Do Not Be Afraid

Today was, well, a bad day. It seems like nothing is right for me now, and I feel like my little world is crashing down around me. It is so very hard not to loose hope in all of that; to not become disheartened.

Today I came across this quote and it reminded me of something I often forget when I let my wimpy, first world problems consume me.

I hope that this will help you too, in whatever way you need it today. Remember, we have a God who is merciful, and who loves us with a love we cannot imagine.

We are blessed, always.

Prayers and love,

Em

Good Ol' Homemade Pizza

Growing up, we had pizza pretty well once a week. It was most definitely a crowd pleaser at out home and my Mom was a master at making it. I wanted to share with you the most delicious pizza crust recipe, that is so incredibly easy you will be amazed.

Pizza Crust

1Tbsp. yeast (I use quick rise yeast)
1 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
1tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. Vegetable oil
2 1/2 cup flour

1. Mix together the yeast, water, sugar, salt and vegetable oil in a large bowl.
2. Slowly add the flour to the mixture.
3. Combine it all into a large doughy ball (don't be afraid to use your hands!) and let sit for a minimum of 5 minutes, covered with a clean dish towel.
4. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Toppings:

Once the dough has sat for 5 minutes you can now remove it from the bowl and stretch it to the appropriate size for your pan. This recipe makes a 9"x13" rectangle sized pizza (I use a cookie sheet as the pan).
Grease your pan, and place the stretched dough on it and continue to pull the dough to all the outside edges and fold over the edges like you would a pie crust. You can also cut long, slender pieces of your favourite cheese and place that in the folds as you go around the outside for a stuffed crust.
Now you are ready to add sauce! I usually just use pasta sauce as opposed to pizza sauce because I find it adds more flavour, but you can use whatever you like. Make sure to get the sauce to the very edges of the crust.
You are now ready to get creative and you can add whatever toppings you like to your pizza.

Pop your creation into the oven and let it bake for appropriately 15 minutes, or until the edges and bottom are golden brown.

Enjoy this quick and easy pizza and let me know what you think.

Prayers,

Emily x

Pumpkin Muffins- The Most Delightful!

Okay, so this may be a wee bit late since it is November 21st, and here in Canada Thanksgiving is long over and we are awaiting snow, which surprisingly, has yet to arrive! However, I am a firm believer that pumpkin things are always delicious and need not only be eaten in fall.

This past weekend I went on a five hour drive with my younger brother to visit my younger sister who is away at University. Her request- bring me delicious things. So I got into baking mode and created some things to take with me. I had some left over pumpkin that I had wanted to use, so I thought muffins would be a wonderful way to use that up, and I went on a hunt for a pumpkin recipe. I combined a few that I found and created one delicious batch of pumpkin raisin muffins.

Without further ado, here is my recipe:

Pumpkin Raisin Muffins

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup canned pumpkin 

1 1/4 cup flour

1/3 tsp baking powder

2/3 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ginger

2/3 tsp. salt

1/4 cup water

2/3 cup raisins

1. Mix together sugar and oil until well combined.

2. Add egg and pumpkin. Mix well.

3. Sift all dry ingredients into separate bowl and mix well.

4. Add alternatively with water to the pumpkin mixture.

4. Stir in raisins (feel free to add more then the 2/3 cup if you like raisins!)

5. Pour into greased muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until cooked through.

-This recipe makes 12 muffins, and takes a total time of about 40 minutes.

I hope you enjoy these tasty treats, we sure did! Let me know what you think.

Many prayers,

Em xo

Month of the Holy Souls

I know November had a whole lot of hype around it, mostly because it means Christmas is just around the corner, and because all the moustached men come out and about in honour of Movemeber.

If you don't know what "Movember" is, it is a movement in Canada (it may be other places as well, but I only know for sure that it is in Canada) where men let their facial hair get a little wild. Millions of Canadian men & woman support this movement by proudly sporting moustaches, real or fake, all month. The point is to register https://www.movember.com/ca/register/and raise funds that go towards research of men's health issues, mainly prostate cancer and male mental health.

Needless to say, November is a very exciting month here in Canada! However, there is a bigger reason that this month is near and dear to my heart. In the Catholic Church, this month is designated to remembering the holy souls. We kick off the month by honouring All Saints Day (November 1st) and All Souls Day (November 2nd).

All Saints Day is a holy day on which we honour and celebrate all the saints that we have. I know a lot of people don't really get what Saints are. If you are not Catholic, or familiar with the teachings of the Catholic Church, this can be kind of confusing. Basically, a Saint is the term given to anyone who is in Heaven. Any person who dies and enters Heaven becomes a saint. Super cool business! Now the tricky part is that only a handful of saints are actually recognized.

The Catholic Church has specific, 'criteria', if you will, that has to be met in order for it to be confirmed that the soul of a person who has passed away is in fact in Heaven. Miracles that have happened in their name, etc. Many hours, days, months and years are spent investigating certain situation in which a person may be a saint. And, of course, there is a whole pile of praying involved.

Once the Church has decided that a certain person is to be declared a Saint the become "Blessed", for example, right now Pope John Paul II is Blessed Pope John Paul II. Then, the next step in Canonization. Which is a fancy word for saying they are now Saint <insert name here>.

*please note, this is just a very brief overview! 

You can read up in the Cathechism of the Catholic Church

for more details, etc. You may also want to research on

http://www.catholic.com/browse. or chat with a priest, Brother or Sister!

This does not mean that the only people in Heaven are those who are canonized by the Catholic Church. There are people in Heaven who lived lives of holiness and who God was gracious enough to bring home to Him, that we will never know about until, God willing, we get there one day too.

Now, onto All Souls Day. This is a day on which we honour all the deceased members of our families, friends, and anyone really. When a person dies they can go to one of three places. Hell, Heaven or Purgatory. Obviously it is not my place to say who goes where, but I will explain this briefly.

Heaven- Fairly self explanatory. If you die with a pure, innocent soul you go to Heaven. So, wee babies who have yet to have sin (other than that of Origional Sin) go to Heaven. And, just basically, if your soul is entirely without blemish you meet God face-to-face. What an incredibly honour! Definitely worth living (& dying) for!

Purgatory- I would say that the majority of people who die and don't go to Hell, go here. Most of us will die with some sort of imperfection, no matter how large or small, on our soul. Purgatory offers a time for cleansing, and the length of time here depends on your soul, on your Earthly suffering, etc. The thing about these souls is that they cannot pray for their own souls to be released into Heaven. This means we have the beautiful honour and responsibility to pray for them so they can get closer to meeting Jesus. The souls here will go to Heaven, in time. It is like Heaven's waiting room in which we are prepared to meet our perfect King.

The following prayer was given, by Jesus, to St. Gertrude with the promise that each time it was said 1,000 souls would be released from Purgatory. 

Eternal Father,

I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus,

in union with the Masses said throughout the world today,

for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory,

for sinners everywhere,

for sinners in the Universal Church,

those in my own home and within my family.

Amen.

Hell- I am not going to give this much attention, as I don't believe that Santan, or his Kingdom deserve even a mention. But, it does exist, and we need to be aware and very concious of that fact, but not live in crippling fear of it. Basically, if you die in a state of mortal sin http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catechism/catechism-of-the-catholic-church/epub/index.cfm you will go to Hell. Obviously I do not know every circumstance and only God will be the judge of that, but to the best of my knowledge, mortal sin=hell.

So, yes, that is what happens when you die. The Catholic Church has deemed November the month of the Holy Souls and so this is a time to visit graveyards and say some extra prayers for those who have passed away, especially those who were close to us and deceased members of our families. It is also a good idea to have Masses said for deceased members of your family, for your friends, or just for the holy souls in general. You can get Masses said any time of the year, but November is kind of a special time for souls.

Please, tuck in some prayers for the souls. I hope someone remembers to do that for me when I die!

Anyway, that is all I have for you today :)

As always, you're in my prayers.

E xo

Saint Gertrude, please pray for us!

Day After Election Blues

It was election day in our next door neighbour's country yesterday. It's funny how our world is made up of so many countries, yet who the President of the United States is impacts, what seems like, the entire planet. Wouldn't it be terrifying to have that much pressure on your shoulders?

I will straight up tell you that I am not an Obama supporter. If you have read my other blogs then that likely won't shock you. I respect Obama, but I can respectfully disagree with nearly every decision he has made in the last four years. As a pro-life, true-definition-of-marriage supporting Catholic I cannot agree with Obama, and am bitterly disappointed in America choosing to elect him, yet again. But I refuse to be disheartened.

When I awoke this morning to a text from my sister saying "Obama won?!" my heart sank a wee bit. I feel as if it is one of those times when you tell a little child that the stove is hot, and you turn away and they reach out and touch is anyway. They cry as you bandage their burn, and a few days later they reach out with their other hand and touch the hot stove again. It's like they were not sure if history would repeat itself so they had to test it out.

People speculated that Obama could possibly ruin America when he was elected four years ago, and he lived up to those expectations. However, despite the speculations people wanted to give him a fair shot a Presidency. Americans, and pretty well the whole world, was disappointed in his performance and shook their heads about it. Then it comes to election time and the opportunity to de-throne Obama was presented, and everyone turned into children reaching for the hot stove a second time around. Now I am all for becoming childlike...in faith, that is. When it comes to political decisions there is a reason that eighteen is the age at which you are permitted to make these choices.

This morning while browsing Facebook I came across something that struck my heart. Someone posted the following in regards to the election, "God is still God. I place my trust in Him alone."

Whoa-mind blown! How amazing is that reminder. God is still God, indeed! Obama being President may mean that God is dragged through the mud, that His name is placed beneath that of Obama, that people will disgrace Him in the name of Obama. But, hasn't God already endured all things for us? He has! Who the President is is a small matter because God is still God!

That being said, the President makes some pretty important decisions regarding America, and ultimately the entire world. So who the President is does matter, it is just a small matter compared to God. We just have to remember that our trust does not belong to President Obama (or our Prime Minister, or any earthly political leader), it belongs to our heavenly Father alone!

Does your heart not feel a little bit more hope? I hope so. Mine certainly did after reading that. Thank you to my friend who posted the lovely note!

Blessed be the name of our God.

God bless,

Em

An Altogether Happy Friday

It's Friday again, Internet! I hope you are all enjoying this last day of your week and are all set for an absolutely wonderful weekend!

This morning, bright and early, I had a silly driving test. For those of you who live in Ontario, I had to get my G class license because my G2 expires soon. For those of you who don't live in Ontario, basically to get your full license you have three test; one written (G1) which allows you to drive with a licensed driver only and you have that for 8 months- one year; and two driving tests. The first driving test graduates you from your G1 to your G2, at which time you are permitted to drive on your own. This license expires after 5 years, so sometime during that you have to do your second road test (the one I did this morning) which gets you your full license.

I woke up bright and early, as my test was at 8:30am, and I had to be there half an hour early and the test centre is about a twenty minute drive from me. I hate these tests with a passion. I know, I know, hate is a strong word. But, seriously. When I had to do my G2 test I was a nervous wreck and when I got it I was a nervous wreck all over again because I knew in a few years I would have to do it all over again. However, it is now over. Thank Heavens! And, it wasn't even that bad!

After I did my test I was so happy and I realized I had a wee bit of time to kill before having to be at work, so I thought, "Timmie's, here I come!" It was busy, as per usual in the morning hours. So I went in rather then choosing the drive thru option. This was a dangerous decision. Typically, I am a green tea gal, once in awhile coffee, but usually green tea. However, when I went in I saw their tea lattes on a sign and who can resist a Chai Tea Latte with a Hazelnut shot? Seriously, who? Not Emily obviously. Then I saw a cute sign in front of a tray of Pumpkin Spice Muffins. And really, who can resist that? I let with a tray full of unhealthy-ness. Thank you Tim Hortons, thank you.

I also discovered something very exciting today. While I was waiting for my drive test I was sitting in my car in the parking lot of the test centre and out of sheer boredom, was playing with my window controls. The rear passenger side window in my car has never worked since I bought it almost two years ago. But, today when I was playing with the controls it went down! I know, crazy! Then I panicked because what if it didn't go back up? But it did, thankfully. I then proceeded to try it over & over again, just be sure I was not imagining anything. Hopefully my dear window keeps up this good behaviour!

Well that wraps up my Friday excitement. You're probably reading this thinking, "What in the world..." But you do not even understand how good this day is. It is also All Souls Day, so I know all the deceased members of my family and my dear friends must be praying for me extra today. I know I am praying for their lovely souls!

Since it's Friday evening, that means my weekend has kicked off! Yippee! What are you doing this weekend? Mine is jammed packed full of goodness.

I don't know about where you are, but where I live, the Rifle Deer Hunt kicks off this coming Monday, November 7th. So, in my lovely small town and all the small towns near by, that basically means everything shuts down and the men head to their hunt camps. The hunt lasts two weeks and, I'm not joking, nearly every man around here books off at least one of those weeks. Some woman do also, but mostly they stay home and resent their husbands. This is a big deal.

My darling boyfriend is one of these avid book-an-entire-week-off-and-stay-at-the-hunt-camp-ers. So it's adios dear Troy. This weekend is also basically a write off since the camp he goes to starts their extravaganza tonight and stay there til next Sunday. Since they can't hunt this weekend they just hang out and drink beer. Saturday night, however, they host a big spaghetti dinner and the wives, girlfriends, children, siblings and parents of the 4 guys are allowed to come over and join in the fun. So, needless to say, I will be spending tomorrow night at the good ol' hunt camp. Surly I will have a story or two for you then.

Sunday is going to be a fabulous day! On November 9th my grandparents will have been married for 49 years. Since that is right, smack dab in the middle of hunting seasons, and undoubtedly all of my uncles and cousins will be gone, we decided this was our only option to celebrate.

Forty nine years, 8 children, 31 grandchildren...not too shabby. Sunday we will all be at my grandparent's celebrating their beautiful marriage with a big lunch after Mass. Congratulations Nanna and Poppa!

Well, this has been awfully rambley (that is most definitely not a word). I hope you all have a beautiful, safe and blessed weekend!

Happy All Souls Day,

-E

Happy All Saints Day

Ah, I am so excited! Today is All Saints Day! I day to celebrate the lives of people who walked this Earth, as we do, and in the little ways found their way into Heaven. It is a sign of remarkable hope for us, seeing how these people rose from sinners to saints and a beautiful opportunity for humility as we reflect on the life we lead and see how far we are from sainthood.

So, in honour of this day I wanted to share with you the story of a saint who inspired me since childhood and is a true, lovely example of sacrifice.

Saint Maria Goretti

This beautiful girl was born in a small town in Italy on Oct. 16 1890. Her father was a farmer, and died of malaria, leaving his wife to look after Maria and her siblings.

After her Father passed away the Goretti's eventually had to move. Maria would care for her youngest siblings while her Mother and the other children worked in the fields. Due to poverty, the Goretti's had given up their farm when Maria was just six. They moved to a farm which they shared with another family, Giovanni Serenelli and his son, Alexander.

On July 5th, 1902,  young, 11 year old Maria was alone in the house sewing when she was approached by 18 year old Alexander. He threatened her if she did not do as he said, and he planned on raping her. She refused his advances and screamed, over and over again, "No, it's a sin! God does not want it!" He first chocked Maria in an attempt to get her to agree to submit to him. When she refused again, he stabbed her 11 times. When she tired to reach for the door he stabbed her 3 more times.

Maria's little sister Teresa was sleeping in a near by room and was awakened by the noise. Maria's Mother and Alexander's Father heard Teresa's cries and came into the house to find Maria, bleeding from her stab wounds. 

They rushed her to the hospital, where she underwent surgery. The doctors were unable to save the young girl. 

Twenty hours after her attack Maria died from her wounds, after expressing her forgiveness for Alexander, and saying she wanted for him to be in Heaven with her one day. Maria died, clutching a Crucifix to her chest and looking on a picture of the Blessed Virgin. 

On June 24th, 1950 Pope Pius XII canonized Saint Maria Goretti. Maria's Mother was present for the canonization. 

Maria's feast day is celebrated on July 6th, and she is the patron of rape victims, youth, young women and purity. 

O, dear Saint Maria, do pray for us!