Family Life Archives - Catholic Blogger Network

Elisa Lardani Marchi: Body Given for Love

Posted:February 27, 2016 by Allison Gingras

A touching story shared by guest blogger, Michelle Arnold Paine :

In the evening of February 27, 2015, I received a text message from my dear brother in Christ Alessandro: his sister Elisa had delivered her baby, was in surgery and they were not sure she would survive. He was asking me to spread the request for prayer to our network of American friends, those who have been students or faculty for the Gordon College in Orvieto program over nearly 20 years. Quickly I emailed and called several faculty and former Orvieto students to ask for their prayers. A few hours later another text – the hemorrhage that had begun during the birthing process was continuing and she was fighting for her life.

Through the night I was up several times nursing my own five-week-old baby, and that night checked my phone frequently. The next day, Saturday, we found out… read the rest of Elisa’s story on Reconciled To You

Calling All Prayer Warriors: We Need Your Help – We Need Your Support – We Need Your Blogs!

Posted:September 6, 2014February 18, 2015 by Catholic Bloggers Network

Friends, a plea….

A plea for help, for prayers and for financial support for a dear family

who has struggled mightily and now,

They Really Need Us.

You know Mary Lenaburg, of

Passionate Perseverance…..

Of course you do!

We’ve been treated to her honesty, her candor,

her beautiful words.

We’ve been blessed with a

glimpse into her family.

We’ve been humbled and inspired by the grace with which they’ve cared

for their lovely daughter, Courtney.

When one reads Mary’s blog, one is wrapped in

her honesty, in the bringing – to – life of her blog title.

The Lenaburgs are indeed perseverant about their

love for each other and the care and dignity

bestowed upon their beautiful Courtney.

Mary’s family has had a hard road, a road which is about to get harder.

Warriors, we need to fight the good fight and

cover the Lenaburgs in prayer.

Storming-heaven-prayer.

AND, if there’s something tangible you feel able

to offer, please consider clicking to

the gofundme page that

we, here at The Catholic Bloggers Network , set up.

THANK YOU!

If you are a blogger, please know that

we need help spreading this word.

In the spirit of utilizing our blogs as instruments of communication to not only evangelize, but spread the generosity and beauty of our Catholic faith, we really need MANY to join a huge promotional effort.

On the CBN Facebook page, we are now a group of over 1,000 members!! We’d like to to have as many bloggers ] as possible spreading the word about the gofundme acct that’s been set up for the Lenaburg family.

Here’s what you awesome bloggers can do:

1. Please mention our gofundme account in an upcoming blog post

The link to the account page, again, is right here.

2. Please include a link to Mary’s blog, which is AWESOME and which will introduce readers who do not know her, to her family. Here’s Mary’s blog….. Passionate Perserverance

3. Pray, pray pray pray.

The following Catholic bloggers have shared, encouraged and spread the word~~

Please go read Tracy‘s, Laura‘s and Emily‘s posts.

You’ll be moved.

AND our fund is doing beautifully thanks to their efforts!!

Let’s spread the word far, wide and fast.

You. Are. The. Best.

And hey, remember what Pope Francis said about
the internet being used as a force for good?????

The Internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity.

This is something truly good, a gift from God. —

Pope Francis

There ya go.
Papa has spoken.
As for me, I can say it’s an honor
to heed his words along with you good people.

Thank you!

Until next time,

~Chris,

Campfires and Cleats

Are you praying too much?

Posted:October 22, 2013February 18, 2015 by Monica @ Catholic Bloggers Network

Victory, O Lord by Millais (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons).

Sunday’s Mass readings were all about prayer–winning battles through prayer, supporting each other in prayer, and never giving up. I love encouraging people to grow in their prayer life! But today I want to ask a question that might seem odd to you: Can you pray too much? There are three ways in which I believe you can.

Don’t let prayer keep you from living out your vocation Again, this might confuse you. Haven’t I said before that prayer helps us live our vocation better? That’s true. But you still need balance. If you are a stay-at-home mom with small children, you should not be spending hours a day alone in your room praying. If you are the father of a young family, you should not be spending most of every evening at Church. If you are a college student, you should not normally miss class to go to adoration. St. Francis de Sales, instructing lay people in Introduction to the Devout Life, wrote, “Do not spend more than an hour thus [in mental prayer], unless specially advised to do so by your spiritual father.”

God gave you your vocation. He works His will through it. There may be a time later, after the kids have grown older, or you are retired from your job, when you can spend hours a day in prayer. But unless you are called to religious life, that is not God’s plan for you for most of your life. Live the vocation you have, not the one you don’t.

Continue reading at Contemplative Homeschool.