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One of our members shared this prayer with our community after finding it within in a box of prayer cards and medals she had saved.  I've been unable to find the prayer online and there was no credit given on her prayer card.  If you know the author of this prayer please let us know in the combox as we'd love to add the attribution.  Special thanks to our friend C for sharing this with us!

This post was written by myself, but originally published at The Guiding Star Project.

When I first got married I remember several women, both of my own age and that of my mother's, warning to me to be careful of those "mom groups", or "wife's night out gatherings." They gave a cautionary tale of the tendency many women have when in groups to uncharitably gossip and more specifically to talk poorly about their husbands. I quickly noticed their warnings to be quite accurate both in small gatherings as well as on TV and within the media itself. And it wasn't just the slightly cutting jokes made with well intentioned humor, it seemed to be an almost borderline, habitual discussion that was the default to most interactions.

Tom over at CatholicVote.org shares a truthfully humorous look at the thought process of an NFP using Husband during the various phases of his wife's cycle.  Click over to Catholic Vote and check it out.

One of the things my husband and I love to do together is watch sports. We tuned in on Saturdays this fall to watch our beloved Notre Dame Irish play football (who finished undefeated, but sadly lost the National Title game...still, go Irish!!). Once the football season ended ND basketball had already begun! If you've ever watched a game you'll know that with ND home sporting events comes the beautiful overhead campus shots, and for us, beautiful overhead campus shots come with lots of nostalgia...

My general practical nature came to the fore, and I wondered whether we get new names in Heaven. (As opposed to wondering, for example, what on earth I'm making for dinner. I only have so many brain cells, and now you see what occupies them.)

To: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
From: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Date: March 25th, 9:35:55 AM
Subject: YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN CHOSEN!
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Hello Mary, Full of Grace

I know this is kind of weird, but bear with me and don’t get worried. I’m Gabriel, one of the angels who stands directly before God, and I wanted to let you know God’s totally pleased with you.

You’re going to get pregnant and have a son, and you should name him Jesus. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.

Let me know if you have any questions.
Gabriel, Archangel

Oh boy…because I needed to do more time in Purgatory.

1. 1. In the middle of your vision of Heaven, you think, “I should totally blog about this!”
   2. Jesus tells you that with the gift of His Mercy, all your sins will come up “404 Not Found.”
   3. When under spiritual attack, you ask if you can download updates to the graces God gave you.
   4. You ask the Virgin Mary for her email address, and she says, “Sure, but I have it automated to forward to my Son.”
   5. After your guardian angel gives you a vision of the place he first met you, you verify it via Google search (oh, wait…)
   6. Instead of saying “Scripture says,” you can paraphrase and link to eight different translations.
   7. You ask if Jesus would like to be interviewed on your podcast.
   8. Instead of the Interior Castle, you write a document about your internal architecture and organize a design review.
   9. Human nature isn’t fallen; it has “bugs.”
   10. Direct attacks by Satan have no effect because after watching dozens of Hollywood films, you’re mentally calculating his special effects budget.
   11. You’ve read thirteen self-help books to rule out any kind of psychological diagnosis to explain your experiences.
   12. Your guardian angel’s blackberry has a program that plots your trajectory toward  Heaven in realtime.
   13. Not only that, but he uses your computer to join a support group.
   14. You plan on live-Tweeting the Second Coming.
   15. You know your salvation is assured when Jesus friends you on Facebook.

I can believe it when I hear that some saint or another preached the entire Gospel using just the mysteries of the rosary. Last week, during the nativity, I thought about how the baby is squeezed during birth. This squeeze is a good thing: it expels fluid from the baby's lungs and gives the baby an adrenaline rush to help get him doing the dozen things that have to happen when a baby transitions from life in the uterus to life on the outside.

And when I thought about Jesus being squeezed out during birth, I suddenly connected his birth to his statement that it's easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.

About two years ago, I was dwelling on the nativity when it occurred to me how good newborns smell.

Ask on a parenting board what the best part of holding a newborn is, and half the moms will tell you, “The smell!” Of course, modern hospitals do their best to eliminate that by whisking away the baby for an unnecessary bath, and thus the newborn smell is fleeting.

But during a homebirth, you get to “keep” that smell for a little longer. It’s sweetness and softness, and it’s peaceful.

As an infant, Jesus would have had that smell.

First Let us begin with a prayer...

PRAYER FOR THE ELECTION
Keeping in mind the Feast of All Souls just a few days ago, please join me and tens of thousands of your fellow Catholics around the world in this prayer for the presidential election. We begin, as always, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...

"Dear Jesus, King of