Continue reading “What scares the sh*t out of you? What can you do about it?”
The CD is coming along nicely and I expect to have some finished product later this week! I will share as I receive them. There are several short videos on my Indiegogo campaign page that you can view for a sneak preview.
Here is one showing the progress so far on a classic hymn, “How Can I Keep from Singing:”
We recorded the lead vocals at Ron Zabrocki’s studio and then later I added on harmonies from my own studio which I then sent to Ron. He then will polish it with additional instruments and vocals. I can’t wait to hear what he does and share it with you!
“Eventually we face the prospect of letting go of something we cherish about ourselves. As my voice began to lose consistency, I knew now how others felt: the loss of my voice truly was a death. I missed that sensual feeling of singing, how it used to vibrate in my throat and buzz in my head. I’d never again hear that nice clear sound echo throughout the church and come back to me. I had sung with such ease that I could forget all about the technique of singing and just get into the prayer of it. There were times when those memories would flood my mind, and I would break out in spontaneous tears.” (Chapter 3, River of Grace)
“Instead of being raw and fragmented, I began to feel whole. A sense of wonder and deep gratitude welled up
inside. The following Sunday as I entered the church to go to Mass I was immediately struck with the knowledge
that I had received a significant healing with that throat blessing. I couldn’t wait to tell the priest.Thereafter during Mass I noticed that it became easier to sing the hymns. Buoyed, I pushed my voice a bit further each week. One day while driving home after Mass I sang some of the most challenging songs in my repertoire … and discovered to my delight that I could sing them just as I had before … I had received a physical healing along with the emotional and spiritual.” (Chapter 3, River of Grace)
Thus you can see how I had to record “How Can I Keep from Singing”!
Perhaps you have lost something precious about yourself; something that was once so natural, so easy to do is now hard or impossible to do. As we age, this kind of loss can occur. We can lose something we cherish about ourselves and feel sad and adrift. It is a great challenge that requires patience and faith; we have to learn to let it go.
In River of Grace I write about the struggle of letting something I loved go; I never expected to get it back again, It was in the course of writing the chapter that I experienced the healing. I did not seek it nor ask for it; I just wanted to learn to live with the loss. It was pure gift, abundant grace, and that is the mystery of God’s merciful love.
All I know is that now I feel deep gratitude every time I open my mouth to sing. I savor the moments I can sing in church, awestruck that God would give me a second chance to sing for Him.
This is why I had to record this album. I wanted a musical testimony to accompany what I had written. I wanted to share my gratitude and offer a witness to God’s merciful love. His love is available to all of us!
By the end of the month, River of Grace will be officially launched. The CD will be available as well. In the meantime, I would really appreciate your help in financing the CD. There are ten days left to contribute to my Indiegogo campaign; click here to contribute.
Over the course of the next ten days I will share other songs from the soundtrack and passages from the book to show you how these songs correspond with the text.
You don’t have to wait to order your copy of River of Grace—it is available right now on Amazon and at a reduced price!
Thank you for your continued support!
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Last night as I watched Pope Francis speak with thousands at the Festival of Families in Philadelphia I was amazed at his energy. This 78-year-old man has been at break-neck speed all week, traveling first to Cuba, then to Washington, DC, onto New York and now Philadelphia. His schedule has been non-stop. He has given several long speeches in English which he has admitted, is a difficult language for him. Continue reading “Broken dolls, injured kittens . . . Beth March, Cassidy the miracle kitten, and the message of Pope Francis”
Are you enjoying the Pope’s visit as much as I am? I have been glued to EWTN and CatholicTV, listening carefully to the words of the Holy Father.
Do you find as I do that his words are pregnant with meaning? That you need time to process what he has said?
I do. My head is full. Today I took some time to walk outdoors to a favorite spot in the Wellesley College botanical gardens to sit, pray, think and sort out my head. I took pictures of this “outdoor chapel” and I will share them with you, so you can go there too to think on the words of Pope Francis. Continue reading “Come and meditate on the words of Pope Francis”
When is it too much trouble to care for someone in need? For those in the habit of generous living, it is never too much. And their example lights a way that we can all follow.
Recently a woman named Shelly took in two nine-week old feral kittens. One of them was deformed. Cassidy had no back paws and one leg was shorter than the other. Yet somehow he managed to survive along with his brother Topper in the forest without any assistance. Their luck was about to change. Continue reading “Fighting to live, daring to love: The odyssey of Cassidy, the kitten with two legs”
I am pleased to present this guest post from Father Steven LaBaire, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Worcester, MA.
In this Sunday’s Gospel we hear about Jesus opening the ears of a man who is unable to hear. Jesus also removes a speech impediment which had prevented the man from speaking clearly (Mark 7:31-37). Not surprisingly this man’s life is completely changed.
Christians are supposed to continue what Jesus did: Opening ears and loosening tongues. Continue reading “Paying attention: Reflections on the Sunday Gospel (Mark 7:31-37) by Father Steven LaBaire –”
We all have experienced “triggers” – things or events that causes us to remember something. These memories can be pleasant or unpleasant, and often we are not even aware of what is triggering a memory.
Sometimes we intentionally create these triggers so that we will remember to do something. Before we had Google Calendar and smart phones to remind us, we’d write notes on our hands, tie a string around a finger or create a little ritual that will trigger the reminder to do what we want to do.
This same idea can be applied to the spiritual life. Imagine having something that would instantly place you in the “zone,” that place where you can give yourself over to God. That place where peace reigns within and you meet your Beloved.
Here’s a flow lesson that helps you discover your spiritual catalysts – those triggers that bring you close to God. Try it out and then share in the comments about your spiritual catalysts and how they help you come closer to God.
Materials needed: pen or pencil and paper, and your memories
Pick a quiet place in your home to do this exercise and make sure you can sit still comfortably for several minutes.
Take a moment to be still with God, taking several long and deep breaths and listening as you breathe. In and out, in and out. Be conscious of the rhythm of the breathing. As you breathe in, whisper the name of Jesus; as you breathe out whisper, “Be with me.” Do this for several moments until you feel quiet and still.
Take a piece of paper and fold it vertically in half so that you have two columns. Next recall one memory, object or smell that makes you feel especially good. In thinking of it, what words pop into your mind? Write them down in the left hand column. What feelings come to mind? Why do you feel that way? Write those down too in the same column.
Look at your list. Are there any words on that list that you could equate with your relationship with God? Can you match up any of those impressions with how you feel when you spend time with God, either in a formal setting, such as attending Mass or a worship service, or on your own, praying for yourself or others, or simply meditating? In the right hand column, write down any words that pop into your head when you think of your experience with God.
Once your list is done, see if there are any similarities between the list in the left hand column and the list in the right. If you see similarities, draw a line from the word or words in the left hand column to the one in the right. Is there a possibility that in the future, your favorite memory, object, or aroma could prompt a pleasant memory about attending church or simply being in the presence of God?
Do not be disturbed if you can’t see an immediate connection; it can take some practice. Ask God to reveal it to you over the course of several days and then look at your notes again to see if a connection becomes more evident.
copyright 2015 Susan W. Bailey;
from Chapter 1 of River of Grace: Creative Passages Through Difficult Times,
published by Ave Maria Press
Visit the Flow Lesson Pages for more of these prayerful exercises.
I am pleased to present this guest post from Father Steven LaBaire, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Worcester, MA.
While driving along route 140 North in Grafton this morning, I spotted a cluster of maple trees whose leaves were turning orange and red.
A few minutes later, a radio commercial boldly proclaimed “back-to school-savings.”
While the warmth of summer still embraces our days and nights, the signs of an impending change of season and routine are around us as the days grow shorter. Continue reading “The food of wisdom: Reflections on the Sunday Gospel (John 6:51-58) by Father Steven LaBaire”
This is my latest Catholicmom.com / Catholic Free Press column.
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As the Solemnity of Mary approaches, I recall a homily by our pastor about the true meaning of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception: we celebrate Mary’s conception, not our Lord’s. While preaching about Mary being born without Original Sin, he made an important point: Mary was the first creature to be born since the creation of man without the veil that separates us from God. Our true selves are meant to be in total union with God and the veil of Original Sin acts as a wall, impeding that relationship. Jesus came to lift that veil so that we could be one with God again even though sin was still a reality. He opened the door to heaven for us so that one day, the veil could be completely lifted and sin could be wiped out of our lives.
Mary was one with our Lord, right from the first moments of her creation; no veil separated her from her Creator. She was born to be her true self; singled out to be completely pure. How ironic then that Mary, who was chosen to bear the unknowable, unfathomable God incarnate in her womb, had to bear the ‘sin’ of being pregnant before being married.
One of the unique features of my upcoming book, River of Grace: Creative Passages Through Difficult Times are its Flow Lessons: prayerful exercises using concrete elements from our every day lives to reveal spiritual truths. They combine prayer with action, creating a practical life application.
Here is the first Flow Lesson from the introduction to my book. Did this exercise change the way you look at receiving the Eucharist? Please share in the comments section.
I hope this blesses you. I did it a couple of weeks ago when I received communion and it made for a wonderful, lingering meditation that lasted long after mass was over.
Materials needed: pen or pencil and paper, food, and your imagination.
Pick a quiet place in your home to do this exercise and make sure you can sit still comfortably for several minutes.
To begin, take a moment to be still with God. If you are having trouble with noise in your mind from the cares of the day, close your eyes and imagine a tree in winter filled with screeching birds. The tree is dense with these birds and the noise is unbearable. Now watch as each bird flies away. Attach a thought or care to that flying bird and bid it adieu. Do this until the tree is entirely empty of birds and it is quiet.
After a few moments of quiet, go to the kitchen and fix yourself something to eat that is both nutritious and something you really like. As you prepare your food, say a prayer of thanksgiving to God for that food and for the privilege of eating it in his presence.
Return with your food to the place you had designated for this exercise and examine it carefully. Write down a few descriptive phrases about the food, noting its color, smell and texture. Now take a bite and chew slowly, thinking about how the food tastes, what it feels like in your mouth and what you enjoy about that food. Write down phrases that pop into your mind.
When you finish your meal, think about where food goes after you eat it, how it goes to your stomach, is digested and then circulated throughout your body via your bloodstream. As you are thinking about that, consider how you are feeling: do you feel energized and satisfied after eating? Does it give you what you need to carry on with your day?
Write down your impressions and then put your piece of paper in a prominent place so you will remember to take it with you the next time you go to mass. Ask God to take what you have written and plant it on your heart for when you receive communion.
During mass take out that piece of paper and read it before you receive the Eucharist. Now consider the Eucharist in the same way you considered the food you ate during your meditation. Be mindful of the texture of the wafer as you receive it and notice how you eat it:
When you get back to your place, think about the wafer and the wine being digested, soon to be coursing through your veins.
When you get home from mass, take a few moments and write down your impressions of receiving communion on your piece of paper and compare notes. Ask God to continue to offer insight, opening the eyes of your mind to new ideas and possibilities.
copyright 2015 Susan W. Bailey;
from the preface of River of Grace: Creative Passages Through Difficult Times,
published by Ave Maria Press
You can read the back story of this exercise in the preface of River of Grace by subscribing to my email list.
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Be as One 