A Teen Striving for Holiness

New Blog

2010-09-05T12:52:00.001-05:00

If you wish to follow me I will be on my new blog "The Journey of a Gay Catholic" at www.gaycatholicjourney.blogspot.com

My Boyfriend Adam

2010-08-31T22:03:00.002-05:00

Just though all my readers should know why I havent been posting.....this is my boyfriend Adam. I love him.
I dont want to hear anything rude. Not that I'm going to check the comments on this anyways.

To learn more about LGBT religious issues or other facts visit:
http://www.matthewshepard.org/
http://www.bigeasymcc.com/
http://www.mccchurch.org/

A Life of Prayer

2010-06-17T16:48:00.003-05:00

I often speak of the vocation to Carmel as a vocation to prayer and love. But what is prayer? Many of us view prayer as asking God for what we want. We think that by asking God for something, we can change his mind. But this is not the case with prayer. God our Father dispenseses many graces to us daily, some of which we do not even notice. But, our good Lord often withholds certain graces from us until we ask for them. By doing this, our Lord is his own infinate wisdom, is teaching us to rely on him as children rely on their parents. By making us ask for our needs and wants, God humbles us and makes us more aware of our weak and sinful nature as humans. Only an infinatly merciful and loving God would do this for us and he does each and every day. Of course no prayer, no matter how beautiful or eloquent, or even humble and simple can match that prayer that isssued forth from the mouth of God himself incarnated in the flesh:

Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,

on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our tresspasses,

as we forgive those who tresspass against us,

and lead us not into tempation,

but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

God in his all-knowing way, taught us this prayer because in it is contained everything that we can possibly ask or need of God. It shows our reliance on our good God. Should one fall into the temptation that he has found a prayer more beautiful or powerful than the Lord's Prayer, he will never become humble or truely be able to love with his whole heart.

Pax Christi!

Jude Graham

The Call of Carmel

2010-06-15T17:16:00.005-05:00

I now know St. Therese's agony as she waited for her entrance into our glorious Carmel! I am 15, just at St. Therese was, and have already tried for a special dispensation, but the laws of the United States hold me back. Until that glorious day when I enter, I must content myself with prayer and spiritual reading of the Carmelites. I faithfully wear the habit of the carmelites ( The Brown Scapular ) in hopes that one day, I may be fully clothed as a carmelite!

Satan is much at work in my life right now. I see how terrified he is of losing a soul to the Blessed Mother and her Holy Order! The Carmelite Monastery that I wish to enter is of ancient observance, and very strict in their rule. As I read on their website and talked with Fr. Prior over the phone, I have learned that these monks abstain from meat. Being a good cajun that I am, my mind and heart shrank from the prospect of never being able to eat meat again, I was quickly snatched back by the Blessed Mother through the Holy Rosary, and I saw the great spiritual graces that I will recieve in Carmel compared to the small sacrifice I would be called to make.

I continue to ask for your prayers, as I pray for all the readers of this blog!

Pax Christi!

Jude Graham

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

2010-06-15T17:07:00.003-05:00

I would like to express my EXTREME displeasure and anger with the BP and DeepWater Horizon Companies for their failure in cleanup and prevention of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. While BP fails to make ANY headway in the cleanup of THEIR mistake, every church on the Gulf Coast is praying for a miracle. This spill will affect THOUSANDS of livelihoods, as well as destorying one of God's greatest gifts to our country. BP claims to be cleaning up the oil as we speak, but as soon as the camras are turned off, they are gone allowing the oil to seep into Louisiana's delicate and precious marshes and swamps.
I do congradulate my state government, and Governer Bobby Jindal for taking action immediatly, without the approval of the federal government. As locals, we realize the HUGE impact this would have on our enviroment and economy, unlike the federal government. Stick it to the man Louisiana!

God Bless!
Jude Graham

Divine Mercy Sunday

2010-04-11T20:05:00.002-05:00

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday! The message of the Divine Mercy in it's current form was given to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in Poland at the begining of the 20th century. Our Lord appeared to St. Faustina many times during her short life to show her his mercy and compassion and ask her to spread devotion to his mercy at a time in the Church when God's wrath and justice was proclaimed from the pulpits. He asked her to spread this devotion in six distinct ways.

The first is the image of the Divine Mercy or the image of the Merciful savior that is posted above this blog. Jesus appeared to St. Faustina and told her, "Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory." (Diary, 47, 48)

He also gave St. Faustina an explination of the image of the Merciful Saviour, "The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him (299). By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works." (742).

The next form of devotion is the Feast of the Divine Mercy, which we celebrate on this second Sunday of Easter. Jesus told St. Faustina to tell her confessors to establish a feast of His mercy in the Church. After many prayers and sacrifices, this was accomplished in the Jubliee year of 2000, when Pope John Paul II declared the second Sunday of Easter "Divine Mercy Sunday" at the cannonization mass of St. Faustina.

The next form of devotion is the Hour of Great Mercy. Our Lord revealed to St. Faustina, "At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion." (Diary, 1320).
As often as you hear the clock strike the third hour, immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it; invoke its omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners; for at that moment mercy was opened wide for every soul. In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world — mercy triumphed over justice." (1572)
.My daughter, try your best to make the Stations of the Cross in this hour, provided that your duties permit it; and if you are not able to make the Stations of the Cross, then at least step into the chapel for a moment and adore, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, My Heart, which is full of mercy; and should you be unable to step into the chapel, immerse yourself in prayer there where you happen to be, if only for a very brief instant." (1572)

Jesus also instructed St. Faustina how to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. You can find out how to pray the Chaplet here.

Lastly, Our Lord commanded St. Faustina to pray a novena of these Chaplets for various intentions starting on Good Friday and going until the Feast of Mercy. The Chaplet and the novena however may be said at any time during the year or day. It is encouraged however to pray the Chaplet at 3 o'clock as mentioned above.

To find out more about Devotion to the Divine Mercy, reading materials, and to find out how you can help spread the Devotion, please visit www.thedivinemercy.com

Pax Christi!

Jude Graham

ALLELUIA!!!!!

2010-04-03T23:17:00.001-05:00

THE LORD IS RISEN INDEED!!! ALLELUIA!!! CHRIST THE KING IS RISEN!!! ALLELUIA!!!

Holy Thursday

2010-04-01T10:41:00.003-05:00

"With the word “today”, the Church’s Liturgy wants us to give great inner attention to the mystery of this day, to the words in which it is expressed. We therefore seek to listen in a new way to the institution narrative, in the form in which the Church has formulated it, on the basis of Scripture and in contemplation of the Lord himself." -Pope Benedict XVI's Holy Thursday Homily 2009.

Today, we enter into the sacred mysteries of the Holy Triddium. This begins the most sacred and holy three days of the Church year, that commemorate the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood, as well as Christ's passion, death, and ressurection. But today, we focus on the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. At the Last Supper Christ instituted the Eucharist when:

On the night he was betrayed, he took bread and gave you thanks and praise. He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said:

Take this, all of you, and eat it:
this is my body which will be given up for you.

When supper was ended, he took the cup. Again he gave you thanks and praise, gave the cup to his disciples, and said:

Take this, all of you, and drink from it:
this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.

These are the words of institution from the third Eucharistic Prayer. By these words, under the apperence of bread and wine, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ become physically and tanigibly present on the altar.

Now I will let you reflect on the words of Pope Benedict XVI from last year's Holy Thursday Homily:

Having given thanks and praise, the Lord then breaks the bread and gives it to the disciples. Breaking the bread is the act of the father of the family who looks after his children and gives them what they need for life. But it is also the act of hospitality with which the stranger, the guest, is received within the family and is given a share in its life. Dividing (dividere), sharing (condividere) brings about unity. Through sharing, communion is created. In the broken bread, the Lord distributes himself. The gesture of breaking also alludes mysteriously to his death, to the love that extends even to death. He distributes himself, the true “bread for the life of the world” (cf. Jn 6:51). The nourishment that man needs in his deepest self is communion with God himself. Giving thanks and praise, Jesus transforms the bread, he no longer gives earthly bread, but communion with himself. This transformation, though, seeks to be the start of the transformation of the world – into a world of resurrection, a world of God. Yes, it is about transformation – of the new man and the new world that find their origin in the bread that is consecrated, transformed, transubstantiated.

We said that breaking the bread is an act of communion, an act of uniting through sharing. Thus, in the act itself, the intimate nature of the Eucharist is already indicated: it is agape, it is love made corporeal. In the word “agape”, the meanings of Eucharist and love intertwine. In Jesus’ act of breaking the bread, the love that is shared has attained its most radical form: Jesus allows himself to be broken as living bread. In the bread that is distributed, we recognize the mystery of the grain of wheat that dies, and so bears fruit. We recognize the new multiplication of the loaves, which derives from the dying of the grain of wheat and will continue until the end of the world. At the same time, we see that the Eucharist can never be just a liturgical action. It is complete only if the liturgical agape then becomes love in daily life. In Christian worship, the two things become one – experiencing the Lord’s love in the act of worship and fostering love for one’s neighbour. At this hour, we ask the Lord for the grace to learn to live the mystery of the Eucharist ever more deeply, in such a way that the transformation of the world can begin to take place.

After the bread, Jesus takes the chalice of wine. The Roman Canon describes the chalice which the Lord gives to his disciples as “praeclarus calix” (the glorious cup), thereby alluding to Psalm 23 [22], the Psalm which speaks of God as the Good Shepherd, the strong Shepherd. There we read these words: “You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes … My cup is overflowing” – calix praeclarus. The Roman Canon interprets this passage from the Psalm as a prophecy that is fulfilled in the Eucharist: yes, the Lord does indeed prepare a banquet for us in the midst of the threats of this world, and he gives us the glorious chalice – the chalice of great joy, of the true feast, for which we all long – the chalice filled with the wine of his love. The chalice signifies the wedding-feast: now the “hour” has come to which the wedding-feast of Cana had mysteriously alluded. Yes indeed, the Eucharist is more than a meal, it is a wedding-feast. And this wedding is rooted in God’s gift of himself even to death. In the words of Jesus at the Last Supper and in the Church’s Canon, the solemn mystery of the wedding is concealed under the expression “novum Testamentum”. This chalice is the new Testament – “the new Covenant in my blood”, as Saint Paul presents the words of Jesus over the chalice in today’s second reading (1 Cor 11:25). The Roman Canon adds: “of the new and everlasting covenant”, in order to express the indissolubility of God’s nuptial bond with humanity. The reason why older translations of the Bible do not say Covenant, but Testament, lies in the fact that this is no mere contract between two parties on the same level, but it brings into play the infinite distance between God and man. What we call the new and the ancient Covenant is not an agreement between two equal parties, but simply the gift of God who bequeaths to us his love – himself. Certainly, through this gift of his love, he transcends all distance and makes us truly his “partners” – the nuptial mystery of love is accomplished.

Pax Christi!

Jude Graham

2010-03-31T20:47:00.002-05:00

"What deepens the sadness is the unrelenting insinuations against the Holy Father himself, as certain sources seem frenzied to implicate the man who, perhaps more than anyone else, has been the leader of purification, reform and renewal the church so needs." -Archbishop Timothy Dolan

"[We]Express our love and solidarity for our earthly shepherd now suffering the same accusations, shouts of the mob, and scourging at the pillar as did Jesus." -Archbishop Timothy Dolan

PRAYER FOR THE POPE
O Lord, we are the millions of believers, humbly kneeling at Thy feet and begging Thee to preserve, defend and save the Sovereign Pontiff for many years. He is the Father of the great fellowship of souls and our Father as well. On this day, as on every other day, he is praying for us also, and is offering unto Thee with holy fervoUr the sacred Victim of love and peace.
Wherefore, O Lord, turn Thyself toward us with eyes of pity; for we are now, as it were, forgetful of ourselves, and are praying above all for him. Do Thou unite our prayers with his and receive them into the bosom of Thine infinite mercy, as a sweet savor of active and fruitful charity, whereby the children are united in the Church to their Father. All that he asks of Thee this day, we too ask it of Thee in union with him.
whether he weeps or rejoices, whether he hopes or offers himself as a victim of charity for his people, we desire to be united with him; nay more, we desire that the cry of our hearts should be made one with his. Of Thy great mercy grant, O Lord, that not one of us may be far from his mind and his heart in the hour that he prays and offers unto Thee the Sacrifice of Thy blessed Son. At the moment when our venerable High Priest, holding in His hands the very Body of Jesus Christ, shall say to the people over the Chalice of benediction these words: "The peace of the Lord be with you always," grant, O Lord, that Thy sweet peace may come down upon our hearts and upon all the nations with new and manifest power.
Amen

Abuse Scandal in Europe

2010-03-31T20:25:00.001-05:00

Faith.
I am as deeply disturbed about the recent news from Germany as everyone else right now. I want to point out the old phrase, "Hate the SIN not the SINNER." I am very disappointed in the priest from Germany as well as many other priests from around the world who have put the Holy office of the presbyter to shame, but I have faith. I have faith that God will bring something good out of these sinful actions. Many people are leaving the Church due to these recent and past abuses. They have no faith. No true faith. If you had true faith and knew Christ as I and many other people know him, you would only pray harder for these people. You would relize that the actions of a few priests do not constitute that the whole Church is sinful. There are always rotten apples in a bunch.The actions of these MEN are sinful indeed, but they do not reflect the Church. We often hold priests up to something they are not. These men are just like us. They struggle with temptations and sins as much as we do. Sometimes they struggle even more as the devil HATES God's sacred ministers. How many of you have sinned? Sex before marriage? Pornography? Unfaithfulness? Lust? Theft? You have. Dont lie and say you haven't. We all have. Every single one of us. You are no better than any of these priests. It is only by the mercy and love of God that we are washed clean and forgiven of these sins. It is only through the blood of Christ that we are made worthy. I ask all people to pray hard for these priests and all the other GOOD priests around the world who must struggle to regain the faithful's trust.
THANK GOD FOR ALL THE GOOD PRIESTS IN THE WORLD!!!!!!

"Jesus said,"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."" -John 8:7

Prodigal Son

2010-03-25T18:07:00.003-05:00

Today, I follow the example of the readings from two Sundays ago in Lent. Mainly the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). I have been around the block and back again in the past few months as you can tell by my lack of posts. But our good and gracious Lord has worked so stupendous miracles in my life. The transformation began at our Diocesan Youth Conference. I take pride that my diocese is neither liberal or conservative but just plain old Catholic! We take the Church's teaching at face value and apply it to our lives and our liturgy. On the Saturday night of this conference, we had a reconciliation service where I was choosen to read the Parable of the Lost Sheep which proceeds the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:1-7. As I read this before thousands of teens of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, I felt the Lord begin to work in my heart, and for the first time in a long time, I let him. After I finished reading, I was privilaged to go to confession with our very wise and holy Bishop Munech. His words in the confessional gave me comfort and peace in knowing the will of the Lord. That night, I picked up the Rosary for the first time in months as well. The Blessed Mother was slowly but surely reintroducing her Son into my life. The next morning, I was in the Sunday Morning prayer. I portrayed a firefighter who at the end of the "skit" carried a crucifix up the center aisle of the auditorium. I began to cry halfway up the aisle because I felt the Lord reminding me in a rather harsh, but loving way, my call to the priesthood. A holy seminarian commented later that Jesus was "slapping you in the face to wake you up!" He was right.
In the ensuing week I took a real hard look at my life, not only in the past few months, but the whole of my life in Christ that began in sixth grade. I am now a highschool freshman. I saw how I have matured over the past years. I went from my original fire and love to doing things for attention. Many people saw my cry for attention as a bad thing, but now I see it as the loving work of Christ in my life. In this period from 7-8th grade, I became very knowladgeable about our faith and why we did certain things as Catholics. This has equipped me to defend my faith. Now with this knowladge, I proceed forward in faith! I do things with love now. I pray my Rosary attentively instead of rattling off the prayers just to get it over with. This has been in large part due to St. Louis de Montfort and his two great books, "True Devotion to Mary" and "The Secret of the Rosary". Everyday at 3 o'clock, I stop and pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Instead of letting the CD pray for me, I know contemplate on Christ's passion and the love that he put forth in it. This has also brought me deeper in knowladge than any books that I have read.
But back to that week. I began dropping programs on television, the radio, and the internet that I saw as harmful to my faith. In the afternoons when I got home from school, I would watch EWTN or just nothing at all instead of "Scrubs" or "Grey's Anatonmy". These shows are not bad shows in themselves, but I recognized at the time that my faith was not strong enough to handle these programs. I also cut down my internet time. In addition to that, I created a new Facebook account for myself, only adding friends that I knew only post positive messages, and nothing hurtful or contrary to my morals. I made it a point to ask to change the radio station to our local K-Love or EWTN radio station when I was in the car. I am a musical person and take the messages put forth in songs deep into my heart and I found that certain stations were harming my faith.
The weekend after our Youth Conference was the annual "Abbey Youth Festival" in St. Benedict, LA at St. Joseph's Benedictine Abbey. This was the weeked that the story of the Prodigal Son was read for mass. That night at Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, I began crying in my heart. Not physically through my eyes, but in my heart. I realized that that "conversion moment" that I always hoped and prayed for doesn't happen. God works silently and gradually in our lives inviting us back to his loving embrace at a pace that our faith can handle. Since that weekend, I have been attending daily mass as often as I can and recieveing communion. This has been my true strength. I have also been wearing our Mother's Holy Rosary at my side. All fifteen decades of it! This was inspired by St. Louis de Montfort's story of a pious king who wanted everyone in his kingdom to pray the Holy Rosary. In order to this, the king wore a large and beautiful Rosary on his belt. This encouraged many of his subjects to pray the Holy Rosary devoutly and with humility, but sadly, the king never actually prayed it himself. One day, the king found himself deathly ill. His wife called upon the Royal Court to pray the Holy Rosary for him. In a dream, he saw himself before the judgement seat of God. There were demons all around him accusing him of all the sins he had ever committed. Just as the just Lord was about the sentance him to enternity in the fires of hell, the Blessed Mother appeared. She called for a set of scales, and upon recieveing them, she placed the kings sins on one side, and his large Rosary, those that were prayed because of his influence, and all the souls he had saved. Upon this, the side with the Rosaries greatly outweighed the side of his sins. The Blessed Mother looked at the king and told him when he got back to Earth to preach her Rosary and pray in devoutly everyday. When he woke from his coma, he preached the Rosary and spread devotion far beyond his own kingdom. He also prayed all fifteen mysteries everyday for the rest of his life.
This story made me say, "Wow! If I can save souls by just wearing a Rosary, imagine what I could do wearing it and praying it!" This began my journey with our Blessed Mother.
I am now returning to my blogging hobby becase I find great support from members of the Catholic Blogging Community and prayful support from them as well. Please continue your prayers for this sinful and lowly servant of the Lord, and I will continue mine for you.

Pax Christi!
Jude Graham

Superbowl Sunday

2010-02-07T17:42:00.002-06:00

Carmel Again!

2009-12-11T16:09:00.003-06:00

I still feel the call of Carmel in my soul! How beautiful a vocation! Carmel is "a desert place" as St. Therese so eloquently put it.
After having sopken to a very holy priest in confession, I believe that I may be sure of my vocation! I asked him if it were ok for me to want to enter Carmel to be seperated from this world and its immorality or if this was a selfish trick of Satan. He then asked me if I did it out of love for God. I said with all my heart YES! This has strengthened my desire for Carmel. Although I am still open to Gods will, this had become a very strong desire in my soul! I think about Carmel day and night and I try to conform my life as it is now to that of these holy brothers and sisters.
The idea of neverending prayer in a community of others who share the same love of our Jesus attracts me so much!
Also, this dive into Carmelite spirituality has deepened my devotion to the Child Jesus! What simplicity he lived his life in Nazereth! How out of the way and unnoticed he went! For surely, if he would have done something great during these holy years of his life, the evangelists would surely have recorded them. My great-grandmother gifted me with a beautiful holy card of the Child Jesus in payment for cleaning up her apartment. I will have to scan it and upload it soon. I take much joy in looking at this very old Holy Card of the Divine Child! I keep it in my pocket and never get tired of pulling it out when I finish my schoolwork and gaze lovingly at the Child. For Christmas if I only recieved one small picture or Holy Card of another Child Jesus, I would be more overjoyed than if I recieved all the riches of the world!

O miraculous Infant Jesus, we beseech You to cast a merciful look on our troubled hearts. Let Your tender Heart, so inclined to pity, be softened at our prayers, and grant us that grace which we so ardently implore.

Take from us the affliction and trials with which we are laden. For the sake of Your sacred Infancy, hear our prayers and send us consolation and aid, that we may praise You with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever.

Amen.

Pax Christi!
Jude Graham

The Struggle in St. Louis

2009-12-02T17:59:00.001-06:00

I'm not one for politics, but this is ridiculous and un-heard of!
http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=34942&page=1

Sacred and Immaculate Hearts

2009-11-25T12:12:00.000-06:00

Called By Name: Fr. Gregory Boquet O.S.B

2009-10-23T21:14:00.002-05:00

This is the "Called By Name" vocations program that my Diocese has put starting at the Abbey Youth Festival in April of 2009. You can find out more about the Called By Name program here. Or you can check out the USCCB's "Year for Priests" website here.

Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity!

2009-10-18T21:45:00.001-05:00

This is an event that I push every year!!! Please join us this Tuesday by signing up at www.silentday.org

-Jude

Back Again!

2009-10-14T20:52:00.002-05:00

Hello all! I would like to start back out on my blog with a reflection.

Sometimes in our lives, we fall away from God. We think he's not there, we think he doesn't love us, we think he just doesn't give a care. We fall away from our true friends to hang with the "cool" people. We begin to conform to the "mold" of the world. We try to fit in. We lose sight of the things that were once important in our lives. Then we stress out. We wonder where we went worng, we wonder why we do what we do, we question our very selves. The thing we must remember is thats its a long hard road. Jesus fell on his road, three times actaully. He always got back up. Thats whats important.

Starting high school in August dramatically changed my life. I was thrown into the rush of things as a freshman. High school is a different world. People begin to realize who they are. There are many more "gay" people, dating people, theater dorks, band geeks, Mu Alpha Theata, hippies, red-necks, football players, cheerleaders, etc. High school hits you. It hit me hard.

I fell away from God, from family, from friends, and from church activities. I fell into this deep dispair. I didn;t know who I was, I didn't know what was going on. I was lost. Well I'm tired of that. I want my life back. I want God back. I take after my "father". I'm a jealous lover! ;)

Love,

Jude

A Little Suggestion.......

2009-07-13T15:47:00.004-05:00

Although I normally write about my life or spirituality, I do like to share small things that I believe will help my readers on their path to holiness. This is a great book on the life and spirituality of St. Therese of Lisieux. You can get it on Amazon. This book has helped me tremendously and I hope it can also encourage you on the "Little Way"

Pax Christi!

Jude Graham

Carmel is Calling!

2009-07-12T18:28:00.002-05:00

I feel my Carmel tugging at my heart! I have begun reading into the life of St. Therese of Lisieux, and her "Little Way." Just as Therese felt called when she was but fourteen, I also feel myself called. I feel called to the seperation from the world, in order to live in "the desert place" with Jesus. And although I feel this deep and strong calling that comes in waves everytime I put on my brown scapular or see it, I know that I still have many problems that I need to sort out. St. Therese has showed me the way to do that. In her biography, she shows that her improvments were made over time, years even, not like some saints who appear to have become holy overnight. She comes from a place I can relate to. She also went to a place I can relate to. But one day, I know, I will enter the Carmel beloved to many, many great saints of the past! It shall be sheer happiness as I enter, and if it is not, so be it. I will stay.

Pax Christi!
Jude Graham

Prayer........10,000 ft. in the air?!?!

2009-06-30T18:24:00.003-05:00

One thing I can say for certain, saying the Rosary 10,000 feet in the air is deffinatly not the same as praying it on the ground! For certain, I was praying out of sheer fear that the plane would crash and burn, but it also gave me a peace. To see the clouds gently rolling by, and the blue sky. From the sky, you can't see the chaos. You can't see the wrecks on the interstate, or the house being robbed. You see a peaceful Earth, made by an all loving, all merciful God. It just really gives you a sense of peace. Sometimes, our lives are so rushed from here to there, we don't have time to think. We see things going on all around us and get distracted. But on a commercial flight from New Orleans to Minneapolis, the only connection with the green planet below is between the "tower" and the pilot. No other distractions. Just you, the people around you, and God. Prayer comes very easily in the air. It is like God's cathedral, whos roof just keeps going and going, and whos walls are never to be seen.

In Love,
Jude Graham

Divine Infant Jesus of Prague

2009-06-28T17:21:00.005-05:00

Ever since I was child, I can remember the tender devotion that my Cajun great-grandmother had for the Infant Jesus of Prague. Over time, my grandmother inherited this devotion. I encounter the image alot at my grandmothers, but most notably the large statue she keeps in her display case. Growing up, being around the image so often, I never had a particular liking for the devotion. I enojoyed the image popular with Mother Angelica and EWTN. Recently my grandmother gave me a small statue of the Infant of Prague (left). This sparked my devotion. I have done some research on the Infant, which suprisingly, lead me back to the Carmelites! The image was thought to have orginated with St. Teresa of Avila, and if not, it is still in the care of the discaled Carmelites of Prague. The image shows the Child Jesus as king. His right hand is raised in blessing and he holds an orb topped with a cross in his left hand symbolizing his kingship over the universe. He is robed in clothes common to the aristocratic class during the time the statue was first carved. He is finally topped off with a crown wich of course symbolizes his kingship. The Christ Child now plays a major role in my life, teaching to have "faith as that of a child."

In Love,
Jude Graham

EWTN and Fr. Seelos

2009-06-26T23:30:00.003-05:00

I came across this program about my patron, Bl. Fr. Seelos, you can click here for the program.

Prayer Request

2009-06-26T20:20:00.004-05:00

I will be leaving this coming Monday for St. Paul, Minnesota. I ask all my readers for their prayers for a safe trip for myself and my family, but more importantly for the success of Braden's surgery. (http://www.bradenfarrell.com/) I give my trip to the Sacred Heart hidden in the Eucharist. So if possiable, please give your prayers for me in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and offer these intentions at mass. Thank you!

Pax Christi!

Jude Graham

Carmelite Spirituality Part 2

2009-06-22T12:27:00.002-05:00

Now on to what draws me into the Carmelite Spirituality. While doing my research and reading St. Teresa of Avila's book, "The Way of Perfection", I came to meditate on their seperation from the world. They are so caught up in the Holy Spirit and so united to the Holy Trinity in prayer that the outside world seems to melt away before them. They are seperate from the world that we know, and in the spiritual realm of hapiness.
One thing you may not realize is that everyday, a carmelite somewhere, is praying for you. They take generalized topics and pray, such as "for all with addictions" or "for all who have suffered loss," etc. Somewhere you are being prayed for and when you turn back to God and are converted, even if you are Catholic and have fallen in sin, those religious can say that they have won a soul for God!
This complete seperation from the world is what attracts me. It is the idea of giving up everything you know, everything you love, everything in your life to completely follow God and be with God. Although I love the Carmelites, I will continue to pray for God's will in my life and not follow my own inclinations. But if it is his will, I will follow joyfully.

In Love,
Jude Graham

Carmelite Spirituality

2009-06-21T19:13:00.005-05:00

As is apparent from the pictures on my blog, I have discovered my spiritual niche in the Carmelite family. I have been enrolled in the brown scapular for about a year now (although not always keeping up with my rosaries), but I never understood that by being invested and wearing the scapular, I had become a part of the Carmelite family and share in their spiritual benefits.

Now to the story of what got me interested in the Carmelite spirituality. The other day, as I was flipping through the channels on the TV, I stopped on EWTN. There was a large church building that looked rather like St. Peter's basilica, so I was expecting a papal mass, or something of the sort. But instead, I came to find out that this was the basilica of St. Therese of Lisieux. I then continued to watch the documentary on this wonderful saint's life. While watching, I was reminded of a series on the life of St. Teresa of Avila that I had watched just a year before. As soon as the documentary was over, I said a quick prayer of thanksgiving for the finding of this new saint in my life, and then proceded to my computer where I pulled up all kinds of information on the Carmelite order and it's history. Then I was reminded of the parish I grew up in, St. Teresa of Avila. This great Carmelite mystic had been in my life since it's very begining on that day in 1994 when I was baptised into the Holy Church. So that night, my grandmother and I decided to go out to the theater and see a movie. When the movie was finished, I asked that we stop at the bookstore on the way home, which we did. I was originally planning to purchase "Story of a Soul", the autobiography of St. Terese of Lisieux, but the good lord had other plans for my reading material. It seemed that they only had one copy left at the store and it was nowhere to be found. So, God sent his spirit and showed me two books, both by St. Teresa of Avila, "Interior Castle" and "The Way of Perfection." I have just begun "The Way of Perfection" and am currently on chapter four.

During my research I came across a group of Discaled Carmelite Friars in Wyoming. I don't know if you have ever heard of "Mystic Monk Coffee" but these guys make it! They live a contemplative life in a strict cloister. The bonds of family and friendship is prevalent in the community along with a sense of constant prayer and peace. Although I have not been to their lowly and humble monastery, their joy and peace radiates from their website alone! If you are curious yet as to what I am rambling about, you can visit their website here: www.carmelitemonks.org.

In Love,

Jude Graham

Welcome!

2009-06-18T22:06:00.001-05:00

Welcome to my new blog! I am a person who enjoys constant change, so in honnor of the anniversary of the Teen Catholic Family, I have created a new blog which is just an extension of TeenCatholic. Since the start of my last blog I have grown and matured much in my faith. I have learned constantly and have formed solid opinions, which is something that my last blog had lacked. I learned many lessons through the challenges of life. In the past year, my youth director, deacon, and parish priest have tested my faith and challenged me in it. I have grown as a person and want to share this with my readers.

I chose my new blog title from a quote of a great saint that really touched my heart: "Holiness is not the luxury of the few, it is a simple duty, for you and me." - Mother Teresa. This quote has been reaffirmed by Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Exhortation "Christfideles Laici". Holiness is one thing that I strive for in everyday life through the simple things we do each day. Heaven is ultimatly our goal, but for now all we can do is pray and strive to achieve.

Another new thing about this blog is it's new patroness, Our Lady of the Smile. I came across this image of the Blessed Mother while researching the life of St. Therese of Lisieux. The image is one beyond compare in my opinion because it is one of the few where the Blessed Mother has a smile on her face. It shows how our Mother rejoiced in her son, Jesus, and how happiness is what we recieve when we say "yes" to God.

I pray that this blog will inspire the hearts of many to go out into the world and be witnesses to the truth wich God has revealed to us in his son, Jesus Christ.

In love,
Jude Graham