Heavenly Birthday

My nephew Weston crowns me with the traditional {outlandish} hat at my birthday party January 5th.

Born on the fifth day of January, I was reborn through the waters of baptism on January 28, at St. Agnes Catholic Church in San Francisco, California, on the feast of St. Peter Nolasco, and the secondary feast of St. Agnes.  While the annual family celebrations surrounding my birthday are always festive and fun, the spiritual meaning of this day, my baptism day, have become more important to me with each passing year. 

By God's divine providence, my future spouse, Timothy, was also baptized on January 28, 1968, thousands of miles away at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Seattle, Washington ~ the same place our firstborn son, Zachary, would be baptized on January 28 (1995).  We specifically chose this date for Zachary's baptism for sentimental reasons, ignorant of the Church's teaching encouraging parents to seek baptism for their children within the first few weeks of birth. 

The new Church Calendar, introduced around 1970 following the Second Vatican Council, moved the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas from March 9 to January 28, so our baptism anniversary now shares the feast of a truly amazing, holy, and brilliant theologian from the thirteenth century.  We place ourselves under the patronage of St. Thomas Aquinas, and ask his intercession, remembering fondly our (brief) visit to the place of his elementary education, the Benedictine Monastery of Monte Cassino, Italy.

I received quite the heaven-sent birthday gift on the occasion of my 45th birthday a few weeks ago, a Douay-Rheims Bible originally given to my father-in-law, Cliff, by his parents on the occasion of his 35th birthday in 1976.  The inscription in Grandpa Tony's handwriting, laments the fact that "In this modern age it has been perfectly possible for a person to have the best Catholic religious training without ever reading a single page of the Bible... (but) it is good to retain and read Sacred Scripture."

Interestingly, this heirloom family Bible was not actually the gift Cliff and Billie originally planned to give me.  In fact their gift giving plans changed quite suddenly when Cliff found this Bible perched on top of the box where the intended birthday gift was stored inside their safe.  "Cliff was pale when he came upstairs holding the Bible," said Billie, "he said THIS is what we are giving Bridget for her birthday."  Unable to explain how the Bible, safely stored and nearly forgotten, appeared on top of an often accessed box in the safe, Cliff took it as a sign that this Bible should be mine.

Cliff explains finding the heirloom Bible in the safe.

Upon opening the package and discovering the Douay-Rheims Bible, I was overjoyed and slightly incredulous ~ before hearing Cliff tell of how it came to be my gift.  Unknown to everyone, the Douay-Rheims Bible has been perched on my (top secret) wish list for a few years.  Ever since Zachary taught me about this translation of the Bible a few years ago, I have nursed a silent hope that someday I would own a copy.  By God's grace, that day came on the occasion of my 45th birthday, and for this gift I shall be eternally grateful to Cliff and Billie, to Cliff's parents Tony and Toni, and to divine providence for placing this Bible in my possession.

Grateful for the precious gift of family gathering, with Bethany, Billie, Grandma O'D, Mom, (me) and Violet

Joseph, Zachary and Peter with Great Grandma and Grandma, visiting to celebrate my birthday; a few days before Zachary's return to the University of Notre Dame for the start of his second semester.

My gift from the boys and Tim: the promise of 100 family Rosaries, cleverly wrapped in a puzzle of parts.

In all the excitement of my birthday celebrations, we had neglected to check the mail.  The following day, I received a handmade card from a cherished priest, shedding even more grace upon what had been a very memorable and phenomenal birthday.  "I'll be praying and offering Mass for you and your intentions on your birthday...as well as a rosary for you....Happy Birthday."  The icing on my heavenly birthday cake, this tremendous gift gave me yet another reason to praise God for His abundant mercy and endless love. 

A Big Announcement {Zachary's Choice University}

Click to play the video and witness Zachary 

sharing his long awaited university decision with Grandpa Pete...

Praise God!

On This Day {Triple Baptism Anniversary}

Flashback Friday

Today, Tim, Zachary and I each celebrate our baptism anniversary, on the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas.


Did you know that each time someone is baptized in the Catholic Church, the congregation has the opportunity to renew baptismal promises?  That's right!  So although I might not remember my own baptism (since I was only two weeks old), I am continually reminded of the promises that were made on my behalf by my parents and Godparents on this day, the day I was reborn in Christ.  By my active participation in the liturgy, I am given the chance to renew these powerful promises in light of the call to be a priest, prophet and king for Christ.  I praise God every day for my parents' faith and for the best gift they every gave me, the gift of the sacrament of baptism!

V. Do you reject Satan? 
R. I do. 
V. And all his works? 
R. I do. 
V. And all his empty promises? 
R. I do. 
V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth? 
R. I do. 
V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father? 
R. I do. 
V. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? 
R. I do. 
V. God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever. 
R. Amen. 

I also found a great prayer at Catholic.org for the renewal of baptismal promises:

Lord Jesus Christ, I acknowledge you as King of the universe. All creation was made for you. Exercise all your sovereign rights over me. I renew my baptismal promises, renouncing Satan and all his works and empty promises, and I promise to lead a good Christian life. I will try to bring about the recognition of the truth of God and your Church. Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer all my actions that every human heart may accept your kingship. May the kingdom of your peace be established across the world.

Saint Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!

Defending the Unborn

(Thanks, Mark K., from WWU, for sending us the above photo.)

In honor of my mom (Happy Birthday!) and my dad, who gave me life, baptism,

 and taught me to defend and respect all human life. 

It's what we do:

Praying, protesting, verbalizing for an end to abortion.

Our city is in the middle of a 40Days4Life campaign, and we've taken to the streets 

along with a group of local prayer warriors.

We pray and protest outside the local abortion facility, hoping to change hearts and turn minds toward respecting all life from natural conception to natural death.

It's not easy.

There are many who hurl insults, many who mock us, some who use obscene gestures.

Our children, holding signs which read, "Pray for an End to Abortion,"

are screamed at by women who hang out of their car window yelling, "I love abortions!"  

So sad.  We pray for them.  

They truly 'know not what they do,' Lord.

Despite the attacks and the insults, we continue to take our place on the sidewalk to be 

the voice and the defenders for the unborn.  

It's what we do.  It's what we have to do.

No, I don't force my children to participate in anti-abortion efforts, they are there of their own free will.

Our children know abortion is wrong.

It's written on their hearts.

They need no convincing~ and they willingly step up to take their place in the defense of life efforts.

We understand that converting those who support abortion is beyond our ability, really.

We rely on God's grace to change those who are open to His message of love and willing to examine the truth about abortion rather than accepting the lies offered by our culture of convenience.

Hopefully we can be messengers of His grace, and plant His seeds of truth.

God sent a very special messenger to convert one hardened abortionist in Serbia.

St. Thomas Aquinas delivered God's truth to Stojan Adasevic, who not only repented but became a national pro-life leader:

Stojan Adasevic is a Serbian doctor who has performed, over a period of twenty-six years, an estimated 48,000 abortions, sometimes as many as thirty-five in a single day. According to Adasevic's written testimony, he "dreamed about a beautiful field full of children and young people who were playing and laughing, from 4 to 24 years of age, but who ran away from him in fear." At this point in the dream, a man dressed in a black and white habit stared at him in silence. This dream was repeated night after night, and caused Adasvic to wake up each night in a cold sweat. One night, he asked this strange man dressed in what Catholics would recognize as a Dominican habit, to identify himself. "My name is Thomas Aquinas," came the cryptic response. Naturally, since Adasevic's entire education was in communist schools, he had never heard of him. Moreover, the medical textbooks of the Communist regime maintained that abortion is merely the removal of a "blob of tissue". Although ultrasound images of the fetus arrived in the 80s, they had not changed Adasevic's mind about the reality of the unborn. 

Then it was Thomas's turn to ask a question of his own: "Why don't you ask me who these children are?" Aquinas quickly answered his own query: "They are the ones you killed with your abortions." Adasevic awoke in amazement and vowed not to perform any more abortions. 

When Adasevic informed his hospital that he would no longer do abortions, reprisals came swiftly and were quite severe. The hospital cut his salary in half, fired his daughter from her post, and took steps to prevent his son from entering the university.

After years of pressure and frustration that brought him to the brink of despair, he had another dream in which St. Thomas appeared to him. "You are my good friend, keep going," said the Angelic Doctor. And, indeed, Adasevic has kept going. In addition to studying the works of Aquinas and returning to the Orthodox faith of his childhood, he has become Serbia's most important and effective pro-life leader. Among his accomplishments is getting Dr. Bernard Nathanson's film, "The Silent Scream," aired on Yugoslav television.

From: The Manliness of St. Thomas Aquinas 

by DONALD DEMARCO