Divorced Catholic Moms » Videos

St. Joseph – Husband & Father Extraordinaire

Manya — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 14:43:11 +0000

St. Joseph was an amazing husband and father…husband to Mary and father to Jesus! And yet, it seems he’s largely forgotten by us. Yesterday was the Solemnity of St. Joseph (sorry I’m late in getting this to you). This is a day in Lent when you’re not supposed to do penance or abstain from meat or fast because a solemnity is a day of celebration.

For us divorced Catholic moms, St. Joseph should be very special indeed. Ask him to step in for the husband and father who is no longer filling those roles in your life! He of all people and of all the saints will have compassion for our situations…pray to him and ask for his help.

Here’s a video from Fr. James Martin about St. Joseph…

Enjoy your Sunday…your day of rest! (right? )

May God bring us peace.

Manya

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Manya — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:14:04 +0000

The Prayer of St. Patrick….

St. Patrick, who endured extreme hardships at a very young age…pray for us who face frightening experiences and wake up to what seems like a nightmare each day.

May God bless and bring us peace.
Manya

Don’t Give Up

Manya — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:00:39 +0000

Take the words of this song to heart. (With Josh Groban singing them, that’s not hard to do. What a gorgeous voice!)

May the Holy Spirit shower us with the graces we need to be at peace.
Manya

Jesus Take The Wheel

Manya — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:33:50 +0000

A beautiful song by Carrie Underwood, that pretty much sums up the best thing we can do for ourselves…give control of our lives to God. He asks for our trust and cooperation…in return, He showers us with gifts that make this journey we’re on a truly joyful one.

Those who are in the midst of separation and divorce have a very hard time even conceiving of life as ever being joyful again. I was there and know those thoughts and feelings and the pain of it. And now I’m here and I know that terrible, hellish time DOES pass…and the joy returns to life in abundance when you keep your eye on God. Even more so when you give control of your life to Him.

This is not an easy thing to do…it’s an ongoing struggle and it’s difficult to know if control has actually been given or not….but keep practicing…you’ll be completely amazed.

May God bless and bring you peace.
Manya

The First Day of Advent!

Manya — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 15:54:00 +0000

The first day of Advent! Do you have an Advent Wreath prepared and in a place of honor? I don’t yet…but hope to correct that by this evening.

Today the new liturgical year begins AND we start looking forward to the birth of Jesus Christ…Emmanuel.

An Advent wreath helps us to keep in mind that Christmas is coming. Traditionally, it is made up of 4 candles: 3 purple and 1 rose (or pink).

Advent, like Lent, is a time of penance (I didn’t realize this until recently). That’s why 3 of the candles are purple. The rose candle falls on the 3rd Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday) and symbolizes a time of rejoicing, for Christ is almost here. A good explanation of the Advent Wreath can be found here.

This time of year can be particularly painful for those going through separation and divorce…and for those who are beyond divorce but still hurting. Prayer, distraction and, finally. accepting & offering up to God the cross you’re bearing right now, all work wonders in getting you through this time. Also, focusing on others can help…for example, volunteering at a homeless shelter…

I wish you all a blessed Christmas season as we prepare for Christ’s birth…and for family celebrations..and gifts to be given to those we love…all in the name of Christ. That, of course, is the important part…all in the name of Christ.

May God bless and bring you peace.

Manya

Catholic Podcasters – A Sampling

Manya — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 14:06:36 +0000

If you aren’t a follower of Matthew Warner, originally (and still) of Fallible Blogma fame…now also of National Catholic Register fame….and probably of many other fames of which I’m not yet aware – I recommend that you become one. He never ceases to impress me.

He recently attended the Catholic New Media Conference (I’m jealous ) and made a series of video blogs while he was there. Today I’m sharing the 5th in his series of 10. Why the 5th one? Because that’s the first one I’ve seen. I’ll be watching the others, too, though!

This is cool stuff. I love being able to see the podcasters I’ve come to know only auditorially (did I just make up a word?). Anyway…these are good people with interesting, motivating and funny things to say. They’re regular, everyday Catholics who help the rest of us regular, everyday Catholics to be better, regular, everyday Catholics. Thanks, guys!

Sunday on Divorced Catholic Moms – That Catholic Show – Water, Water Everywhere

Manya — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 14:49:58 +0000

We here in CO seem to have been transported to the northwest this weekend….it’s been raining since Friday! I’m not complaining, mind you. My garden is going to look GREAT after all this moisture. I do hope to feel sunshine again soon, though.

Since my world at the moment is “Water, Water Everywhere,” I thought it’d be an appropriate Sunday to share the following video with you.

That Catholic Show is great (in my humble opinion)…just wish they could find time to continue the series! By the way, Jennifer & Greg Willits can now be found on the Catholic Channel at Sirius radio – The Catholics Next Door.

God bless and bring you peace!
Manya

Sunday on Divorced Catholic Moms – When You Believe

Manya — Sun, 16 May 2010 15:54:54 +0000

Something beautiful and inspiring for your Sunday. Enjoy.

Manya

Divorced Catholic Moms – The Gift of an Ordinary Day

Manya — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:13:49 +0000

This was sent to me by my oldest daughter. While watching it, I got a little bit choked up…teary eyed. The author, who is the woman reading in the video, sums it up so well…being a mother…the amazingly swift way that time passes and our babies are suddenly adults. I would venture to say that probably every one of us was warned (more than once) that our children would be grown before we knew it…we’d blink and they’d be small no longer. Of course, it’s very difficult to believe that when you’re knee deep in laundry and toys and you’re sleep deprived and would give ANYTHING to just have a few moments to yourself. But it’s SO true.

Anyway…that’s pretty much what this video is about. The author of the book The Gift of an Ordinary Day reads a passage accompanied by music and family photos and beautifully relates the truths that we all recognize….now. It’s good. It made me wish I’d taken more pictures of my children on ordinary days when they were smaller. So, I now resolve to start taking more pictures NOW…and movies, too. And to re-double my thankfulness for ordinary days….

It just occurred to me that those of us who still have our parents with us should be taking pictures of them on ordinary days, too! THESE are the “good ole days” and we’ll cherish the pictures and videos, as will our children….and their children…

God bless!

Manya

Dominican Nuns on Oprah Winfrey – Priceless

Manya — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:41:02 +0000

When you have about 20 minutes available, watch this…it’s pretty impressive. I was impressed by how respectful Oprah was (not that she’s usually disrespectful…but it would have been very easy for her to be ‘flip’ in order to get laughs…and she did not do that). I was also very impressed by how well the nuns (most quite young) spoke for themselves. Oprah and her assistant (who actually stayed overnight in the convent) asked some very blunt and difficult questions and the sisters didn’t hesitate to answer them…and to answer them well.

I applaud Oprah for this show and the sisters for letting the world into their lives. This is great stuff!

By the way, if the video below doesn’t play back smoothly, go straight to youtube to watch it (just mouse over the youtube logo and click). There are 4 parts, so you’ll need to go to youtube to see the whole series anyway. (I tried putting them all in this post but it took forever to load that way.) Even at youtube, they didn’t always play smoothly but the audio worked great.

Part 1:

Enjoy!
Manya