Happy 16th Birthday Catherine Therese!!

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Although you'll never read this my sweet Catherine, I love you. 16 years ago you changed our life forever. All of your siblings have done this in their own way but you have done so in a very special way. You have made me more empathetic, compassionate, and much more prayerful. Your smile lights up the world around you and we are all blessed by it.  It's not easy living with a saint. You remind me of my weakness and limited time on this earth. You challenge me to go deeper within myself and find what the Lord is trying to teach me...usually patience. You are made in His image and likeness but He uses you so that I can see my own beauty, goodness, and shortcomings.  You struggle mightily against me with every bath, diaper change, and wardrobe change. I struggle mightily with Him against all the changes He wills in my life. You depend on me and your mom for even the simplest of things. You teach me to depend on Him for everything and not rely on my on strength. You teach me that I
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The Best Endorsement

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A few weeks before Christmas I was speaking with a co-worker who wanted to buy copies of my rosary book for Christmas presents for her family. She told me that she had given copies to friends who had lost children during pregnancy and that the meditations had helped them a great deal. I was very glad to hear that and I have heard many stories like that over the years since I first wrote the book. She was surprised when I told her that I had hardly touched the book since I wrote it and I often forget what I wrote.

That night I decided to get the book off the shelf and use it for our regular Sunday evening rosary with the kids, grandparents, and uncles. I wanted to use some meditations that I thought might keep the boy's attention so I went with the First Person Meditations where I explore the mysteries through the eyes of the various people who were part of those events. For instance, the Joyful Mysteries* are presented as seen through the eyes of St. Joseph. The boys absolutely loved them. In fact, my oldest asked if he could take the book to bed so he could read the other First Person Meditations.

Now, each Sunday, the boys request to use those meditations. Last night we met again to pray and we meditated on the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary as seen through the eyes of the Blessed Mother. When we were finished my oldest told my mother that, "I like those because they are like stories and they make it fun." I couldn't ask for a better endorsement.

*For those of you not familiar with the Rosary, the Rosary is a set of prayers that are said while meditating on different aspects of the life of Jesus. Each set of mysteries is made up of 5 meditations. For instance, the Joyful Mysteries focus on the angel Gabriel's visit to Mary, Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, Jesus being presented to Simeon in the Temple, and finally the loss and finding of Jesus in the Temple. In my book, I try to help the reader see aspects of daily life within the mysteries. You may find samples of the meditations here.

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