He Won't Let You Go

Have you ever had a song (besides Amazing Grace or Ave Maria) bring you to your knees? 

I cannot get enough of He Won't Let You Go, also from The Kry. 

Clear your mind, silence the rest of the world around you, and listen with an open heart.  Unconditional Love of a parent, in it's purest form, is found in the lyrics of the last verse "He won't let you go, His Love will never change, Let Him hold you close, closer every day.  He would have died for you had you been the only one.  Don't you ever doubt it's true.  He won't let you go."

Even just typing it makes my eyes tear up....

He Won't Let You Go

(please let me know if this linke doesn't work)

The Kry

He won't let you go

the moment that you say

come and live in me

take me all the way

what He said is true

He will never leave you

forever by your side...it's true

He won't let you go

though the seasons change

He's never been so close

He's just a prayer away

when you hear the Father's call

when He's calling to you

run into His arms

don't hesitate to do it

Chorus:

He won't let you go

when He's forever by your side

He wants you to know

Jesus has paid the price

He wants you to go

forever in paradise

getting close to Him

is really all you have to do

and even when you die

He will still be by your side

He won't let you go

His love will never change

let Him hold you close

closer everyday

He would have died for you

had you been the only one

don't you ever doubt...its true

He won't let you go

Mary is in Fashion!

I've been watching TV lately, thinking it's so neat how celeb's are sportin' their faith more and more, for instance, how C-Lo Green was wearing a rosary around his neck during blind auditions on The Voice... But yesterday I wandered into one of my favorite little quirky-trendy stores to find this:

The tag actually had rosaries in every.single.color you could imagine labeled as "Fashion Jewelry"... !  WHAT?!  I mean, don't get me wrong, I think it's great for rosaries to be popular, but isn't it almost blasphemous to market them as jewelry?  For people to wear them naively, ignorantly, because they happen to match an outfit?  Isn't it a mockery of faith for them to be marketed that way? 

It kind of reminds me of the tables in the tabernacle, when Jesus is so outraged... ? I don't know... I'm not sure how I feel about it.  Don't get me wrong, I love to see Catholicism in mainstream popularity, but not because someone's wearing a rosary during an interview.  I guess it's my passion for Mary & her position within the Church that really makes me wish there was a way to inform people about the "necklace" they're purchasing. 

Pointing You in the Right Direction!

I absolutely love reading other people's blogs... and you do to, obviously! *wink*grin*

Please, check out my friend Crystal's blog.  She is a co-author & my favorite writer at Faith, Friends, and Frappuccinos.

Check it out!!! 

It Forgot Itself to Me

That's the literal translation of one of my favorite sayings in Spanish, "Se me olvidó"... then you're not really responsible for not remembering, whatever it is that you were trying to remember forgot itself to you! 

Things have been forgetting themselves to me quite a bit lately, I blame it on the chronic fatigue that's going with the symptoms of Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia.  (*shaking my head* inappropriate heart!)

I had a wonderful song & topic to discuss today, and can't remember what it was.  Do you think St. Anthony will help me find what it is that forgot itself to me today?  I sure hope so.....

Mother, May I?

We all remember playing that game on the playground, right?  "Mother, may I ___________?" and you fill in the blank with whatever request will help get you to the finish line fastest.....

What do we ask for in our everyday self-mutterings that we think might get us to our hypothetical finish line faster than the next guy?


"Please let me make that green light" 
"Please let that car accident be on the other side of the freeway so I'm not late"
"Please let me be the next number they call"


Do you realize that, as trivial and/or exasperated as these requests might be, they're still a prayer of sorts?  Whether or not you intend to talk to God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Mary, or any of the other Saints about what's going on in your life, when you put that up to the universe, someone's always listening. 

October is the month of the Rosary, and I challenge you to be a little more deliberate in your requests.  Make it a little more formal, put a little more thought into it (and I mean, like, 3 extra seconds - doesn't have to be a disertation!).  Ask Mary to pray for you, thank her for being with you through the day... (it's called secondary mediation, and it's the same as if I asked you to pray for me, only Mary won't forget because she's not distracted by worldly things!)  Rather than worrying about the car accident affecting your commute, say a prayer that the people involved are alright, and give thanks that it's not you!  Rather than stressing out about not making the green light, thank the Spirit for keeping you on the path that was intended for you that day.... catching on?  (sorry about the earlier typo, no- I was not speaking ubonics!)

Try to take those little irritations and ask Mary to give you the Grace to find them as little blessings in your life.  It's not easy, believe me, I struggle with it too. 

I leave you today with a Hail Mary.  Don't just breeze through it, say it like you would a conversation... "Hail Mary" is a greeting, and start from there...

Hail, Mary, full of Grace!  The Lord is with thee!
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
Now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Humility

In September we prayed the Litany of Humility with the youth group, and it wasn't until last night as I was leading it that it really hit home. 

Oh Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus
From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, Jesus
From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus
From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus
From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus
From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus
From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus
From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus
From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus
From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus
From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, Jesus
From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus
From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus
From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus
From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it

Amen.

--
What's really striking a chord with me today, especially given events that have happened lately, are the lines "That others may be loved more than I, chosen and I set aside, praised and I unnoticed..."  Wow.  How powerful are those lines, really?!  Especially in today's society!  Everyone wants credit for even the littlest thing they do, everyone wants to be the most popular, have their 15 minutes of fame in the limelight, and that's not what it's all about. 

A short & sweet food-for-thought to go with this prayer today....

Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.

Forgiven

What does it mean to be forgiven?  Can we just say "I'm sorry" and be done with it?  Do we deserve to be able to say "I'm sorry"?  What does it mean to you when someone asks you to forgive them after they've wronged you in some way?  Is it easy?  Can you really forgive, forget, and move on? 

It.is.not.easy.  It's not easy to forgive or to give forgiveness, and for a lot of us, it's not as easy as we think to actually be forgiven.  To be absolved of whatever wrongs we have committed is pretty hard - not because God doesn't forgive us, but because we don't always forgive ourselves.  We don't always think we're worth it.  That little pang of guilt hits when something reminds you of your wrongdoings. 

What we need to realize is that we can be forgiven, NO.MATTER.WHAT.  Now- it doesn't mean I'm going to go out, steal a few shirts or drink just to get drunk, and say, "Oops, I'm sorry, Lord, forgive me," be forgiven, and go through the whole routine again the next weekend... You have to really and truly mean it in your heart, and only God knows when you're there.  What we need to remember is that, when God forgives us, we also need to ask Him for the grace to forgive ourselves. 

I'd like to share a song with you - of course *grin* - called "You Love Me Anyway", from Sidewalk Prophets' album Three Simple Truths.  I encourage you to read the lyrics a few times before listening to the song, that way you really do hear them.  Unconditional Love.  Forgiveness.  Putting all of our sins aside, God loves us anyway.  The bridge is what really gets me, where the song talks about how we are every person who did Jesus wrong, and yet we are still loved.  We betrayed Jesus in Judas' kiss, we shouted & chanted for His blood to be spilled, we are sin, and God still loves us.  Even when we choose the easy way out, even when we tell that little white lie, even when we have hurt one another... God gives us the grace to be forgiven, the opportunity to love Him back, and in choosing to do that, we forgive ourselves. 

"You Love Me Anyway" ~ Sidewalk Prophets

The question was raised

As my conscience fell

A silly, little lie

It didn’t mean much

But it lingers still

In the corners of my mind

Still you call me to walk

On the edge of this world

To spread my dreams and fly

But the future’s so far

My heart is so frail

I think I’d rather stay inside

But You love me anyway

It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known

You love me anyway

Oh Lord, how You love me

How You love me

It took more than my strength

To simply be still

To seek but never find

All the reasons we change

The reasons I doubt

And why do loved ones have to die?

But You love me anyway

It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known

You love me anyway

Oh Lord, how You love me

I am the thorn in Your crown

But You love me anyway

I am the sweat from Your brow

But You love me anyway

I am the nail in Your wrist

But You love me anyway

I am Judas’ kiss

But You love me anyway

See now, I am the man that called out from the crowd

For Your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking ground

Yes then, I turned away with this smile on my face

With this sin in my heart tried to bury Your grace

And then alone in the night, I still called out for You

So ashamed of my life, my life, my life

But You love me anyway

Oh, God… how you love me

You love me anyway

It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known

You love me anyway

Oh Lord, how You love me

You love me, You love me

You love me, You love me

How You love me

How You love me

How You love me