Forest Gump and St. Peter

When Forrest Gump died, he stood in front of St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter said, "Welcome, Forrest. We've heard a lot about you." He continued, "Unfortunately, it's getting pretty crowded up here and we find that we now have to give people an entrance examination before we let them in."

"Okay," said Forrest. "I hope it's not too hard. I've already been through a test. My momma used to say, 'Life is like a final exam. It's hard.' "

"Yes, Forrest, I know. But this test is only three questions. Here they are."

1) Which two days of the week begin with the letter 'T'?
2) How many seconds are in a year?
3) What is God's first name?

"Well, sir," said Forrest, "The first one is easy. Which two days of the week begin with the letter 'T'? Today and Tomorrow."

St. Peter looked surprised and said, "Well, that wasn't the answer I was looking for, but you have a point. I give you credit for that answer."

"The next question," said Forrest, "How many seconds are in a year? Twelve."

"Twelve?" said St. Peter, surprised and confused.

"Yes, sir. January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd ..."

St. Peter interrupted him. "I see what you mean. I'll have to give you credit for that one, too."

"And the last question," said Forrest, "What is God's first name? It's Andy."

"Andy?" said St. Peter, in shock. "How did you come up with 'Andy'?"

"I learned it in church. We used to sing about it." Forrest broke into song, "Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me, Andy tells me I am His own."

St. Peter opened the gate to heaven and said, "Run, Forrest, Run!"

The Story of St Valentine

A brief, nearly terse synopsis of St Valentine of Rome, from the pages of http://www.catholic-forum.com/

Profile

Priest in Rome, possibly a bishop. Physician. Imprisoned for giving aid to martyrs in prison, and while there converted the jailer by restoring sight to the jailer's daughter. While Valentine of Terni and Valentine of Rome sometimes have separate entries in martyrologies and biographies, most scholars believe they are the same person.

There are several theories about the origin of Valentine's Day celebrations. Some believe the Romans had a mid-February custom where boys drew girls' names in honor of the sex and fertility goddess, Februata Juno; pastors "baptised" this holiday, like some others, by substituting the names of saints such as Valentine to suppress the practice. Others maintain that the custom of sending Valentines on 14 February stems from the belief that birds begin to pair on that date. By 1477 the English associated lovers with the feast of Valentine because on that day "every bird chooses him a mate." The custom started of men and women writing love letters to their Valentine on this day. Other "romance" traditions have become attached to this feast, including pinning bay leaves to your pillow on Valentine's Eve so that you will see your future mate that night in your dreams.

Died

beaten and beheaded c.269 at Rome; buried on the Flaminian Way; relics later translated to the Church of Saint Praxedes

Patronage

affianced couples, against fainting, bee keepers, betrothed couples, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greeting card manufacturers, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, young people

Representation

birds; roses; bishop with a crippled or epileptic child at his feet; bishop with a rooster nearby; bishop refusing to adore an idol; bishop being beheaded; priest bearing a sword; priest holding a sun; priest giving sight to a blind girl

St Rita of Cascia

Holy Patroness of those in need, Saint Rita, you were humble, pure and patient. Your pleadings with your divine Spouse are irresistible, so please obtain for me from our risen Jesus the request I make of you:

For the marriages of both K.T. and M.H.

Be kind to me for the greater glory of God, and I shall honor you and sing your praises forever. Glorious Saint Rita, you miraculously participated in the sorrowful passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Obtain for me now the grace to suffer with resignation the troubles of this life, and protect me in all my needs. Amen.

St Rita of Cascia is the Patroness of Marriage Problems. I have received 2 emails in as many days from friends with serious problems in their marriages. And it's for them that I offer this prayer to St Rita for their marriages.

It Came! It Came! IT CAME!!

Yippee, my saint for the 2007 Saint of the Year Devotion has choosen me!

St Martin de Porres - Patron of Social Justice and Interracial Love.

If you'd like to know more about this, visit A Catholic Life. It's never too late to have your name choosen.

If you'd like to know more about St Martin, visit Barry University, Catholic Forum, and Bridge Building Images.

National Delurking Week

2007 Saint for the Year Devotion

I was surfing around this great wide bloggysphere tonight (and was impressed by the number of Catholic blogs on blogger.com!) and came across this most interesting post:

http://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2006/12/2007-saint-for-year-devotion.html

I want to tell you about the practice of picking a saint at random to be your “holy protector” for the year. Actually, the saint is the one who chooses us though. The tradition of letting a saint “pick you,” is not a new one. St. Faustina wrote about it in her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul.

Isn't that a wonderful idea? Since the idea never "expires" you can choose to be included whenever you happen to read this post on A Catholic Life. I sent my name in today and can't wait to see who chooses me.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe commemorates the day that the Blessed Mother appeared to Juan Diego, a poor Mexican Indian. On Dec. 9, 1531, Juan was hurrying over Tepeyac Hill, near what is now Mexico City, when a lady appeared. Tradition has it that the Virgin was dark-skinned and spoke to Diego in his native Indian language. Our Lady told him to tell the bishop to build a church where she stood.

But the Bishop did not believe Juan and required a sign. Juan Diego was directed to the top of a hill in mid-December to gather roses for the Bishop, upon Mary's direction. She instructed Juan to place the roses in his tilma, a poor quality cloak worn by the poor at this time, and not to show them to anyone but the Bishop. When Juan opened the cloak for the Bishop, fresh dewy roses fell out, apparently arranged by the hand of Mary herself. She also left for us an image of herself imprinted miraculously upon the tilma which should have disintegrated after 20 years. This year marks 475 years since her apparition and the tilma is still available today and defies all scientific explanations of its origin.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is called both The Protectress of the Unborn and Patroness of the Americas. The tilma features a true picture of Mary, as it was placed on the cloth herself. Visit this site for the miracle of Mary's Eyes as shown on the tilma of St Juan Diego.

In my time studying about this miraculous apparition, I have decided that I am being called to be more active in the anti-abortion movement. Please join me in a simple prayer:

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
I beg you to spare the life of the unborn child,
who I spiritually adopt,
in danger of death by abortion.

The Feast of St Nicholas!

Today is December 6th, the Feast of St Nicholas!

I admit, I've been lax in learning about the saints, but with 1 child having taken 1st Communion already and 1 preparing to do so, I decided that I needed to learn a little more. I'm a convert to Roman Catholicism, so every little bit helps.

Here's a GREAT site to learn a little more about St Nick. You can bet I'm spending time there today... St Nicholas: Discovering the Truth about Santa Claus

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

We can do no great things, only small things with great love.

-Mother Teresa