Hello

Hello.

It's been awhile...

Vee lost her mom and shortly after that stopped posting on this blog.  I have been struggling with some health issues and haven't had much time to write.

Sometimes people start blogs because they want to express themselves to an audience... or sometimes they just use it as their daily, weekly, monthly diary... I believe the world wide web has a trillion blogs out there... some have millions of readers while the majority have 1 or 2 or even less.  I would like to continue, but as always, need to pray about it...

TeamOpCarm is made up of two people from two different backgrounds with a great love for two charisms of the Catholic church: Carmelite spirituality and Dominican spirituality.  We're not the role models of these two spiritualities, far from it, but we wanted this blog to share our passion for these two spiritualities while at the same time sharing how normal it is to be Catholic (we're not rigid robots) hence the love of beer thrown into our description.

Since I last posted, it seems to me the world is becoming an even darker place to live in.  I often wonder what St. Teresa of Avila would do or St. Dominic if they were living in our world at this time.  For sure they would be making headlines every week... they were not afraid to boldly proclaim the Gospel, it didn't matter if it wasn't PC or if it came off as "offensive" to certain groups.  I think we Catholics have a real job to do, and we need to stop being pantywaists.  We're so afraid of offending people with the Gospel!  Does that even make sense??? We're afraid of preaching about Jesus Christ because we're afraid it's going to hurt someone?  How can that be?  ridiculous!

We need to turn our lights on, Christians!  As the world grows darker, we should be burning brighter than ever!

Go out and Preach it!

God Bless

The Headlines on this New Year's Day 2014

ObamaCare birth control mandate halted for Catholic group

From Fox News:  Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor stops the stinkin' obama administration from forcing its draconian laws penalizing Catholics for not paying for their employees abortions and birth control.  This law needs to be stopped not just temporarily.  This law just proves that Obama hates Catholics.    

AP sources: O'Brien reaches agreement with Texans

From the San Antonio Express News:  My beloved TEXANS have their new head coach!  He comes to us from Penn State University.  I'm not expecting the man to give us the Superbowl next year, but he MUST give us a drastic improvement from this year's terrible results...

...at least they aren't as disappointing as the Cowboys :P

Manziel fuels Texas A&M's biggest rally in 52-48 Chick-fil-A win over Duke

Way to go JOHNNY FREAKIN' FOOTBALL!!! PLEASE COME TO THE TEXANS, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE with sugar on top!

Putin vows to annihilate 'terrorists' after deadly bombings

Some jerks are blowing up Russia bit by bit.  Putin is pissed.  He vows to annihilate them.  I wouldn't doubt it.  Putin has more putz than all the world leaders combined...

Pope Francis stresses acceptance and community in New Year's message

No, he's not saying to accept people's sins, just to accept the people themselves...get it right...

Happy new year to all our readers.  We hope you have a good one.  

And Catholics, today is a Holy Day of Obligation...get your self to Mass...

Christmass Mourning: we need to pray for each other

 I am just rambling and putting ideas down.  Allow me to share my mind mix:


I neglect to pray for those outside my immediate bubble.  That's a straight out confession.  I am too absorbed in my own worries and loved ones, that others don't even cross my mind.  Today, Pope Francis called upon us to spend a few minutes at Noon (whenever noon happens in our part of the world,) to pray for those who hunger.



I can't imagine what living life would be like without knowing where my next meal is coming from.  But that's not all. Most of the world's hungry don't even have roofs over their heads, places to sleep comfortably, bathrooms, running water!  We need to remember these people, and pray for them.  Prayer is so powerful, we can do the impossible with God! 

Another group that often gets overlooked at Christmas are those who are mourning.  Christmas has always been a time of joy and excitement for most people.  Things changed for me when I lost my brother to a motorcycle accident 20 years ago.  Ever since his death, Christmas has become more spiritual for me, as it should.  7 years ago, I lost my mom, so the sadness around this time has multiplied.  Vee lost her mother just three weeks ago :(  For some of us, that joy we experienced in our youth is lost for good.  We can only keep our eyes looking forward to that Eternal Christmas, when we will reunite and be a family again in Paradise.  There are many people mourning their loved ones during the Holiday seasons.  We should remember to pray for them as well.

Let us remember the sick and those in the hospital, nursing homes and those who are living all alone.  There is a group of elderly at my parish.  They live together in a dilapidated house.  I'm thinking of going there to visit them, closer to Christmas day and see what I can do for them.  I wanted to decorate their homes for them, but I don't know...wouldn't want to create a fire hazard and burn their house down.  I will see what I can do...

Let's all start with prayer, I'm sure it will lead to action to make this world just a little bit better for the less fortunate people out there.

pocketful of morphine

I had some interesting things in my pockets this week.  Ok two things, morphine and Jesus.  My mom's pain got to the point on Friday that I had to stay home from work and she was prescribed morphine.  To make sure she doesnt mess up when taking the drugs I give them to her in consultation with my sister the nurse.  As she cant attend Mass when father was here yesterday, giving her the anointing of the sick, he said I could bring her Communion in  a pyx they would give me after mass.  After mass today I spoke with the deacon, he set me up and Jesus King of kings, Lord of lords, etc etc sat in my coat pocket as I biked back home in the chilly wind.  Donkey jokes are accepted.  We chatted, I suggested it might be a nicer ride if I lived in a place with palm trees :P I was honored to be able to do that but wish a priest or someone else more qualified was available.

Ignoring God

There may be things we want to hide in our lives from God, or just hide our whole life in general.  We are afraid, for whatever reason, that following God means He takes everything fun away from us.  Fun meaning the sin we think is fun but we are really slaves to.  That could be one reason but there are others as well why we ignore God.  The joke is on us though because we think we are so smart and knowledgeable about God that if we ignore Him He will think "oh ok so and so is ignoring me so I will leave them alone." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA  NO SUCH THING!!!  You can ignore God all you want but He will NEVER ignore you or leave you alone.  He is the Good Shepherd that will keep following your sorry stupid ass, throwing spiritual rocks at you until the very end in order to save your soul.

From Psalm 139

Where can I go from your spirit?

From your presence, where can I flee?

If I ascend to the heavens, you are there;

if I lie down in Sheol, there you are.

If I take the wings of dawn

and dwell beyond the sea,

Even there your hand guides me,

your right hand holds me fast.

If I say, “Surely darkness shall hide me,

and night shall be my light”^*—

Darkness is not dark for you,

and night shines as the day.

Darkness and light are but one.

HAPPY FEAST!!!

Happy Feast

of St Therese!!!!

Start

your St Therese Novena!!

Sorry I posted this so late in the day on the 23rd BUT THERE IS STILL TIME, and God is outside of time anyway so just pray.

Relevant Radio pledge drive

I listen to Relevant Radio at work, and it nourishes my Catholic Faith throughout the day.  The station is dependent on contributions.  They are going through a pledge drive right now.  Please consider giving.


Here is the link to listen to them online:


Relevant Radio Live


Here is the link to donate online:

https://www.relevantradio1.com/donations


Thank you!

Jesus came to divide us...

Luke 12: 49 - 53

---

"I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!  I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished!  Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."


Jesus is the Prince of Peace.  Jesus is Love.  How is it that He came to divide the earth?  

You either belong to the camp that believes, loves, follows Jesus and His Words, or the camp that does not believe, does not love nor want to follow His words.  Two camps will clash constantly until He comes again.  You don't have to look far to see this is true.  In our society today, we have those who believe murdering the unborn is a right to be done out of the convenience of the mother who carries the baby in her womb.  Opposing these pro-aborts are us pro-lifers who will stand to defend the unborn every chance they get.  Another example:   we have those who believe it is a normal way of life for men to have sexual relations with men, and women to have sexual relations with women. They demand we accept it as normal and want to force it upon our traditional institutions.  Then, there are those of us who heed the word of God in regards to same sex "marriages" and know it is an abomination to the Lord.  And we speak out against this agenda which is forcing us to accept that which is contrary to nature's laws and God's laws. 

Other examples are those found in families:  some believe living in sin, living a life without God is OK.  This brings much division when other family members do follow God and his Commandments.  It could make for awkward moments during the family get togethers...

What Jesus is really saying is His Truth reveals sin.  It is SIN that divides us.  Jesus uncovers the reality of sin, and the majority of the world doesn't want to accept it.  The earth doesn't want His peace...the earth doesn't want His love...the earth does not want Him...



Come Lord Jesus, in Your glory soon!

Feast of St Ignatius of Loyola

Suscipe

St. Ignatius of Loyola

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.
You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
that is enough for me.


its so easy to pray this as I did several years ago but when you start to live it it can hurt.  A lot.  But I still love good holy Jesuits!! AMDG!!!

Blue Moon leaves me....blue...very very blue

I'm having a Blue Moon Belgian White beer tonite.  It's nice and cold/frosty in this 90 degree heat.  I was looking forward to taking my first sips of this Belgian Style Wheat Ale...but after my first few sips...I do not think I will be able to finish it.

How do I describe the taste?  Let me see...

Picture a nice summer rain shower in the hottest parts of Texas. A good downpour drenches everything, even some old rusted red wagon you have in your yard.  You don't ever move that rusted ol' wagon...you leave it in your yard for a little rustic appeal.  Well, the downpour lasts all day, and everything gets flooded, especially the little rusted wagon's body.

A week goes by, and there's still a little bit of water in the wagon.

Picture yourself walking over to the wagon and falling face first into it...with your mouth open.  You take a good gulp of the water that's been resting in it for a week.

THAT'S how Blue Moon Belgian White tastes like!!!!

I give it one out of five empanadas

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel

 

VEE:  For some reason my pastor is taking off Monday and Tuesday this summer which Im not happy about, so I couldnt attend Mass today.   Thank god for EWTN though as I was able to watch their Mass and teh homily was preached by one of my favorite priests Fr Mitch Pacwa SJ.  Now that my summer vacation is over, well it was last week but Im slow, hopefully we will psot more here and on our neglected facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/TeamOpCarm

Happy Feast of St Teresa of the Andes!

yay!!!

I wish I was so holy that I could enter Carmel and die shortly there after.
for more on her read this, http://carmelourladysdovecote.wordpress.com/2013/07/13/today-is-the-feast-day-of-st-teresa-of-the-andes/

or watch the mini series on her life.

yesterday we went to a game of some sort, apparently it is not baseball because it is the wrong league.  I also drank budweiser so I had a non beer too :P We had really good seats though and the rangers won.  It was awesome.

Memorial Day

This is how my dad feels.  He fought in WWII and survived.  He came home, met my mother, got married, had a family, had a great career, has several grandchildren and now lives out his retirement fairly  healthy at 87 years old.  He doesn't go to veteran's parades, doesn't want his name in veteran's tributes.  He doesn't talk about WWII.  Maybe once in a while, he'll share something he witnessed, he'll speak of friends he lost.  Then he gets wet eyes and falls back into silence, holding on to those memories like precious diamonds that he won't share.  They are too valuable to him, I suppose.    He doesn't call himself a hero.  He tells me the real heros "never came home."

I think he's a hero...

Today, I remember all of his "brothers" who gave the ultimate sacrifice.  I remember and pray for their souls.  May they all rest in the peace of God.

Apostates amongst us

According to wikipedia, Apostasy is a complete renunciation of a belief system: 

"The American sociologist Lewis A. Coser defines an apostate to be not just a person who experienced a dramatic change in conviction but "a man who, even in his new state of belief, is spiritually living not primarily in the content of that faith, in the pursuit of goals appropriate to it, but only in the struggle against the old faith and for the sake of its negation."

Usually, apostates renounce their religion, and leave it.  Today, the Catholic Church is inundated with apostates within her own ranks.  They refuse to leave, but instead, stay inside to spread their ills and fight the Church from within.  At the same time, they don't admit or even think they are apostates, but have deceived themselves into believing they can bring a better understanding of God than the Magisterium. 

The Church has had her share of apostates and has survived.  This is reassuring when you take a look at the three big sins destroying souls today.  All three are connected to sins of the flesh:   fornicating, contracepting and aborting the unborn.  Many Catholics, laypeople, politicians and even religious react to today's controversies by conforming to the madness.  Some even dare to relate their conformity to Christ's "radical" persona, as if Christ, were he giving talking points today, would side with the pro-aborts and the radical sexual idolators.  These apostates distort the true meaning of love and charity with supporting sinners in their sinfulness.  They do this all the while attacking those who refuse to share in their conformity.  Today, if one preaches loving the sinner but hating the sin, they are labeled intolerant bigots.  Loving the sinner yet despising their sinful actions will NOT SUFFICE.  They demand you ACCEPT THEIR SINFUL DEEDS! You are an intolerant piece of poop if you don't accept their lifestyle as well.

If only "catholic" apostates would understand that when the Church speaks out against these sins, she is showing her most loving motherly affection for the poor sinner.  It's more difficult for unbelievers to accept her love, but it shouldn't be for Catholics.  This is what sickens my heart.  We Catholics are called to follow Christ, to love Him with all our hearts, souls and minds.  This love for God demands the sacrifice of our own wills and our own selves.  If we truly love God, we would be doing everything in our power not to offend Him.  When going through life, Christians get tempted witih everything from the normal temptations to the most bizarre things satan can throw at us.  We aren't immune to sinfulness.  We know it's not easy!  But as Christians, we have a commitment to Christ and everything He taught us.  If I had intense feelings broiling up inside my flesh, pining for sexual intimacy with a handsome male friend...I'm called to fight through that temptation and not go through with the action.  If suddenly I had intense feelings for a female friend, I would fight through that.  If I were married and I felt like contracepting cos I don't want to deal with children...I would pray through that, and do what is right and what God is expecting from me.  If I found myself pregnant and didn't want the baby, I wouldn't drive to planned parenthood to kill the child.  I'm a Christian, I can't give in to this world's solutions and excuses.  Temptations of the flesh are the toughest temptations.  We can go through a whole gamut of emotions and sexual feelings.  In no way would those feelings define me.  I wouldn't embrace those temptations as "who I am."  I know who I am.  I'm a human being, a target of the devil, so I expect temptations of all sorts.  I'm a Christian.  We also aren't called to whine about our poor conditions.  We wouldn't demand victimhood and a justification to live in mortal sin.  We wouldn't demand that others  accept our sinful lives. 

Apostates take note:  your time on this earth is numbered, but the Church will live for all eternity.      The sins you fight for are not worth an eternity burning in hell.   There are millions of wounded people, but sin cannot heal them. Going along and supporting them in their sins will do nothing but break them even more and eventually destroy them.  Supporting sin will effect you the same way.  Explain how this is love? Please tell me how this is charity?  If it is uncharitable to call sinners to repentance, then Christ himself is guilty.  Too often people don't want to offend the sinner, but they have no thoughts on how greatly the sins offend God.