Illuminated By Joy

 Hey everyone!  Over the past few years, I've seen lists of saints that belonged to different races or suffered from a particular circumstance, but I've never seen a list of saints with physical disabilities. So I've decided to make one for all of you today. They'll be listed in alphabetical order along with a brief description of their disability. Some of them were born disabled, some acquired their disability later, but I promise you -- every single one of them is unique. - Bl. Alexandrina Maria da Costa jumped off a roof to escape a man who was trying to assault her and remained bedridden for the rest of her life. - Bl. Alexius Kim Si-u was paralyzed on the right side of his body. - St. Ava was born blind, but was later cured by St. Reinfredis. - Bl. Benedetta Bianchi Porro suffered from an illness that eventually left her blind, deaf, and paralyzed. - Servant of God Darwin Ramos was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy at age five and had it the rest of h...

     Hey everyone! I've been having a strong case of writer's block lately and I'll be really busy as the school year starts back up again, so I probably won't be posting as much.      Anyhow, I've been thinking a lot about mercy and trust. Those are two virtues that I've always had trouble with, yet they're absolutely necessary if we want to grow in faith. They might not seem like they go hand in hand, but they do. Here's what Jesus says about surrendering ourselves to Him in St. Faustina's diary.      "My delight is to unite myself with you. It is when you submit yourself to my will that you give me the greatest glory and draw down upon yourself a sea of blessings. I would not take such special delight in you if you were not living by my will."- Jesus to St. Faustina ( Diary , paragraph 954)      Jesus wants us to trust Him and when we do, He will lead us to the abyss of His mercy.     Are you struggling with g...

 Hello everyone! So today I'm doing something a bit different and more fun after all the serious content. So I'm going to be taking a 'How Catholic are you' quiz from BuzzFeed, which will be interesting to say the least since I'm not too sure how nuanced BuzzFeed is in their ideas of Catholicism.  Anyway, enjoy!  The quiz is from BuzzFeed: 'How Catholic are you actually?'   "Do you practise what you preach" (seriously overused phrase. Please come up with a new one. ) "Choose all that apply."  You were baptized  ☑  An obligation for being a Catholic, so yeah. You aced Sunday School ☒  Is it just me, or is Sunday school not a huge Catholic thing? You see BuzzFeed, generally, at least at the more traditional churches, children are present for Mass (unless they have to go to the cry room XD) But... I did go to a sort of weekly catechism on Wednesdays which I did ace, so that kind of counts:-) You've taught a religious ed class ☒ I'm t...

 Hey guys! So sorry I haven't been posting in the past couple months. I've been busy, and yes, I forgot.   Games are fun, but they can be both fun and educational when you put a Catholic twist on them! So next time you sit down with Catholic family or friends, try challenging them to one of these games and see how well they do! Catholic Taboo    If you're not familiar with the basic game of Taboo, basically there will be a card with a word that you are trying to get the other players to guess, but then there will be five other words under that word that you also can't say. If you say the key word, or any of the other five words, then another player who supervises will "buzz" you, and your team loses a point. So Catholic Taboo is basically that, only the terms are all Catholic. Here's an example: Eucharist Body  Blood  Presence Adoration Revival  Also, you can't do any actions (like point to a picture of the Eucharist, for example), say things like...

Hello everyone!  Sorry for my long absence. It's been difficult for me to write for a couple reasons, but hopefully that's better now.  I know I have exams coming up, and I'm sure some of you do too. So, I thought I would post some encouragement saint style! St Vincent Ferrer:  Do you desire to study to your advantage? Let devotion accompany all your studies, and study less to make yourself learned than to become a saint . Consult God more than your books, and ask him, with humility, to make you understand what you read. Study fatigues and drains the mind and heart. Go from time to time to refresh them at the feet of Jesus Christ under his cross. It's crucial to not overstudy which exhausts your mind. It isn't good for your spiritual, social, or school life. Also, remember that while studying and doing your school well is important, your spiritual life is infinitly more .  St Benedict:  Whenever you begin any good work you should first of all make a most pres...

 Hey everyone! Today is the Feast of my Confirmation saint and her friend: Sts. Perpetua and Felicity.They were two young mothers who were martyred in Carthage, Tunisia, in the year 203. They were still catechumens when they were arrested, but were baptized in prison. Perpetua had an infant son and Felicity was pregnant but gave birth to a daughter two days before the contest. The two young women died with three other men by being scourged, thrown to wild beasts, and beheaded. They are very influential and are mentioned in the cannon of the Mass. These two saints are very special to me for so many reasons that I can't possibly name here. So, in their honor, I would like to share a quote from another martyr: an unnamed pastor from Zimbabwe who wrote this in a letter before he died. It shows how he --and the two saints we celebrate today -- really said no to the things of this world and yes to God: "I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit power. T...

Tomorrow begins the season of Lent: a time to reflect on the Passion of our Lord and turn back to Him through fasting and penance. It is a time to walk with Jesus and strengthen our relationship with Him. However, I know that many people, including me, might not look forward to this season very much. I admit, it is a very hard thing to reflect on the passion of our Lord. We don't want to suffer. We just want to keep life as it is and not think about it. But if we truly wish to follow Jesus, we must be loyal. Even contemplating His passion can show how truly loyal we are. We can be like Mary, John, and Mary Magdalene, who stayed at the foot of the Cross. Even that simple act took tremendous courage. They could have been killed or walked away at any time, but they were so loyal that they stood by until Jesus took His last breath. Are we as loyal as them? Usually not. But even if we haven't been loyal, there is still hope and a call to repent. That was the case with Peter, Dismas,...