Somebody will be home for Triduum! I bet you can all see my smile from wherever you are!

Do you want to know when the smoke turns white? You never know…you could be sleeping (if you live in the United Sates). You could be working, or in class, or anywhere.

So trust some creative souls to come up with the idea of PopeAlarm.com. They will text or email (or both) when the smoke turns white.

Spread the news!

lovelyloretta:

Life just got a lot harder than it already was.

But then there was Catholicism…and we realized that being faithful to Catholic teachings was the hardest path to follow as far as religions go. The bar is set very, very high for a person who wants to be a genuine Catholic—it’s not that there are so many rules about what you can’t do, but the call to holiness in Catholicism demands more of you spiritually than any other faith. C.S. Lewis called this the “weight of glory.”

From Why I Became Catholic (and Not Buddhist).

Read more at NPR.

I have a friend who, a few years ago, lost her dad and her husband within 6 months of each other. I’ve never “met” this woman, but I have known her since 1997. She is one of those people who is there for all of her friends, and was especially supportive of me when I lost my Mom in 2006.

Her mom is on dialysis and not doing well at all these days. I appreciate your prayers a great deal. I know she does, too.

Thank you, tumblr friends, for praying. There is some improvement, but prayers are still needed. Here’s the latest:

Hi, friends. Dashing off a quick note from my tablet to let you know what’s new:

The good news is that the path forward is clear now. The bad news is that it’s a lot longer of a path than I thought it would be. The details:

• I’m still in the hospital, but will probably be released tonight.
• They’re actually pretty anxious to get me out of the hospital now that I’m on treatment. Evidently the flu hit Austin all at once a couple days ago, and my floor is filled with coughing, wheezing people with pneumonia, nasty strains of the flu, and other potentially contagious stuff. It would be a disaster for me to catch something that caused lung congestion, so they want me as far away from sick people as possible.
• I’m on treatment, my condition has stabilized, and I am expected to recover. However, my symptoms aren’t much better. Just walking down the hall with a nurse today sent my pulse into the 140s and left me gasping.
• Evidently this is to be expected given the size and number of the clots in my lungs. In fact, the doctors say that I should think of recovery in terms of weeks, not days. The hematologist said it will probably be at least three months before I’m back to anything even resembling normal.
• Needless to say, Joe and I have a lot to figure out in terms of how to run a household of seven people when I can only breathe well if I’m sitting still like a statue. Luckily we’re blessed with a great support system and wonderful friends.
• Interestingly, I have been feeling rock-solid mentally and spiritually this week. In fact, I can’t remember a time I felt more peaceful or closer to God than I do now. I am positive that that is due to your prayers.

Thank you all again for everything. Also, please also keep Kelly in your prayers, as she’s a fellow mom of many who’s hospitalized and in a tough situation.

This is an update on the blogger some of us asked for prayers for, the atheist-turned-Catholic woman who is pregnant and having difficulties with pulmonary embolisms. From her Twitter feed:

Still in hospital. Still can’t breathe if I move at all. Tests did confirm that Lovenox is @ therapeutic dose. Thx so much for prayers!!

badwolfcomplex:

From Jen Fulwiler’s blog at NCR:

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Yesterday Jennifer was admitted to the hospital for pulmonary embolisms in both of her lungs.  Because of her pregnancy they are holding off on surgery but watching her very closely.  Her unborn son is doing well.   But please keep an abundance of prayers coming for her healing, the safety of her child, and peace for her husband and children.  We’ll keep you updated.  And obviously for now, she won’t be blogging.

In a blog post this morning, Simcha Fischer asked for the intercession of St. Michael the Archangel for Jenn, as the great protector is Jennifer’s patron saint for 2013.  Let’s join in that prayer. 

St. Michael the Archangel, defend the Fulwilers in battle!

Thank you!
Jeanette De Melo
Editor in Chief

Jennifer is an atheist-to-Catholic blogger, one of my favorites. She has a blood-clotting disorder that makes every pregnancy a risky one. In addition to the NCR blog, she writes her own blog at Conversion Diary.