who was still alive and begged for forgiveness. She said "If my daughter can forgive you, how can I refuse?"

St. Therese, the Little Flower.

Us at the Shrine, a nice family from Delano took our picture.

St. Gianna, Pray for us!

The dome of the Cathedral, with the stars in the exact spot that would have been when Juan Diego looked up into the sky.

These are my roommates from last year, minus 1 - Sr. Katherine Webb is with the Nashville Dominicans. We were all at a bridal shower for Monica, who will be getting married June 5th. It was great to all be together again, and Mary is at Steubenville and Monica lives a few hours north of the rest of us!

The Human Experience

Another great movie to share with everyone!

From Grassroots Films of Brooklyn, New York (the guys who made Fisher's of Men and God in the Streets of New York) comes THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE – the story of a band of brothers who travel the world in search of the answers to the burning questions: Who am I? Who is Man? Why do we search for meaning? Their journey brings them into the middle of the lives of the homeless on the streets of New York City, the orphans and disabled children of Peru, and the abandoned lepers in the forests of Ghana, Africa. What the young men discover changes them forever. Through one on one interviews and real life encounters, the brothers are awakened to the beauty of the human person and the resilience of the human spirit.

Trailer

If you live in the Twin Cities, come --- it's FREE!

Where: O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium (University of St. Thomas, St. Paul campus)
When:
When: Thursday, March 12 from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Demographic Winter

Demographic Winter is the name of a documentary that my seminarian friend (Brian) sent me. He has watched the entire film, (which is totally secular), and expresses the need for societies to stop freaking out about the hype surrounding having "too many people in the world" and start having kids!

In order for our society (and world) to survive, demographers (and statistics) say we need to "replace" ourselves at a birth rate of 2.1, which makes sense - 2 children to replace the 2 parents that gave them life and .1 to factor in all sorts of other birth complications .... currently, most countries are at 1.something - - - -

There will soon be too many old people in the world for the lack of young people left in our world to support them.

What I find most interesting about the trailer that I have given you the link to, is that these secular demographers, state that the "in-tack male+female family unit" is the strongest and most successful way for our world to survive.

Check it out, and try to watch the entire film if you can.

Hooray for marriage and family life!

Presentation of the Lord

“Simeon gave back Jesus to His Mother, he was only suffered to keep Him for one moment. But we are far happier than Simeon. We may keep Him always if we will. In Communion He comes not only into our arms but into our hearts.”

St John Vianney

Picture by: Greg Olson--Simeon blessing the baby Jesus in Jerusalem

Luke 2:25-35