About
Hi! Thanks for checking out the Catholic Stones blog written by this cradle Catholic living in MN. Married and raising 3 beautiful children who are absolutely gifts from God.
What is/are Catholic Stones?
Great question.
Below you will see the story of the 5 stones and I try to keep the 5 Catholic stones paramount in my life to keep me on God's path: Prayer, Fasting, the Mass, the Bible and Confession. This blog is my way of expressing the Catholic truth in my life found through prayer, the sacraments, the saints, study (I love to read and learn about our beautiful faith) and experiences in my life.
There are 5 Stones which are inspired by Our Blessed Mother, the Queen of Peace and shared by Fr. Jozo OFM - a Catholic priest in Medjugorje who wrote: "One lovely day in the history of Israel, the figure of Goliath came forth. He was a strong man, proud and invincible. Although Israel was incapable of imagining how it might defeat such a strong warrior, the Lord knew how to do it. He chose a young boy, a shepherd named David. The Lord told him to gather five stones in the river and face the giant. Trusting only in God’s help, David went forth; he defeated and killed Goliath.
"Our Lady has chosen you, like David; you who are small, just as you are. She has suggested that you put five stones into your sack in order to overcome the atheism that surrounds us, that paganistic mentality that is being disseminated and seems invincible. Neither we nor the Church are capable of conquering materialism on our own. Our Lady has appeared in Medjugorje to declare that this is possible. Here are her five stones: Prayer, Fasting, the Mass, the Bible and Confession. With these simple weapons we overcome the world." SOURCE – Reproduced from: Medjugorje, A Testimony, published by Misma Notebooks, 1989
I have found that these 5 Stones lead me closer to Jesus. As a current student of the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute, I have found that these 5 stones are completely consistent with the Catholic Catechism and by choosing to live out my life with these stones, I am growing more in faith and able to be more confident in making the choice for God in the daily distractions we are bombarded with.
I was a radio announcer since high school (over 20 years) in the secular market and enjoyed bringing myself and my perspective to my listeners every morning. Now I want to bring Christ through my experiences/perspective/life to others. I sell real estate to support my family and enjoy helping others everyday of all faiths, ethnicities and economic statuses.
I write all the time - in notebooks, notepads, hands, and especially on the back of envelopes. Whenever I have an idea, something I don't want to forget, or I am inspired by something - I just grab the closest thing and start writing.
My History
I grew up as the oldest of 4 kids in a Catholic family with Mom and Dad. In October 1988, my dad moved out and my parents were divorced in January of 1990. The fighting and court battles continued for years afterward and I liken the drama in my family life to something worse than any soap opera you might ever watch. If I didn't live it myself I never would have believed it. I am no advocate of divorce. I can empathise with people who are struggling with loving another person - loving someone can be difficult and it is a choice to love or not love it everyday, in our words and our actions.
I should say right now and right here that if anyone is in an abusive relationship, please seek help! If you need help and don't know where to turn please reach out to me and I will do my very best to help you.
God hates divorce,(Malachi 2:16, Mark 10: 1-12) and if you are contemplating divorce or are now an adult child of divorce a great book to read is Primal Loss: The Now-Adult Children of Divorce Speak, Edited by Leila Miller. It is a tough book for anyone who has been through divorce, but if you are contemplating divorce and especially if you have children it is a must read. In reading you will see what this does to your children decades after the fact. Do everything possible to save your marriage. It is so important to generations of people! As I would read parts of the book, I would feel a darkness in my body that I can assume is hurt, sin and all sorts of other stuff I most likely repressed years ago. A friend told me that when I feel like that to go to confession and she is right! Confession is a healing sacrament. Confession helps the wounded.
I have been on a pilgrimage of faith most of my life. There were years where I was farther away from God than I knew. I admit I was pretty lost and tried to do everything on my own. I decided to live my life in a way that I would not need anyone or anything. I was on my own and I was going to make it on my own without asking for anyone's help including God. Consequently, life was much more difficult and harder than it had to be, but as I was determined to do it all on my own, I was swimming against the current instead of walking on the path with God's love. I felt like I was fighting to achieve each little thing; momentous efforts to achieve the next small step. I had no or very little peace. I was so stressed out that it started affecting my health. It was hard for me to swallow food without it being stuck in my throat. That was scary. It was during a 3 month re-awakening of sorts before I completely surrendered to Our Lord, and that is when things started to became so much better! ( It was a literal surrender, face-on-the-floor type of surrender, which I had never in my life done before.)
I am a graduate from the College of St. Scholastica with a BA in Organizational Behavior and MA in Management with emphasis in Organizational Development. Change management. And I think change is hard, some change is easier than others, but it is worth doing when where you and your family are going to reside for all eternity is at stake.
My husband, is also an adult child of divorce. He too is well educated and has degrees in Law Enforcement, Psychology and Accounting. We met when I was working in radio and we became great friends before dating and getting married. He is my best friend and he can make me laugh like no other. We married on August 28, on the feast day of St. Augustine. I didn't know that was his feast day when we set our wedding date, but I think it is appropriate that one of the best known conversions stories is celebrated as we celebrate our anniversary. It is inspirational that we can grow together in faith and love through the Holy Spirit in our marriage vocation and be able to look to one of the Doctors of of the Church for strength and inspiration.
What is/are Catholic Stones?
Great question.
Below you will see the story of the 5 stones and I try to keep the 5 Catholic stones paramount in my life to keep me on God's path: Prayer, Fasting, the Mass, the Bible and Confession. This blog is my way of expressing the Catholic truth in my life found through prayer, the sacraments, the saints, study (I love to read and learn about our beautiful faith) and experiences in my life.
There are 5 Stones which are inspired by Our Blessed Mother, the Queen of Peace and shared by Fr. Jozo OFM - a Catholic priest in Medjugorje who wrote: "One lovely day in the history of Israel, the figure of Goliath came forth. He was a strong man, proud and invincible. Although Israel was incapable of imagining how it might defeat such a strong warrior, the Lord knew how to do it. He chose a young boy, a shepherd named David. The Lord told him to gather five stones in the river and face the giant. Trusting only in God’s help, David went forth; he defeated and killed Goliath.
"Our Lady has chosen you, like David; you who are small, just as you are. She has suggested that you put five stones into your sack in order to overcome the atheism that surrounds us, that paganistic mentality that is being disseminated and seems invincible. Neither we nor the Church are capable of conquering materialism on our own. Our Lady has appeared in Medjugorje to declare that this is possible. Here are her five stones: Prayer, Fasting, the Mass, the Bible and Confession. With these simple weapons we overcome the world." SOURCE – Reproduced from: Medjugorje, A Testimony, published by Misma Notebooks, 1989
I have found that these 5 Stones lead me closer to Jesus. As a current student of the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute, I have found that these 5 stones are completely consistent with the Catholic Catechism and by choosing to live out my life with these stones, I am growing more in faith and able to be more confident in making the choice for God in the daily distractions we are bombarded with.
I was a radio announcer since high school (over 20 years) in the secular market and enjoyed bringing myself and my perspective to my listeners every morning. Now I want to bring Christ through my experiences/perspective/life to others. I sell real estate to support my family and enjoy helping others everyday of all faiths, ethnicities and economic statuses.
I write all the time - in notebooks, notepads, hands, and especially on the back of envelopes. Whenever I have an idea, something I don't want to forget, or I am inspired by something - I just grab the closest thing and start writing.
My History
I grew up as the oldest of 4 kids in a Catholic family with Mom and Dad. In October 1988, my dad moved out and my parents were divorced in January of 1990. The fighting and court battles continued for years afterward and I liken the drama in my family life to something worse than any soap opera you might ever watch. If I didn't live it myself I never would have believed it. I am no advocate of divorce. I can empathise with people who are struggling with loving another person - loving someone can be difficult and it is a choice to love or not love it everyday, in our words and our actions.
I should say right now and right here that if anyone is in an abusive relationship, please seek help! If you need help and don't know where to turn please reach out to me and I will do my very best to help you.
God hates divorce,(Malachi 2:16, Mark 10: 1-12) and if you are contemplating divorce or are now an adult child of divorce a great book to read is Primal Loss: The Now-Adult Children of Divorce Speak, Edited by Leila Miller. It is a tough book for anyone who has been through divorce, but if you are contemplating divorce and especially if you have children it is a must read. In reading you will see what this does to your children decades after the fact. Do everything possible to save your marriage. It is so important to generations of people! As I would read parts of the book, I would feel a darkness in my body that I can assume is hurt, sin and all sorts of other stuff I most likely repressed years ago. A friend told me that when I feel like that to go to confession and she is right! Confession is a healing sacrament. Confession helps the wounded.
I have been on a pilgrimage of faith most of my life. There were years where I was farther away from God than I knew. I admit I was pretty lost and tried to do everything on my own. I decided to live my life in a way that I would not need anyone or anything. I was on my own and I was going to make it on my own without asking for anyone's help including God. Consequently, life was much more difficult and harder than it had to be, but as I was determined to do it all on my own, I was swimming against the current instead of walking on the path with God's love. I felt like I was fighting to achieve each little thing; momentous efforts to achieve the next small step. I had no or very little peace. I was so stressed out that it started affecting my health. It was hard for me to swallow food without it being stuck in my throat. That was scary. It was during a 3 month re-awakening of sorts before I completely surrendered to Our Lord, and that is when things started to became so much better! ( It was a literal surrender, face-on-the-floor type of surrender, which I had never in my life done before.)
I am a graduate from the College of St. Scholastica with a BA in Organizational Behavior and MA in Management with emphasis in Organizational Development. Change management. And I think change is hard, some change is easier than others, but it is worth doing when where you and your family are going to reside for all eternity is at stake.
My husband, is also an adult child of divorce. He too is well educated and has degrees in Law Enforcement, Psychology and Accounting. We met when I was working in radio and we became great friends before dating and getting married. He is my best friend and he can make me laugh like no other. We married on August 28, on the feast day of St. Augustine. I didn't know that was his feast day when we set our wedding date, but I think it is appropriate that one of the best known conversions stories is celebrated as we celebrate our anniversary. It is inspirational that we can grow together in faith and love through the Holy Spirit in our marriage vocation and be able to look to one of the Doctors of of the Church for strength and inspiration.