Anna Ostrom 
Discovering that I didn’t have to be a daily communicant, or pray a rosary daily, or spend time in Adoration perfectly was so freeing. I can practice the presence of God in my daily work even when feeling overwhelmed from the daily demands.
’m not gonna lie, I fail in the heroic minute more than I succeed these days, but after learning about it, I am much more likely to at least start with a morning offering or a “Good Morning Jesus” even when I failed to jump right up.
I had never heard of him, but my husband certainly knew how to generate a new devotee when he informed me that St. Ephrem has been known as the “Harp of Heaven” due to his prolific poetry, much of which were hymns.
Sometimes when you just don’t have the words for a situation, comforting prayers or the poetry of a hymn, can come to the rescue.
Sometimes in the rush of the secular Christmas season, we Catholics have to be very intentional in our Advent practices so as not to miss out on the gift that the Church has given us through the liturgical seasons.
When I went through RCIA, the influence of the Saints was still foreign to me. We were told to pick a confirmation saint.
As an adult I’ve realized that one of the greatest gift she gave me was a love of hymns. Susie taught me that having a song in your heart and head meant always having a prayer on your lips.
Typically, we always have a plan, but yesterday, we knew we needed time with just the family, a little room to run off some energy, and a lot of vitamin D, so we headed out seeking those things and without a specific goal in mind.
Recently we were quizzing my seven year old about which mystery of the rosary focuses on Christ’s passion. After one incorrect guess, he proffered, “the pitiful mysteries?”
