Two Cents

'98: FedEx delivers a package
for the Pope at Vatican City...

"Hey Buddy, I'm not joshin'
ya. I really am the Pope."

Where is God?

Thank you to the Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Church website for this one:

A couple had two little boys, ages 8 and 10, who were excessively mischievous. They were always getting into trouble and their parents knew that, if any mischief occurred in their town, their sons were probably involved.

The boys’ mother heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The clergyman agreed, but asked to see them individually. So the mother sent her 8-year-old first, in the morning, with the older boy to see the clergyman in the afternoon.

The clergyman, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, “Where is God?”.

The boy’s mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there with his mouth hanging open, wide-eyed. So the clergyman repeated the question in an even sterner tone, “Where is God!!?” Again the boy made no attempt to answer.

So the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy’s face and bellowed, “WHERE IS GOD!?”

The boy screamed and bolted from the room, ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him.

When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, “What happened?” The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied, “We are in BIG trouble this time, dude. God is missing - and they think WE did it!”

Saintly Logos and More

Hello everyone. Please pray for me while I update the blog layout in hopes that I don't delete anything substantial. When blogger updated to blogger beta, I figured Discerning Sainthood should make the upgrade to (for the sake of future technologies available to us bloggers). This I knew would be a painful thing because the old site template would no longer function for all of our readers. And so, after a week of tweaking things here and there, I finally decided to execute the upgrade and the new look.

I appreciate any feedback, comments, opinions, problems, etc. with the new version of the blog.

Let me know if you run into any problems with your feeds or any links. Oh, and p.s... the bearded saintly fellow in the top left is our new logo, let us know what you think. Thanks and Pax Christi!

A Truly Sacramental Marriage

Occasionally I will have personal revelations which lead to a deeper understanding of what I already know. I had one of those today in relation to the topic of the Church's teaching on the use of contraceptives.
We receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist under the accidents of bread and wine. The bread and the wine are physical expressions of the Eucharist. In the same way, the act of conjugal love within a marriage is the physical expression of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony that couples married within the Church receive on their wedding day.
What is asked of married couples in the Church is that we allow God into our marriages in the same way he is present in the Eucharist. The Eucharist only becomes what it is when God enters into the bread and wine. The marital act is an expression of a sacramental marriage only when we allow God in freely without attempts to frustrate His will.
Speaking as an engaged woman preparing to enter into the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, I must take this to heart in all its truth to prepare for a deeper understanding of my future marriage, and those already in marriages must answer to this and live out their marriages in the way the Church teaches and thus the way God wills.

What Don't Friends Do?

Friends Don't Let Friends Skip Mass™, That's what!

Hello, readers! Go check out the new website from Bryan and me:
http://www.FriendsDontLetFriendsSkipMass.com

In the words of the Blessed Dina Belanger, "If souls but understood the Treasure they possess in the Divine Eucharist, it would be necessary to encircle the tabernacles with the strongest ramparts for, in the delirium of a devouring and holy hunger, they would press forward themselves to feed on the Bread of Angels. The Churches would overflow with adorers consumed with love for the Divine prisoner no less by night than by day."

Help to remind others of the great blessing God has granted us in the power and beauty of the Mass and the Eucharist. Visit http://www.FriendsDontLetFriendsSkipMass.com.

Christian Mission: The Net is Waiting

The internet speaks to everyone. I say this because there is something for everyone on the world wide web. It doesn't matter how old you are, or how young. It doesn't matter what ethnicity, gender, background, religion, anything! You can be a committed businessman or a boxcar hobbyist, it doesn't matter. You get my point.

So where am I going with this?

Regardless of your state in life, whether you know you're on the right track with your career or relationships, or whether you feel completely and utterly lost, along for the ride in the current of life... regardless, we as Christians have a mission. If you feel no other sense of purpose but to fulfill your Christian mission of bringing the Gospel to others, then so be it.

So why did I lead off with comments about the internet?

Because the internet is fertile ground for your mission. Sure you can talk to people face to face, or write for the local newspaper, or put together a charity, all of those things are amazing and valuable avenues for spreading the Good News... but might I suggest something to throw in the loop as well? Consider making a web page, I'm not even really suggesting a web site, just a page would do. One page talking about the Lord, one page that might inspire many to find their way to God. You'd be surprised how many people will happen across a single page, seriously.

Just throwing that idea out there. One page, one blog, one more avenue to continue your mission. For those of you who are semi-tech savvy, it's easy to create free or low cost sites. For those of you who can barely make it to this blog, it's not a big hurdle thanks to site-building software out there. Consider it, pray about it.

Some links to help you along:
- free blogs: www.blogger.com , www.vox.com
- free websites: www.tripod.com , www.myspace.com
- low cost sites: www.godaddy.com

* note: I'm only listing places where I've had good experiences. Myspace.com can be a questionable place, but if you ask me, it just needs more Christians pronouncing their faith on there. Also, I haven't actually used Vox.com yet, but I plan on doing so very soon, check it out.

Subtract 2 Days from Christmas

Hi everyone. Thanks to David Perry, a regular reader of DS, I've come across a mistake in the "14 Days of Christmas" post from December 27th, 2006. Turns out there is still only 12 days, ha ha, so I guess what I'm trying to say is that the basis for the title and first part of the article is only partly there. Here's what David said in his email...

"Actually it's still 12. Christmas day doesn't count, the season starts the day after. The feats of Epiphany is on Saturday Jan. 6th. Some RC dioceses may opt to observe the Sunday after Epiphany as Epiphany Sunday, but the feast is still on the 6th."

We'll be the first to admit when we're wrong, ha ha, but if there's one thing I've learned about the liturgical season, there's always differences... let us here from you... is this correct? Just leave a comment to let us know. Thanks!