Been Fishing Again

It is always inspiring to see someone give up their future, their dreams, their possessions, and everything they have for the Church. Though no such sacrifice is small (like the widow with the two coins, they give all that they have) sometimes these people very obviously give up *a lot*...like this athlete who surrendered a promising career to join the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal: HERE It always makes me reflect on how little I trust in God, myself, and how little I have really given Him in His service.

Highlighting Orders

I wanted to take a moment to bring to your attention a certain religious order that I thought you might find interesting.

The Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles


I met a couple Sisters (Srs. Mary Philomena and Grace Helena) from this Order some three years ago; they came to my part of the country to speak to a youth group.  When I began to actively discern, I looked into their Order briefly (I'm just too Franciscan to be Carmelite.  Sorry.).  Theirs is a very traditional, orthodox Order with a great apostolate and charism.  If you like to spend time with Sisters because, frankly, nuns are cool, you should check them out.  And if you have recently begun actively discerning I strongly suggest you add them to your list of Orders to Contact.

I'd write more about them here, but their website already says it all.
Go give it a look.  Be sure to read this page if current Catholic events interest you.

Searching for Peace

“May the Peace of Christ reign in your hearts.” ~Colossians 3:15

Everyone, at some point in their spiritual journey, experiences a moment when peace (and the joy attached to it) suddenly and often inexplicably flees.  This lack of peace leaves behind doubt, fear, uncertainty, and that uneasy feeling that since your heart is restless, it must not rest in God; “what did I do wrong?” 

A while back, my spiritual director told me to read a little book called “Searching for and Maintaining Peace” by Rev. Jacques Philippe.  Today, I would like to recommend it to you.  It is a very insightful and inspiring work that I found unspeakably helpful.  It explores the reasons we lose our peace, how we should react to this loss, and it offers concrete steps to take in order to regain our peace.  It even gives advice on how to trust in the Lord despite our doubts and fears, what we should do when we are struggling with matters of conscience, and how to deal with the suffering of our loves ones.  For being little more than one hundred pages long, it is surprisingly thorough!  And though I especially recommend it to those who are searching for their peace, it really is for everyone.  If we aren’t searching for peace, we are trying to keep it, and as the title implies, this book covers both.  I highly recommend it.

It is available on Amazon and as an iBook.

“Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee, O God.” ~St. Augustine