In-Law Problems? There is a Patron Saint for That!

Very few people know about St. Jane Valois. She was a deformed and sickly young daughter of King Louis XI of France. The Catholic Church has given her February 4^th as a feast day and many turn to her intercession when in a difficult, loveless marriage for she was in an arranged marriage that was without love and still she prayed for her husband for decades.

She is just one of the many interesting saints in the Catholic Church.

The following excerpts are taken, with permission, from the daily devotional Tending the Temple by Kevin Vost, Peggy Bowes, and Shane Kapler. Kevin, Peggy and Shane are regular guests on such popular shows as Sonrise Morning Show on EWTN among others where they talk about health and fitness, Catholic style.

read full article here

Root Canals and Other Miracles

I so did not want a root canal and although I couldn't chew on the right side of my mouth for more than 6 months, I still patiently prayed for my miracle healing.

After all, I kept telling myself, “I am healed by the stripes of Christ.”

Am I right?

I’ve prayed for healing a lot over the past decade as I’ve suffered from chronic conditions that have often left me lying in bed for extended periods of time.

So it seemed like a miracle healing to avoid a root canal was a no-brainer. It wouldn’t take too much of God’s time and so would be a win-win for him and I. But no miracle healing arrived. In fact, quite to the contrary, my tooth got worse (go figure!).

I prayed for the intercession of St. Alena (toothaches are her specialty) and took homeopathic remedies.

Still nothing.

Finally I couldn’t put it off any longer and scheduled the dreaded root canal appointment.

That’s when my pleading changed; my definition of a miracle evolved.

I began to see that the fact that I could go get a root canal that would be—essentially—pain free was a miracle! Sure the roof-of-the-mouth shot hurt and the 2 ½ hour procedure was a bit exhausting and the throbbing after-root-canal procedure pain was there…but the fact remained that the root canal was a success and the pain wasn’t anything like, let’s say, having a tooth extracted a century ago.

Miracles abound.

I began to thank God for the miracle of being able to have a root canal. Crazy, right? Yes and no.

It occurred to me that we live our lives knee-deep in miracles—things we definitely take for granted can be moved in our minds from “expectations” to the “miraculous” and thus make us more grateful throughout our day.

And what I see as a miracle is probably way different than what you see as a miracle and that’s why we don’t really need to share them with each other; rather, the miracles we choose to see can be kept between ourselves and God and simply raise our spirits to him as they are filled with gratitude.

Who would have thought that a root canal was a miracle and an answer to prayer! Not me, that’s for sure.

Picture: ID 13250246 © Jaeeho | Dreamstime.com

The Fourteen Holy Helpers

August 8th is the Feast Day for The Fourteen Holy Helpers. It is a great time to call upon this powerhouse of heavenly help! You may know some of the line-up but some may be new to you.

Together they work wonders!

Read more about these saints.

Man Up! Fans

Fans of Jared Zimmerer's popular Man Up! Becoming the New Catholic Renaissance Man will be delighted to know that Jared's book Ten Commandments of Lifting Weights is now $2.99 on Kindle. 

Catholic blogger and speaker Brandon Vogt endorsed Man Up! and recently connected with Jared in a fun interview about Jared's "Strength for the Kingdom" ministry.  

Why Would I Not Let Go?

In my exhaustion, I choose to completely let go and let God.

In purposeful trust, I choose to finally let go and let God.

In the gift of faith, I excitedly let go and let God.

I choose to see and believe that God is for me—and if God is for me, who can be against me?

I choose to understand and know that God is my friend—and if God is my friend, who can be my enemy?

I choose to eagerly accept that God has a plan for my life—and if God has a plan for my life, why would I not let go and let God?

Cheryl Dickow

www.BezalelBooks.com

Picture: © Luiba Tandit | Dreamstime.com

Pope Excommunicates Mafioso

Evil.

Excommunication.

In a statement made on June 21st, Pope Francis issued strong words for people who choose to make a conscious decision to follow the ways of money, sin, and exploitation. The Pope is specifically quoted as saying, “Those who follow the path of evil, like the Mafiosi do, are not in communion with God; they are excommunicated!”

The Pope was speaking to tens of thousands of people in the southern region of Calabria when he issued what is the most severe ecclesiastical penalty within the Catholic Church: excommunication.

But what exactly does it mean to be excommunicated?

And how is it enforced?

Read more  here

All Things Girl Just .99 on Kindle

School's out and it is time for sun and fun! 

We're excited at Bezalel Books to offer All Things Girl: Truth for Teens--one of our most popular teen books--at an amazing price of .99 on Kindle.

As one Amazon reviewer wrote: All Things Girl is jam-packed with Catholic girl awesomeness and we think you will agree!

Contributors include best-selling author Peggy Bowes and the effervescent Heather Renshaw.  

So for this week only we are offering "Catholic girl awesomeness" for the special Catholic teen in your life!