Category Archives: Johnnette’s Life

God Is A Monkey — Really?

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Plurism entered my daughter’s car the other day as she drove my six year old granddaughter to school. After hearing some especially disheartening news on the radio, my daughter turned to Julia and said, “Julia, you are growing up in a very difficult world. Keep Jesus in front of you and stay the course.”

Julia chewed on these words for a moment and then she said, “Mommy, I know. __________ told me that she doesn’t believe in God. She told me her mommy told her God was a monkey.”

“Julia, that’s too bad, isn’t it? We know there is a God and He is no monkey!” responded my daughter.

“I know that!” Julia retorted. “He’s a Lamb!”

While this story shows us that Julia has given attention to the Agnus Dei we pray at Mass, and has obviouly given attention, too, to the stained glass window in our Church depicting the Lamb of God, none of this innoculates her against the winds of heresy that blow all too liberally in our culture today.

It also points out the false ideologies many of our children’s playmates and classmates are being taught in their homes. One can only wonder at the world they will experience in their adult years.

What are we to do? I think my daughter gives us good example. Make certain our children know the truth. Continue to use every opportunity to tell them the truth (Rom. 10:17). Reinforce that truth. Make them present to the truth by participation in the Faith. Exemplify the truth in your own life. Finally, but preeminently, entrust them to the One Who is the Truth —  and the Way and the Life as well.

If we are willing to do so, deep roots will grow and truth will flourish in our children’s hearts. I know this to be true. Those words of advice my daughter gave to her daughter were the very words her father had given her throughout the 26 years of her life that he had lived. Apparently, they had sunk in and were being passed on to the next generation. As Proverbs reminds us, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

A monkey. Really? Even a monkey would be shocked.

 

 

 

 

 

God, Dinosaurs, and Love

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Gabriel Sullivan, age 8, came home from school with a freshly completed art project — a paper dinosaur.

But this was no ordinary dinosaur.

This paper dinosaur stood on its own with the help of a special aid rigged by Gabriel himself. He had glued his green creature to the cardboard core of a roll of toilet paper to make his antediluvian reptile stand erect.

And Gabriel loved his dinosaur.

According to his father, Tom Sullivan, Gabriel carried his dinosaur with him everywhere. He placed it on the floor when he was playing. He sat it on the table when he was eating. He even perched it on the back of the couch to have it near while he watched his favorite show and he treated it to a trip to the restaurant when the family went out to dinner.

Dad Tom asked Gabriel what it was that so attracted him to his dinosaur. Gabriel simply responded, ” I made it.”

I loved Gabriel’s answer. It brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart. It made me think of God.

Like Gabriel, God’s eyes are always upon us (Psalm 33:18; Deut. 11:12). We are never out of His sight. We are the “apple of his eye” (Psalm 17:8, Deut. 32:10), the center of His vision.

I am thinking if we asked our Heavenly Father why he keeps us in His gaze, His answer would be the same as Gabriel’s: “I made you,” He would say.

And then He would add “… and I love you; you are mine (Jer. 31:3).”

 

Up At EWTN

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Hello Dear Friends,

Father Edmund Sylvia, C.S.C., Tom Sullivan, and myself are at EWTN this week taping programs for Women of Grace. I sure do welcome your prayers for us. We have quite a full week with a wonderful group of guests joining us. The programs we are producing are riveting, many of which deal with cultural issues as well as the relationship(s) between men and women. As Catholics, our call is to restore the temporal order. Our goal is to do just that and help you to do so as well. May all of us work together to bring Jesus Christ to the world!

Blessings,

Johnnette

 

Outside/Inside — What the Connection?

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Have you ever noticed the connection between what is going on in your interior life and what is taking place exteriorly? Often, Our Lord uses the events and circumstances of our daily life to draw attention to a work He is doing deep within us.

Let me give you an example. Several years ago I was sitting in my family room deep in prayer. I had just meditated on a particular passage of Scripture and was earnestly seeking what the Lord was saying to me through it.

Interiorly, I was very aware of His presence and I knew He was about a work of grace. As  I waited in silence, listening for His voice with my “spiritual” ears, I seemed to hear Him tell me He was healing me of a great hurt and that He was about a work of restoration in me. He seemd to say that He was making new a certain area of my being (2 Cor. 5:17; Rev. 21:5).

Just as these words were penetrating my heart, I audibly heard a loud ripping noise that sounded like the very roof was being torn off of my house! Startled, I all but jumped off of the couch. My eyes flew open and it took a second or two to realize what was going on. I had recently hired workmen to replace the screening around my pool area and they had begun to strip away the old material at the very moment Our Lord was telling me He was making all things new!

 Tears sprang to my eyes even as I began to laugh out loud. How poignantly God was emphasizing His work! He was stripping away the debris of my woundedness and replacing it with new life — and He had seen fit to accompany His work with sound effects to make the point!

What is happening in your life today? Is it worth a bit of reflection to see what God might be saying to you through it? Remember what Jesus tells us in Matthew’s gospel, “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you…” (7:7). Let’s ask, seek, and find that which God is about in us today. He may well be making a very big statement!

Guests for Dinner

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I love to invite friends and family to my home for dinner! It is part of a long-standing tradition my husband, Anthony, and I began early in our marriage. Though he has gone to his eternal reward, it has brought me much pleasure, consolation, and no small amount of joy to continue this tradition.

I  have found through the years that a small gesture of hospitality has the capacity to do so much. It can be a soothing balm to a troubled spirit, a healing gesture that resolves an estranged relationship, a happy celebration to highlight key moments in a person’s life, a gift of presence when a sign of solidarity is needed. It can also be just plain fun! Today, scheudules are so busy that gestures of hospitality are frequently omitted from the family agenda.

But, as women, we have an innate desire to bring people together. And, when this desire is united to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, great things can happen.

Just this week, I hosted a small dinner party at my home. Among the guests was Father Philip Scott, F.J. It was clear that this get-together was ordained by God. The Holy Spirit was abundantly present. Indeed, the old charismatic song holds true:  “Great things happen when God mixes with man!”

One of the fun highlights of the evening occurred when Father Philip asked me for a “bib.” Given that he lives in Peru and realizing he probably didn’t mean the kind a baby wears, I asked him if it was an apron he wanted. He said, “Yes, an apron.” I offered him a variety (apron drawer open as you can see), and he selected my Women of Grace apron — once again confirming to me that “real men love women of grace.”

I would categorize this evening as one of those that is blessed  — and, as many blessings are — a great deal of fun!

Who might God be prompting you to ask to dinner and what joy might He have in mind for you? I can assure you,it is well worth extending the invitation!

Father Philip and friends, thanks for a great time!

A Tribute

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Earlier in the Spring, I was in Methuen, Massachusetts at St. Monica Catholic Church giving a day’s retreat for women. In my talk, I spoke of the loss of my son, Simon, and my husband Anthony in 2004 and 2007 respectively. I shared about the consolation I received from the prayers of so many, and the maternal beatitude our Blessed Mother continues to show me.

Following the talk, a sweet woman approached me with a knowing smile. She lost her son, too, she said. And then, quietly and simply, she told me her story. Her son was on Flight 11 out of Boston on September 11, 2001, which crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 AM. A young man full of promise and hope. A young man who, she later discovered, was well-known for his concern and care for the less fortunate and the poor.

For her, like for me, Our Blessed Mother had been and remains a consolation and a conduit of hope. This dear mother had a particular devotion to Our Lady of Beauraing and found in her and through her a “cause for joy” in the midst of her sufferings. Indeed, this graced woman had found a way to suffer well.

I have been reading a little book published by Sophia Institute Press by Marguerite Duportal called “How to Make Sense of Suffering.” This mother came to mind when I read this passage from this little gem of a book:

“Suffering willingly borne before God, in His presence, under His eyes, while the soul is in union with Him ‘who is,’ in union with all the good emanating from His power, becomes supremely sweet and consoling. This enduring of affliction for religious motives is opposed to that consuming sorrow of rebels against God and of unbelievers. The benefits deriving from this kind of suffering become inestimable, if only we are able to say these words from the bottom of our heart, in every sad or merely painful circumstance of life, ‘My God, I believe, I hope, and I love You. I accept.”

Such a reading causes us to ask some questions of ourselves: “To what extent have I suffered well in the major tragedies entrusted to me? Can I do better? Is there something now that is a present plight? What can I do today to help make this a means of union with God?

I will be forever grateful for the witness of this dear woman. May God bless her as she continues to see her tragedy with supernatural vision and for her courage which unites all of it to the Cross of Jesus, Our Lord. May each of us do the same.

Dialing Heaven

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“Grandma,” called my almost five-year old granddaughter from the backseat of the car.

“Yes, Julia,” I replied.

“Grandma, do you know Jesus’ phone number?”

“No darling, I don’t. But sometimes I sure wish I did!”

“Well, how do we talk to Him?”

“Oh,” I said, “we just have to pray — even in our hearts — and He hears us.”

“How do we know what He says back?”

“Julia, Jesus always answers us.  But we hear His answers in our heart. We have to listen very carefully.”

Things were quiet for a few minutes.

“Julia, what are you doing?” I asked.

“Shhhh — Grandma. I’m listening.”

Are you listening today?

“And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. ”  — 1 Kings 19: 11-12

My Secret Garden

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Yesterday I was doing some weeding in my garden and there, once again, I came upon my archenemy — a prolific weed against which I wage a war. Sprouting tendrils from the mother plant, it creeps its way along the ground’s surface in search of one of my pretty blossoms and blooms.  Spying its prey, it coils itself around my dainty bloom, plants a root system nearby, and attempts to suck the life out of my lovely flower. Also, click here for all information related to flowers.

“Aha, “ I said. “We meet again!” And mustering up energy and strength, I waged a fierce battle, grabbed it by its vine and yanked it out, triumphant for the moment!

But before I too quickly raised a toast to victory, I knew the war had not been won. The weed would return. Yes, it would come back again, impervious to my latest win. In this war, vigilance was required, steadfastness of heart, fortitude and resolve, humility and perseverance. These would hold me firm in my fight, and help me sustain the zeal and vigor that I need.

Yes, with the help of grace, the battle will be won – maybe not in time, perhaps only in eternity, when I see Jesus face to face, and all is made new (Rev. 21:5).

Dear Bonnie…

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A few days ago a member of my high school graduating class passed away.  Bonnie had always been the type of person who was on the periphery of events, parties, dances, and all of the social things that make up a high school experience.  In many ways, she was challenged – not intellectually but in other ways that can make teenage years tough.

Her last days sound as if they were as challenging as those earlier days.  And she left the world seemingly bereft of the parents whom she buried and any close personal friends.  Fortunately, another classmate was made aware of her death through a professional acquaintance.  He notified the rest of us. Read the rest…

Lenten Wisdom from a Six Year Old

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This morning, my somewhat precocious six year old granddaughter and I had a conversation over breakfast:

“Grandma,” she said gazing out of the kitchen window in our Florida home.

“Yes, Julia?” said I.

“Pretty soon Easter will be here because it is Spring outside.”

“Yes, you are right. Ash Wednesday is this week and that begins the season of Lent.”

“Oh,” said Julia. “I began Lent already. Remember when you told me not to climb on the chair?

Well, I stopped and I haven’t done it again.”

“Julia, that is wonderful! I am proud of you!” I replied with enthusiasm (always ready to reinforce obedience!). “I have been thinking about how I will spend Lent this year, too.”

“Grandma, I know what you can do!”

 “Really, Julia? What is that?” I said hesitantly not sure I wanted to hear the answer.

“You could donate things.”

“That’s true, Julia, I sure could,” I responded already ticking off the items in the garage that I’d just love to get rid of but realizing it would be a pleasure and not a sacrifice.

“You could give away some of my toys,” said Julia deep into the idea by now.

“They’re your toys, Honey. You should give them away.”

 “Okay. I’m so good I’ll do that too!” and with that she finished her milk and bounded away.

Read the rest…