Falling in Deep Like

A couple of years ago I read a book called the The Princess by Lori Wick and she uses the phrase "falling in deep like". I would say that this would be more accurate than "falling in love" which is the term used with people discovering the first blush of love. Many of the books I have read recently have surrounded arranged marriages, marriages of convenience, and true love.  Dancing with Fireflies by Denise Hunter the main characters ask themselves the question marry for true love or just for convenience? What is right? What is fair to both parties? I don't think the book comes up with a definitive answer but it does give food for thought. What do you think this question what are the right reasons to marry. Personally I believe that any marriage is possible if it is in God's will and if people are willing to commit and choose to love.
                                                             Have a good read, Nina

My Lord and My God...

Today is not only Divine Mercy Sunday it is also doubting Thomas Sunday in the Byzantine rite. A couple years ago I was able to attend some Eastern rite masses. Some of the Eastern rites are under the Pope and therefore you can receive communion and count it toward your Sunday obligation.  While I have grown up and still participate  and enjoy the Roman rite knowledge of of the Eastern rites have deepened my appreciation for the liturgy and different aspects of the Faith. For example, in the Eastern Rite the Eucharist comes in the form of risen bread as symbolic of Christ's resurrection. On the other hand, the Roman rites use of unleavened bread brings the focus to the Eucharists beginning and precursor in the Last Supper and the Passover. Their use of icons in their churches is also inspiring. When a person participates in the sacrament of Reconciliation you face an icon of Jesus while the priest stands behind you and hears your confession. If you ever have a chance to attend a Eastern Rite mass I would highly recommend it. Just make sure it is one that is under the Pope's authority.
                                        May you have a blessed Divine Mercy Sunday, Nina

Dying to self

As I meditate on Christ's passion today one of the things that strikes me most is that even before giving himself up to death he constantly had to die to his fleshly desires, pain, hunger, thirst, and abandonment. His sacrifice not only that he died but that he endured. As someone who suffers from anxiety and depression this is essential to grasp. Whenever the thought of death becomes a comfort I need to remind myself that God does not necessarily ask that I sacrifice my life which is his anyways but my flesh. Choosing to put one foot in front of the other and focusing on the "next right thing" has been a balm for my soul and allowed me to be of service to others.
     I am reading an amazing book called A Song for Nagasaki  which is the story of Takashi Nagai's life. The story follows not only his journey from atheism to belief but the story of Japan's Catholic history. Nagasaki in particular was a stronghold of the Catholic faith which was anchored by the Cathedral that had been built by the faithful of Nagasaki many of them pesants with no training. Takashi Nagai was also an atomic bomb survivor. Instead of allowing the bomb to take his faith his faith drew meaning from the bombing. Takashi Nagai would later share at a requiem Mass,

                  " I have heard that the atom bomb... was destined for another city. Heavy clouds rendered that
                     target impossible, and the American crew headed for the secondary target, Nagasaki. Then a 
                    mechanical problem arose, and the bomb was dropped further north than planned and burst right 
                   above the cathedral... It was not the American crew, I believe, who chose our suburb. God's 
                   Providence chose Urakami and carried the bomb right above our homes. Is there not a profound 
                     relationship between the annihilation of Nagasaki and the end of the war? Was not Nagasaki 
                   the chosen victim, the lamb without blemish, slain as a whole burnt offering on an altar of sacrifice,
                     atoning for the sins of all nations during World War II"( A Song For Nagasaki pg 174-175)
 I would highly recommend this book and I am going to be looking for the books written by Takashi Nagai in the aftermath of World War II.


                                                  Have a blessed read, Nina

Good Friday

On this Good Friday I want to share with you some of the songs I like to listen  and meditate on during Lent and the Triduum. One of my all time favorites is "Above All" by Michael W Smith it is a beautiful reminder of Christ's sacrifice. Jimmy Wayne's "I Love You this Much" is a reminder of how Christ is with us even in those times when we fell alone. The "Litany of Humility" by Danielle Rose is also a good reminder to me that I should only desire the praise of my Lord.
                                                            Have a blessed Good Friday, Nina

Stay here and keep watch...

Happy Holy Thursday everyone, the end of Lent and the beginning of the Triduum. For me the blending of Passover with the Triduum is an especially special part of the Triduum. My main are of interest is Biblical Archaeology and looking at the Passover and comparing it with the Triduum, I have learned so much more. The Passover, as we hear in the first reading tonight, talks about the need for an unblemished male lamb that must be sacrificed and eaten just as we receive Jesus' body and blood in the Eucharist. The blood on the door posts protects the inhabitants from death just as Christ's blood keeps us from dying the final death to sin. This is also a time that I would ask you to pray for our Jewish brother and sisters especially with the call for registration of people of the Jewish faith in Ukraine.
                                   Have a blessed Triduum, Nina

Amish Fiction

Over the last few years the amount of Amish fiction out there has increased tenfold. I have only found a few authors that I have liked number one being Beverly Lewis who basically started the whole genre. Her most recent series Home to Hickory Hollow harkens back to her first book The Shunning. I have also enjoyed Wanda Brunstetter books including The Half-stitched Amish Quilting Club that I have mentioned previously in my blog. I have also enjoyed Emma Millers Amish series Hannah's Daughters. I find it interesting that so much interest has been generated in the Plain community. What is it about their lifestyle that calls to us? At the same time I do not know of anyone who has actually converted to the Amish faith. What can we learn from them, and how do we live our life in the world that we have chosen?
                                                              Have a good read,
                                                                               Nina

We are God's masterpiece...

This is something I have been taught, but internalizing it, is a different matter.  I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and ocd a few years ago and it was not until that time that I was willing to see how my thinking was skewed. I hated myself and I did not see any point in living.  God saved me through family and friends who convinced to get the help I needed. While I still struggle with these illnesses one thing it has taught me is that we all have intrinsic value as we are children of the Most High God. When I get into a deep depression I found that helping other people and putting their needs before my own would help me climb out of the abyss. Even without my depression I have found that we have trouble seeing ourselves as God and others do.

 I recently read a book called It Had to be You  by Susan May Warren the two main characters Eden and Jace live under false impressions of their images and worth. Eden has always felt like she is there to support her family and she has nothing else to offer. While dealing with her younger brother Owen's discovery of fame as a hockey player she butts heads with the team captain, Jace.  While they are fighting their mutual attraction to each other they run across a young man in a come without any identity. Eden and Jace both with reasons of their own start their search for his identity and in the process realize their own worth and a new purpose. The book is on sale as an ebook this week only, check it out.
                                                                  Have a good read,
                                                                                 Nina