This blog's mission is simple--to encourage moms who are married to non-Catholics and raising their children in the Faith. If you know a mom who needs a little encouragement in continuing her efforts, I would be delighted if you would share Kathleen's Catholic with her. Thank you!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Exactly What Is Heaven Like?

Ever wonder if there are details of Heaven in the Holy Scriptures that describe exactly what it is like? When we were children, we were taught that Heaven is above and Hell is below. Is this true? Will we all be united in eternity? Does Heaven have an open-door policy so everyone gets in? Is there a hierarchy?

There are plenty of answers! Here's a video I think you will thoroughly enjoy. Susan Conroy, translator of The End of the Present World, joins Johnnette Benkovic and Fr. Edmund Sylvia to discuss our magnificent and eternal home.

Susan Conroy's translation
of a work St. Therese loved.
What I enjoyed so much about this episode is how joyfully Susan speaks about Christ and His Father's Heaven of many mansions. Click here to watch the episode now and learn more about Susan's work, The End of the Present World.

At Women of Grace, you will find a large collection of TV episodes of the same name. A cup of tea, a few moments to yourself, and you are set for some wonderful edifying television--a breath of fresh air!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Vacation Bible School and A Quiet Spot of My Own


A quiet spot of my own.
 Phew! After a week of teaching arts and crafts at vacation bible school, I'm so ready to enjoy my morning mini-retreats again. A cup of tea, some lectio divina with scripture, and a pretty view of the pond is my idea of a great beginning of the day.

Actually, I had some plans of posting photos of VBS. But good luck with that! Each morning, forty children filed through my classroom anxious to complete their projects. My hands were just as busy as theirs. And it was wonderful--hectic, creative, exhausting, and sometimes hard to wrap my mind around the next step. But it was wonderful!

When I had a few minutes to spare, I slipped into the sanctuary to visit the tabernacle. It was a joy for me to combine my work with prayer right in front Our Dear Lord. Sometimes when I felt it was too much--a small room in the basement with 14 children and 14 helpers is quite a bit for this claustrophic--I simply prayed, "Stay with me, Lord. I know you can help me through." My worries then dissipated, and the class time flew by.

I think my favorite thing about vaction bible school was watching the teenagers from the parish youth group work one-on-one with the children. Even the young men who play football during the school year were quick to offer gentle and brotherly care. It seemed to come naturally to them...big guys offering to three-year-olds, "Would you like the fishy here? There? Okay, I'll put your fishy there."

And I would be remissed to forget to mention how hard all the youth group members worked--both boys and girls. After VBS was dismissed, the teens spent the afternoons at a mission, doing heavy yardwork at a convent, then feeding the poor at a shelter, then helping the elderly practice for the Senior Olympics. Their director said, "Sure, I could take you on a missions week in Mexico, and that would be a great experience, I'm sure. But you are needed here, too. You needn't go far to find a mission." I was sitting in the next room counting out craft supplies, nodding my head in total agreement! At the end of the day, the kids then made an evening meal for themselves and set up all the classrooms for the next day's lessons. They were exhausted!

I'm hoping to post little essays here and there about my week with the children and the teens, and perhaps I can find photos from other attendees. But now I am preparing to get caught up on cleaning my house, finishing the paperwork homeschooling requires at the end of the year, completing editing and writing assignments, weeding my gardens, cleaning out the fridge, and maybe--just maybe--spending some time in our awesome pool. Ah! That sounds so nice! And every day will start in my little quiet spot pictured above. I am so looking forward to my work in the month of July. God is good!

God bless!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Thanks for Staying With Me

I'd like to thank you for staying with me. It's been quite a while since I last posted an article.  No, I haven't run away or left home! In fact, I've been busier than ever preparing homeschooling portfolios, planning next year's curriculums for the boys, working on a few volunteer projects, putting in gardens, and generally preparing the house for the summertime heat --if you are like us and don't have have air conditioning, then you understand what that means!

By the way, speaking of gardening...yesterday I woke up early, poured myself a cup of coffee, walked around the perimeter of our house, and counted how many shrubs we have...just how many I will need to prune? Unbelievably, around this 1600-sq. ft. house, we have twenty-seven shrubs. Add the rest that are on the property, and the total that the lobbers will be addressing is forty-one! It's a good thing Roger and I love gardening! Well, that's what happens when you buy someone's old family homestead. The previous owner lived here an amazing eighty years, and his wife was a plant lover. (Did I also mention that we have twenty flower beds?)

I am almost finished with portfolios and my volunteer projects, then I will be back on track with writing and posting. Until then, may I humbly ask you to make yourself at home here at Kathleen's Catholic? KC now has more than 240 posts of columns, videos, book reviews, and links about living the Catholic life and raising our kids in the One True Faith. In addition, there is The Little Catholic Kitchen and my Bird & Nature Journal. Please stay a while and peruse the selections. There is something for everyone.

Pour yourself a tall glass of iced tea and have fun browsing! I'll be back with new materials as soon as it is humanly possible. I thank you for your patience and ask that you heartily keep in mind any mother who is in need of encouragement and send her a link from KC. God bless!

An Amazing Story of Witnessing A Faithful Woman's Meeting With Christ

I hope you will join me in thanking Christina King for sharing her remarkable and heart-rending story, called Divine Providence or Coincidence?, posted at CatholicMom.com.

Christina shares with us how she was suddenly thrust into the scene of an accident and how she helped the victim prepare for meeting Christ. In the end, she explains how Divine Providence played a loving and powerful role.

Please share this link with others! Click here to read Christina's story.
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