Stained Glass - El Salvador Mission Book

With Holy Week fast approaching, I thought I would give my readers something to think about. I am actually stealing some of my own material which I wrote several months ago but felt it was even more appropriate for our upcoming Holy Week.  I have taken my original article and enhanced it for this special edition.   I'm sure every Christian understands the commandment "love thy neighbor" and all that that entails, but the question is, how?  The Bible tells us that it is easy to love those who are good to us, aka our friends, but if we love only those who love us, what merit is there in that for us?  Jesus had good friends, they were his closest followers.  He traveled from town to town giving people a new way to live. Many people loved to listen to him preach and they loved his message even more.  It is safe to say that he enjoyed great popularity (by our standards) for some time.  His 12 closest friends loved Jesus so much that they were even willing to give up their l

Immaculee's Journey of Faith Last week our St. Rita 8th grade students were invited to attend a talk at nearby St. Barnabas Church.  Since I have an eighth grader at St. Rita I decided to be one of the chaperones.  The talk was given by the beautiful woman from Rwanda pictured in the front row in the above picture.  Her name is Immaculee.  Her story was so moving that you could hear a pin drop in the church when she spoke. She spoke about her horrible experience of having to hide for her life during the Rwandan genocide.  She told the kids a story about how she was forced to have to live in a tiny bathroom with 7 other people in order to try and stay alive.  But her story really began when she enthusiastically described in detail what happened when they (the enemy) finally came to search the house where she was hiding.  I of course can not do her story justice, but I hope to highlight for you the miracle she encountered. Immaculee described the day they were raided.  She said t

Well, here in Cleveland we have been practically buried in snow and darkness for the past 4 months.  Every now and then we are blessed with a glimpse of sunlight shining through our dirty winter windows.  Along with shadowy days comes cloudy emotions.  For many of us who live in the northeast or anywhere snow covered, it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. This week, for 3 days in a row now, we have been blessed with bright sunshine!  It really lifted my spirits and put a spring back in my step.  It has motivated me to look forward to my workouts and even inspired me to take a long hike in the park.  That was a great day!  I feel reenergized, rejuvenated, and reinspired.  Easter is still a month away but I am looking forward to having my family here for Easter dinner.  My husband is Greek Orthodox and almost ever year they celebrate Easter on a different Sunday than Traditional/American Easter, but this year it happens to fall on the same Sunday so I am happy to hav