Good Monday, Everyone!

Good Monday to all of you, my dear folks and friends! Did you sleep well last night? Each time I hear or ask this question, I am always reminded of Rev. Fr. Jarek, from Poland, who used to be our parochial vicar in our four clustered parishes like St. Paul's. Before he starts with his homily, he asks the whole congregation how are we doing and if we did sleep well the night before Sunday morning's Mass. With his contagious smile and animated presence, you can't help but feel alive, inspired and energized. That's just him, you know. And I miss him. My family misses him. I believe a lot of our fellow parishioners miss him, too. He's charismatic and, no doubt, so likable. Wishing him and his Mom all the best at Radford!

This morning, I did pray the holy rosary via the Internet, specifically on YouTube. Thanks, YouTube, and to those video uploaders (who I suspect are religious and/or Catholics!). I felt good even after praying it. (I also had the opportunity to watch/listen to videos that tell about the Holy Rosary, etc.) Yes, I felt so good and inspired to do something good each day in my life. (I know, I'm a sinner but I try to do His will not to sin. I try to live the moment well with faith and complete trust in Him, my Inspiration, Redeemer and Saviour.) How come, you ask? Well, my quiet "meditation" or reflection has been enhanced with Gospel or Church worship songs/hymns that are inspiring and uplifting to my Soul and Spirit. Folks and friends, if you have never tried it before, I mean, meditating alone in your room with peace and quiet stillness, give it yourselves a try. You'll feel at ease, at peace, and relaxed. It's a stress-buster, too. For me, it's such a good and amazing experience, especially if you listen to Gospel or church worship music. Ah, you feel a different kind of feeling, one that is soothing and peaceful. I believe it contributes to good health and well-being. I'll try to do this activity at least once or twice a week. But, of course, I do try to pray each day or more often every day. And music helps me to get going in life. (The fact is, as I'm writing this blog post, I'm listening to Josh Groban's music playlist on YouTube. Thanks, Josh, for your gift of music. Thank you, Lord, for all musicians, too!)

Reading a blog post ("Promises, Promises") today of one of my favorite Catholic bloggers, Concord Pastor, Fr. Austin Fleming of the Archdiocese of Boston, I got interested in these lines of his...

"It's been said:
God makes a promise,
faith believes it,
hope anticipates it
and patience quietly waits for it..."  

I know and am very much aware that we're in the period of national election campaigning for presidential, Congressional, and local candidates. In fact, it has started long before the start of the 'ber months,  as evidenced in campaign ads all over the media. In their campaign speeches, these candidates have made promises. And we're cognizant about them and their promises. We wonder, though, if they're exaggerating just to get elected or reelected this November 6th. Hence, the topic of Fr. Fleming's blog post. One thing that's certain, though: God's Promises. We believe, He always delivers...

"Faith and hope are the gifts
that help us in our waiting,
in our trusting that God will,
in His own way, and in His own time,
make good His word to us..."

Well, my dear folks and friends, this is all for now. Until next time around. Take care and have a wonderful Good Monday, everyone! As always, may God bless us all!-chris a. quilpa, 10September2012

P.S. (Post Script):

Here are videos from YouTube (thanks to the uploaders) that give you information about the rosary and that will help/inspire you to pray the rosary, often, if not everyday. For Mondays and Saturdays, we meditate and pray the Joyful Mysteries; for Tuesdays and Fridays the Sorrowful Mysteries; for Wednesdays and Sundays, the Glorious Mysteries, and for Thursdays the Luminous Mysteries.