Dean Koontz

 

I was recently on ChurchPop and found this great article about author Dean Koontz.  Not only is he a Catholic, but he's a good writer, too!  I loved Odd Thomas, and the only think keeping me from diving right into the next book was the fact that the library didn't have it on the shelf.  In fact, perhaps I should stop by tomorrow and see if I can get it.

If you enjoy a good thriller with a supernatural twist, I think you'll really like his writing.  It sucks you right in and it's hard to stop reading.  You can check out the article here.  For those of you who saw the movie, Odd Thomas, but didn't read the book, you totally should.  If you hated the movie, that's fine, since I found it disappointing, too.  The book is much better.  And for those of you who loved the movie, well...the book is still much better :)

Fasting

With Lent's arrival, perhaps it is time to consider fasting.  I hate to fast, but these videos bring up some great points that I think all of us need to consider.  I especially like (and sort of hate) the idea of the "heroic minute" from the first video.

St. Valentine

Happy St. Valentine's Day, everyone!  I'm going to keep this post short tonight, since I have a bit of a headache, and I'm extremely tired, haha.

Valentine's Day is more than just candy and romance.  Learn about the real St. Valentine here.  

Also, here are a few Valentine's comics from Jason Bach.  I know I shared these last year, but for those of you who haven't seen them, they're a real hoot :)

Click to enlarge

This is just Part 1.  You can read Part 2 and Part 3 here.

Finally, consider using today as a reason to pray to St. Valentine.  Pray for strength to follow God's will, and, to keep with the romantic theme of the day, pray for your current or future spouse.  If you're called to the single life, then pray for your spouse the Church. If you're looking for a prayer, consider perhaps, this prayer for your soulmate from Catholic.org.

God bless.

Patron Saint of the Year (Repost)

Hello, all!  While I was messing around in the behind-the-scenes part of this blog, it appears that I have accidentally deleted my post about St. Walburga!  And so, this is sort of a rewrite of that post, since of course, I never intended to take it down.

So, a few weeks ago, I discovered this great idea on Facebook.  The premise is very simple.  At the start of the new year, some people select a saint who is to be their patron and friend for the year.  You don't get to pick by yourself, though.  I can't just say "I want Saint John Bosco, or Saint Bernadette, or Saint Joseph to be my patron this year."  Traditionally, you draw a name from a hat, and that is your saint.  The thought is that God will help draw you to the saint who can do the most good in your life.

 

With Lent upon us, this might be something to consider, as a way to strengthen your prayer life.

The article I read, (which frustratingly, I cannot find), suggested that instead of using names written on pieces of paper, you could use a site, which generates saints' names.  You can find that here.  The important thing to remember is that when you get the name of a saint, that is your saint.  There is no round 2.  Think about it this way.  This saint was chosen for you by God to be your special intercessor and friend.  And then you turn around and say "Oh, I don't think I want this saint...."  Ouch.  Talk about insulting.  Don't insult the one who has come to help you!

My patron for the year is St. Walburga.  I have included a lovely picture of her on the right-hand side of my blog, and if you click on it, you can learn more about her.  She sounds pretty amazing, actually, and I'm really looking forward to getting to know her this year.  Besides covering a multitude of intentions through her intercession (including cough, famine, and rabies), she also comes from a family of saints, which is very cool.

If you try this, tell me in the comments who your saint is :)

Saint Walburga, pray for us!  God bless you all!

Happy Ash Wednesday!