Catholic Mom Amy Blair: Change of Heart About The Eucharist

This past Saturday at our Moms meeting here in Niagara Falls, NY

Amy Blair shares the story of her search 

to understand the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  

As a second grade teacher, 

Amy was expected to prepare her students for First Holy Communion.  

But ironically God was calling her to become the student.

What she learns in her own classroom changes everything.  

(Witness talk: about 30 min)

New Years Resolution ~ in ONE WORD

True confessions-

I am a New Years Resolution failure.

Every year in December I think of all these great habits I should acquire and over the Christmas break I fantasize about how once it is January I will FOR SURE go to the gym EVERY DAY (even though I never go now) and guess what? Life happens, and the resolutions don't.

I'm so grateful to my mother-in-law for telling me about a new way to make a New Years Resolution ~ just find ONE WORD. That one word is the key to improvement for the New Year in a way that will work. An example best demonstrates it:

Let's say your ONE WORD is HEALTHY.

Write your ONE WORD on the fridge, the bathroom mirror, the computer as a reminder of your ONE WORD.

Then each day, do something toward that word. If your word is healthy, maybe today it means you take a long walk.  Maybe tomorrow the schedule is crammed and you can't walk, so you have a salad for lunch instead of a Big Mac. The next day you make a vegetable soup for your family. The following day all the stars line up and you actually make it to spin class. The next day, you have a ton of errands to run, so you park your car really far from the entrance of the stores to get extra walking in. Then next day, you are at the office and you decide to take the stairs to the 6th floor.

Get it? On any day, no matter what the schedule or demands, you can do something toward your ONE WORD.

Now, let's look at a couple other potential words and suggestions on how to grow in that habit or virtue:

WELCOMING
Host a coffee at your house.
Have milk and cookies ready when the kids get home from school.
Smile at a stranger.
Help an elderly person get into church.

HOLINESS
Go to daily mass.
Pray 10 minutes in the early morning.
Read the gospel.
Love your husband.

PATIENCE
Taking a deep breath and letting the toddler do it his way, instead of doing it for him.
Taking a deep breath before I explain to the teenager for the 20th time why he can't go to a party.
Waiting in a car line and saying a prayer instead of gunning my engine.
Bearing illness joyfully instead of complaining.
Praying for the clerk in the long grocery line who probably feels all the glares from all those in front and behind you.
Cleaning the kitchen (again).

So if you want to do the ONE WORD resolution this year, please post a comment on the blog on your WORD and some ideas on how you are going to live it!

Keeping A Tidy House

Another mom just shared this with me.  A great reminder!

"Trying to keep your house clean if you have kids is like trying to shovel your sidewalk during a snowstorm".

Catholic on Purpose

If asked about her past, Christie would reply, “I used to be such an introvert, always happy to talk to someone if they started the conversation first.  Now I will just go up to anyone and talk to them.  I have become an intentional Catholic.  Now, I am known for going around and handing out Light House CDs.  My friends tease me because I always have them on hand.”

Christie credits her mother for the depth of her faith.  Her mother has been praying for her to find "good friends" for as long as she can remember but she never quite understood what that meant.  Christie grew up a practicing Catholic.  She went to World Youth Day in Denver and she even went on retreats.  “While in college, I began to go to church less and less.  My faith was always important to me, but I was not living it, day to day.  I was married in the Catholic Church and when we had children, we had them baptized, because that's just what you do.”  Christie was going through the motions.  She went to church when it fit into the schedule, but her faith life had become something that she pulled out of her pocket on Sunday and then tucked away the rest of the week.  Her friends at the time were all "Catholics" by name but they were not living out their faith any more than she was.   

When she and her family moved to Buffalo in 2007, they joined St. Gregory the Great in Williamsville but stayed at the margins, until the spring of 2010 when Christie lost her brother to an overdose.  All of a sudden having the right house, the right car, the right clothes were not so important to her anymore.  In the fall of 2010, a mom on a baseball field and she started talking.  After a few games the woman invited her and her husband to attend a gathering of married couples and gave her a Lighthouse Catholic Media CD.  This was a game changer for her. 

Christie made a commitment to get involved in the parish and to step out of her comfort zone.  She started listening to all the Lighthouse CDs that she could get her hands on (www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org).  Christie joined the MOMS group at her parish and she started forming beautiful friendships.  The parish that had seemed so large before, became her family's second home.  She started reading the daily readings and meditations each day, and over a few months her prayer life started to evolve, but she still felt restless.

One day her mother agreed to come to her MOMS group to share a witness about the sacrament of reconciliation and Christie was asked to introduce her.  “I kept wondering, how can I introduce her when I haven't been to confession myself?  I shared my fear with a Mom over a cup of coffee and she encouraged me to go to confession.  She shared her own story on coming back to the Sacrament.   I was scared to go.  I had not been to confession since high school, and even back then I went out of obligation, never understanding the Sacrament.  I fully became alive in my faith that day.  It was like a light switch turn on inside me.  That morning at our MOMS group, I shared my own story with our MOMS group, and a few women shared with me after their own fear of going.  That day I felt that tug in my heart to reach out to fallen away Catholics.”

Christie accepted a friend’s invitation to attend a Lighthouse Catholic Media sponsored conference.  At that conference she witnessed what the "New Evangelization" meant first hand.  “It was so much more than these amazing speakers on CDs.  It was about reaching the lost.  “At that conference I felt God tugging at my heart in a powerful way.  On the flight home, my friend and I, spread Lighthouse CDs and books all around the plane.  That was my first experience with spreading faith seeds.”

When she came home from that conference, she became a Catholic with purpose.  The Lighthouse and Dynamic Catholic resources made it easy for her to evangelize.  “Everyday God places people in our lives.  There are always opportunities to share faith if we listen.  It could be on the baseball field, in a doctor’s office or even at Wegman’s.”  The song “Give Me Your Eyes” by Brandon Heath helps Christie to see the people all around her in a new way.  She and her friend have partnered to do evangelization weekends in parishes.  Her favorite part is hearing the faith stories of people afterward. 

There is so much power in a simple invitation.  “I just hand them a CD or a book and let the Holy Spirit take over.  Stepping out of our comfort zone is a challenge for all of us.  I am inspired by the words of St. Catherine of Siena “If you are what you should be, you will set the world on fire.”  Christie invites us all to consider this question: “Where is God calling you to use your gifts?”  Christie was in customer service all her adult life.  Now she is a customer service rep for Jesus.  “I want to give back what has been given to me.”

Dennis Mahaney, 

Office of Parish Life

Original from Western NY Catholic pg 15

Restless Heart: The Confessions of Saint Augustine

WHAT A FUNDRAISER-FAITHRAISER!  If you need income to start a Mom's group or for special projects, this is it!  Last night the Niagara Falls Catholic Mom's Group hosted the movie Restless Heart at our local theater. It was a huge success.  We sold out of 300 tickets.  

http://restlessheartfilm.com/

Everyone clapped when the movie was over.  Here's what one viewer posted on Facebook after the movie, "Just came from a showing of True Confessions , about St Augustine. Its worth going again..so all you friends of mine are invited when it plays again!!"

The proceeds from the movie will be used for supplies, speakers, and special projects throughout the year.  In addition, we'll be tithing money to the new Respect Life group in our public high school (hooray!!).  We dream of one-day getting the kids to Washington D.C. for the March for Life.  

The best part is that this is a faith-raiser and a true blessing to any community.  I can't tell you how many people thanked us for bringing 'this type of movie' to the area.  Let's face it - it's tough to find a clean movie these days, let alone a GREAT clean movie.  And one that's Catholic?!  (Keep in mind that even Protestant churches are coming out to see this movie! A great saint is a great saint).

We had a few really great God-moments throughout these past 6 weeks.  For example, a wonderful priest contacted us to order a DVD.  He ended up sending a $100 donation to our Mom's group.   

So, for those interested in organizing this, I thought I would share a few ideas on how we set this up.

By the way, I talked to a few people I know who organized this fundraiser in other parts of the country and they all said the same thing. "We sold out and quickly booked our next showing".  We were still getting calls for more tickets the day of the event so we went ahead and booked our next showing for Wed, Oct 9.  Once all the initial set-up is done, running this a second time is going to be even easier than the first.  It's all almost too good to be true.  Thank you, Ignatius Press!

RESTLESS HEART: The Confessions of Augustine Saint Augustine - Saint Monica - Saint Ambrose 3 SAINTS, 2 DOCTORS of the CHURCH, 1 AMAZING FILM!   Since the fall of 2012, the movie Restless Heart: The Confessions of Augustine, has swept North America.   This first-ever full-length film on the life of St. Augustine has been seen more than 1,000 times in more than 200 cities! Now, due to popular demand for the film, the Niagara Falls Catholic Moms Group is bringing this movie to our area to entertain and spiritually inspire our community. Wednesday, October 9, 2013  at 6:30 pm Four Seasons Cinema 2429 Military Rd, Niagara Falls, NY 14304 (behind Big Lots)  Limited seating is available.  Tickets available in the parish office  or contact us at 297-8310   nfcatholicmoms@gmail.com (email preferred)  Ticket cost: $10 each Buy 10 tickets and get 1 FREE Click on the image below to watch the trailer. Please forward this email to other people you know who may be  interested in attending and help inspire our community.

Some content of this movie for mature audiences.  All proceeds go to the  Niagara Falls Catholic Moms group  and the new NFHS Pro-life group. For more information about the  moms group,  visit www.CatholicMomsConnect.com

Young People Changing Lives

Catholic mom Hollie Weiss in the diocese of Buffalo shared with me an amazing project that her sons helped document through video.  Hollie and her husband have four boys who work together on film and digital editing.  Now they are using their gifts and talents to help with pro-life efforts such as this....collecting 1 million pennies for the unborn.  

Perhaps other Catholic moms out there can share this 7 minute video with their children and inspire them to get involved.

(Click here to watch the video through Catholic Moms Connect Blog).

Like their facebook page "Beggars for life"

Ever wonder what a mom like this is doing to raise up children with such strong Faith?  I talked with Hollie in a 10 minute interview to find out more.

Know of any other great young people working to spread the Catholic Faith or Pro-life message?  We'd love to interview them.   

Get inspired for Pro-life work with these fantastic talks:

Click Here to Order CD or MP3
         
Click Here to Order CD or MP3

Interview with Sharon Leyne, artist of the iphone app 'Saint of the Day for Kids'

We are delighted to share with you a new app available for iphone and ipad, Saint of the Day for Kids. The goal of the app is to give a short and child-friendly daily dose of the Saints.  Perfect for home, school or homeschooling.

Julie Musselman talked with the app artist Sharon Leyne, a wonderful young mom in Western Canada.  Sharon describes the app and shares a few ideas on how she makes her home a "Catholic home."

CLICK Here for the 13 minute interview

If you love hearing about the lives of the saints, also check out this talk from Lighthouse Catholic Media "Called to be Saints" in MP3 or CD format.

Click here to order.

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