Biking, Neighbor's Bar Mitzvah, and Cardinal Arinze

Hello readers,

How are you? 

Lately, I've been going on many bike rides (I'm trying to fit in as many as possible before the cold weather comes). 

On Saturday, I attended my neighbor's Bar Mitzvah (I have been his, and his brother's, babysitter for about 8 years).  It was an amazing experience.  In fact, what he read from the Torah was the beginning of one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament.  I am very proud of him.  He worked hard for four years preparing for this day (learning Hebrew) and I pray he will continue to grow closer to God.  The reception was fun as well!  I had a wonderful time socializing with the neighbors and I even danced with some of my younger neighbors.  They are all so fun to spend time with. 

Today, I also wanted to share these videos of Cardinal Arinze.  He is amazing!  He would make an excellent Pope!



God bless you!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

An Article on Modesty

My mother showed me this today.  I think it is well put and wanted to share it.  :)



This article is from the newsletter "Mother Love, A Newsletter To The Christian Mother" (VOL. 71, No. 3, Summer 2013) by the National Office of the Archconfraternity of Christian Mothers (www.capuchin.com). 

God bless you!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Movies

Hey Readers!

Today, I want to share what has been on my mind lately.  I have been thinking much about movies and about when it is right or wrong to watch a movie with certain content.  I hate being so particular about what I watch, but I can't help it.  This is my strong opinion.  When a movie has any explicit sexual content (an intimate scene, certain jokes and conversations, bikini like outfits worn throughout most of the movie, nudity, or anything like that) I will not watch it.  The marital embrace is sacred and is not meant to be viewed for entertainment (it is seriously sinful for the actors and actresses to even act out those kind of scenes).  If something sinful or inappropriate needs to be in a movie for the sake of the story, it should at least be implied that it took place.  I also stay away from movies which use God's Name in vain and swear words too many times.  Before watching movies (at least R, PG-13, and sometimes even PG rated movies) I often visit a Christian movie review website (I highly recommend www.pluggedin.com).

There are a lot of bad movies out there, but there are also a lot of good ones.  Here are some movies I enjoy and would like to share.  They are not all perfect, but they're good.

The Avengers
The Captain America Trilogy

The Thor Trilogy

Guardians of the Galaxy 1 and 2
FlightPlan
Jack the Giant Slayer
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Hobbit Movies
Emma (both versions are good, but my favorite is the BBC version)
Pride and Prejudice
North and South (BBC)
Wives and Daughters (BBC)
The Shop Around the Corner

The Sound of Music

Mom's Night Out

Forever Strong

Here are some with religious themes:

The Passion

God Is Not Dead

Son of God
For Greater Glory
October Baby
Bella
The Perfect Game
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

I Am David

Heaven is for Real

Courageous

Fireproof
War Room

And some of my favorite animated movies are:

The How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy

Despicable Me 1 and 2
Ratatoullie
The Emperor's New Groove
Frozen
Tangled

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 1 and 2

MegaMind
Tarzan
Wreck-It Ralph

I enjoy many of the animated Disney movies.

I will update this list occasionally.  There are more movies I enjoy, I just can't think of them all.

Also, I just want to warn you that the Christian movie review website I recommended (www.pluggedin.com) may seem strict to the extreme.  What I like about the website though is that I can read about was bothers me most in a particular movie (like sexual content) and I can decide for myself if I think it is worth watching. 

God bless you!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Prayers for My Grandma

Hello!

On Friday, August 23, my grandma had a heart attack.  She will be released from the hospital tomorrow and will be living with my family and me.  She is doing fine, but her heart is failing and we are unsure how long she will be with us.  If you all could pray for her, my family and I would greatly appreciate it.  Thank you so very much.

God bless you!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Prayer Request

Hello readers,

If you all could please pray for my "Special Intentions" I would really appreciate it.  Thank you!

Today, I would like to share one of my favorite Bible quotes. 

"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope."      ~ Jeremiah 29:11


God bless you!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Happy Independence Day!!!

I hope you all had a Happy Independence Day!!! 

Please remember to pray for all those who fought for our freedom during the War for Independence and for all those now who fight and have fought for our freedom and protection.  Pray for our Catholic Bishops and all those fighting for Religious Freedom.  We can join them by praying and taking action (www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/index.cfm). 

Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty

O God our Creator,
from your provident hand we have received
our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
You have called us as your people and given us
the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God,
and your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,
you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,
bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel
to every corner of society.

We ask you to bless us
in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart
to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;
give us courage in making our voices heard
on behalf of the rights of your Church
and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,
a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters
gathered in your Church
in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,
so that, with every trial withstood
and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,
and all who come after us—
this great land will always be "one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/fortnight-for-freedom/fortnight-freedom-prayer-resources.cfm

God bless you!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Children of Mary

On Saturday, June 29, my family and I went to visit the convent of a new order of nuns called the Children of Mary to volunteer.  It was an amazing experience!  We began our day with Holy Mass at 9am said by a wonderful priest who celebrates both the Roman and Byzantine Rites.  The Church was absolutely beautiful!  After Mass we sat for 20 minutes with our friends who we met there and had coffee.  Around 10:30am we began our work.  My sisters and I all helped weed the large garden.  My mom and little brother worked in the flower beds.  My dad helped build part of one of the nuns hermitages.  We ate lunch around 12:30pm and got back to work around 1:15ish.  My legs were so sore from being crouched down for such long periods of time, but I was happy to do all that work.  We worked until 5pm and attended evening prayer in the Church.  Right after, we ate dinner with the nuns and the other volunteers.  I truly enjoyed my conversations with the nuns.  They spoke all about how they came to realize their calling to the Religious Life.  Some of them were converts to the Catholic Faith.  I must say, converts to the Catholic Faith are some of the most devoted Catholics.  I truly admire them.  They were all so very friendly.  If you want to learn more about The Children of Mary, you can visit their website at www.childrenofmary.net. 

God bless you!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

My Life Dream

I have been contemplating what I want to do during my lifetime, hopefully in the near future.  My life dream is to marry a polite, hardworking, Catholic gentleman, live in a simple house, be a homeschool mom (to the best of my ability), raise a family to become saints, grow an herb and vegetable garden (not a small one, but not to big either), be involved at Church in some way aside from going to Mass and Confession, do fun family activities often (esp. hiking, biking, and traveling), and go on occasional trips to the movie theater and amusement park.  The simple things in life are the things that truly make me happiest.  Before, and if, I ever get married, I'd really like to visit one of my best friends in Hawaii.  And one day I would love to visit Rome (Germany, Switzerland, and New Zealand would be wonderful places to visit too, but that is a lot...who knows though)!  I feel God is calling me to the married life.  Please pray for me, that I make the right decisions in life and that I follow the Will of God if I am called to another vocation.  Making life decisions can be very stressful at times.   Feel free to share any of your life plans! :)

God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Owl City

For a while now I have been thinking, what is my favorite music artist?  I never really had one because I like a variety of different kinds of music.  I like just a few songs from many different music artists.  For a while I was thinking, maybe Brad Paisley or Rascal Flatts was my favorite, but country music is not my all time favorite genre (I prefer pop).  I want an artist who's majority of music is clean and catchy.  Just these past two months I have been listening to a lot of Owl City.   So far I am very happy with his (Adam Young) music.  My favorites are "Gold", "Shooting Star", "I'm Coming After You", "When Can I See You Again", "How Deep the Father's Love for Us", "In Christ Alone", "Vanilla Twillight", "Fireflies", "Deer in My Headlights", "Take It All Away", and "Good Time".  I think it's cool that he sings some Christian songs as well.  Here are some videos of my top favorites.

This one is in a higher pitch than the original.  It's still catchy.



God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

They're Out!

The Poster and Trailer for "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" are out!



(Image from www.theonering.net/torwp)

God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Quote Page Updated

Hey there! 

Just want to let you all know that I have added quite a few new quotes to my blog's quote page.  Feel free to check it out!  I think a lot of them are very touching.

Take care!


God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

My Hobbit and LOTR Post

As many of my family and friends well know, I am a very big "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" fan (a big J.R.R. Tolkien fan you might say).   As I have said in previous posts, I am slowly working on the LOTR trilogy and I read "The Hobbit" (one of my very favorite books).  Reading "The Hobbit" before watching the movie really helped me understand and appreciate the movie and even the LOTR movies.  Tolkien sure did put a LOT of thought into his books!  I would really love to learn all the Catholic/Christian symbolism behind his stories (I know very little of the symbolism).  I should read what the author, Joseph Pearce, writes about the symbolism of "The Hobbit" in his book "Bilbo's Journey: Discovering the Hidden Meaning in The Hobbit ". 

The LOTR movies were wonderful!  I especially love Gandalf's wisdom in the movies.  I am definitely adding some of his quotes to my quote collection and on my blog's quote page.  I still have to watch the extended edition of the three movies.  I saw some clips of the extended edition on youtube and have learned so much more about things I didn't understand in the shorter version.  I also love how "The Hobbit, An unexpected Journey" and the LOTR movies connect. 

I am dying to see the second "Hobbit" movie! I hear that the preview for the second Hobbit movie, "The Hobbit, The Desolation of Smaug" will be shown before the "Man of Steel" Superman movie coming out  in Theater on June 14.

Well, enough of my ranting.  Have any personal thoughts on the books and/or movies?  Who are your favorite characters?  Mine are Kili, Fili, Bofer, and Bilbo (in The Hobbit) and Sam, Frodo, Legolas, and Gimli (in the LOTR Trilogy).

God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Not at BC

Just want to share this.  Please take action. :)

http://notatbc.com/

God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Resent Happenings

Hello all!

How is everyone's Spring going?

I have some sad news that you may already know if you are following the Romeike Family case.  Well, they were denied asylum in the United States.  It is very distressing to me because all this family wanted was to become citizens in the United States and to have the freedom to teach their children at home.  More information can be found at http://www.hslda.org/legal/cases/romeike.asp. HSLDA will appeal the Sixth Circuit’s ruling. Please continue to keep the Romeike family and HSLDA’s litigation team in your thoughts and prayers.

On a different note, I am absolutely thrilled to know that Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight were found alive and safe (found May 6, 2013)!  I remember hearing about the missing girls on the news in 2003-2004).  How horrible it must have been for them to be held hostage and tortured in a house for about a decade!  Please continue to pray for the three girls, Amanda Berry's daugher, and their families.  Thank you, Charles Ramsey, for helping them escape.  Thank you, Lord, for all that you do!  This was truly a wonderful miracle! :)

God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Help Protect Our Religious Freedom

Please contact your U.S. House of Representatives and protect our Religious Freedom!  (This is all from an email I received from the NCHLA)




At this time it is vital that we re-dedicate our efforts to pass the Health Care Conscience Rights Act (H.R. 940). The U.S. House of Representatives again should be urged to include H.R. 940 in upcoming “must-pass” legislation.

Please visit http://actions.nchla.org/link/target/nchla/39KQ6Pzy.aspx to send a message to your Representative today!

Even if you have already contacted your Representative in support of H.R. 940, it is important that Members again hear of the need to pass this legislation.

The Administration’s contraceptive/abortifacient/sterilization mandate will begin to be enforced against nonprofit religious schools, charities and health care providers on August 1. In the days to come, Congress must decide whether to address this problem through must-pass legislation before that deadline. Please act today to protect conscience rights and religious liberty!

Thanks for all you do in support of life!





God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Boston and Texas

I just want to share this video I came across on youtube (I couldn't find a tribute for the victims of West, Texas).  Please pray for all those who died, who got injured, and for those affected by the bombing at the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013 and the explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas on April 18, 2013. 

 

God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Knocking on Heaven's Door

Wow!  This is my second post in one day...

Today was a pretty productive day for me.  I hardly have work on Thursdays, so I tried to be more helpful at home with the chores and helping my little brother with homework.  I finally bought a car charger for my cell phone at Walmart.  I looked for shoes, but did not find any that appealed to me.  On my way home from Walmart, I picked up a couple things for my mom at the grocery store.  Later on, I did a bit of reading while waiting at the bus stop for the boy I watch some mornings and evenings.  I was reading the first book of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy "The Fellowship of the Ring".  I am at the part of the book where Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin meet Tom Bombadil.  So yeah, I had a good day off.

Well, my original reason for posting for a second time today was to share the link to this website I like to visit occationally.  These comics alway cheer me up and I hope you like them too. http://kohd.org/

God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

The Romeike's Story

I hope everyone is having a most happy and blessed Easter Season!

I just thought I'd share this video.  It's about a family from Germany who sought asylum in the USA so they would have the freedom to homeschool their children (they were persecuted for homeschooling in Gemany).  Now they may be deported back to Germany by the USA.

You can sign a the White House petition to stop the deportation of the Romeike Family here: http://www.hslda.org/legal/cases/romeike.asp

God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Habemus Papam!

Hello there!

I'm thrilled that we have a new pope (I really do miss Pope Benedict XVI, now emeritus, though)
After the conclave (began on March 12, 2013), Pope Francis (Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio) was elected on March 13, 2013!  He was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires.  Yesterday, March 19, 2013, on the Feast of St. Joseph, he was offically installed as Pope and Bishop of Rome, Italy.  I really love the name he chose because St. Francis of Assisi is one of my very favorite saints.  We must remember to pray for our new pope.  He must have so much stress right now.  He has to care for Catholics all over the world.  What a huge responsibility! 

Prayer for Pope Francis I

Dear Lord,

We rejoice in the election of our new Holy Father, Pope Francis I. What a wonderful gift you have bestowed upon us in this courageous leader!

We thank you for your continued guidance of our Most Holy Church, and we pray you continue to extend your blessings to our Church Fathers and all your faithful.

We ask that you be with Francis now, as he embarks on a great undertaking, shepherding, stewarding, and renewing the flock.

We pledge to you, our Lord, our most true and humble obedience to your will through our Holy Father who guides and fosters us through these turbulent times.

Amen.

http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=3296

God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Veni Creator

Today, I would like to share one of my favorite prayers. 

Veni Creator

Come, O Creator Spirit blest!

And in our souls take up Thy rest;

Come with Thy grace and heavenly aid,

To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.

Great Paraclete! To Thee we cry,

O highest gift of God most high!

O font of life! O fire of love!

And sweet anointing from above.

Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts art known,

The finger of God's hand we own;

The promise of the Father, Thou!

Who dost the tongue with power endow.

Kindle our senses from above,

And make our hearts overflow with love;

With patience firm and virtue high

The weakness of our flesh supply.

Far from us drive the foe we dread, 

And grant us Thy true peace instead;

So shall we not, with Thee for guide,

Turn from the path of life aside.

Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow

The Father and the Son to know,

And Thee, through endless times confessed,

Of both, the eternal Spirit blest.

All glory while the ages run

Be to the Father and the Son

Who rose from death; the same to Thee,

O Holy Ghost, eternally.

Amen. 

http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=86

God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I know this is late, but I do hope everyone had a very Merry and blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Mine was truly happy and blessed! 

On Christmas Eve, my family and I went to a friend's Christmas Eve party.  It was nice to see many friends there.  Afterward, we stayed up until it was time to go to Midnight Mass.  (Yes, this year we went to Midnight Mass.  I consider it my first time going because it is the only time I remember going.  The past one or two times I have gone, I was a tot and fell asleep. lol).  After Mass, we fell asleep right away.  On Christmas, we open gifts (my Aunt, who lives out-of-state, watched us open our gifts from her and we watched her open her gifts from us, over Skype!),  played the wii games we got lol, and prepared for dinner.  That evening, my Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, and three Grandparents all came for dinner, dessert, and games.

On New Year's Eve, my family did the usual.  We played games, listened to music (Herman's Hermits lol) watched tv, and ate snacks until Midnight.  My Grandma stopped by for a little bit that evening.  On New Year's Day we all just relaxed, went to Mass (because it was also the Feast of the Solemnity of Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation) and had a nice dinner.

I'm very thankful for the good time I had during this holy season!

Feel free to share what you did this Christmas and New Year's! 

God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ