List of the most popular hashtags for theme #CATHOLICBLOGGER

St. Ann, you who trusted in God's will and gave birth to the Blessed Mother, pray with us for the ministry of Catholic family life and keep all families close to you. -- excerpts from the novena to Saints Anne and Joachim • "Anne is the blessed barren woman, happy mother among mothers, from whose pure womb came forth the shining temple of God, the sanctuary of the Holy Ghost, the Mother of God!" -- St. Jerome • "Joachim and Anne, how chaste a couple! While leading a devout and holy life in your human nature, you gave birth to a daughter nobler than the angels, whose queen she now is." -- St. John Damascene • Grandparents of Jesus, pray for us! #thecandidcatholic

Satan loves clean shoes. He loves when we sit down on our bed and don’t move. He loves when that extra episode we just recorded dips into our prayer time. He loves when we convince ourselves that NOTHING WE DO OR ANY STEP WE TAKE WILL CHANGE ANYTHING. Stay where you are, Maclaine. Don’t bother them. It shouldn’t be this hard. A gross and sick lie wrapped in gorgeous comfort. I’m done with it. I hope you are too. Get your shoes dirty, where them down to the sole, and go spread the news Satan hates to hear. #acatholicconvo

This time last year we were getting ready for our pilgrimage to France & Italy. We went to mass at places like the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal, the grotto at Lourdes, and the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. We walked in the footsteps and prayed before the tombs of our favorite Saints in Paris, Lourdes, Rome, Assisi, and San Giovanni Rotondo. I felt like God met us in each of those places and spoke to us through each experience. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This year, things look a little bit different. Heading to Baltimore every Friday for a doctor appointment with a six week old isn’t quite as glamorous, but God has shown me He’s meeting us here, too. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’ve always known the National Shrine to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is somewhere in Maryland, but I looked it up out of the blue last week and saw it’s not far from the hospital we go to for Gianna’s doctor. So, kinda on a whim, we decided to stop by! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you’ve been around here for a while you know she’s my confirmation Saint and first Heavenly friend (not to mention I went to Seton Hall and prayed for her intercession every single day). Getting to pray before her tomb, attend mass at the basilica in her honor, and walk in her footsteps (behind Dom + Gianna is the house she lived in with the Sisters of Charity, and it is where she died) felt like a little pilgrimage of its own. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Moral of the story is: God is willing to meet you right where you are. He’s trying to! We just need to open our hearts + minds to Him. Once in a while, He might even send us a sweet little surprise like this one!

During morning prayer today it hit my heart how BLESSED we are to live in this day and age, this exact moment in time. I was reading an excerpt from Saint Alphonsus Liguori (happy Feast!) and I saw that he died in the late 1700s and I thought of all the holy men and women that have been born and have lived such heroic lives since then. It made me think of how incredible it is that we have SO many Saints - all the Saints up to this point in time - and can rejoice in their richness, their beauty, and their witness! We are able to learn from them and receive the fruits of their labor and love! Christ has placed us in this exact moment in time to use our gifts, to use our talents, to change history through the power of His love - to spread His beauty and shine in His truth! Step fearlessly out into the deep with Him! Be bold, become a Saint.✨

Eyes closed, hearts (& mouths) open Not only has IG brought me a career & a faith community, but more importantly joy-filled, long-legged friendships who also serve as tour guides to Catholic things. If you zoom in, you can see that we are mid concussion. If you zoom in even further, you can see Momma Mary peeping through the trees on the right. If you zoom in even furtherrrrr, you’re just a creep & need a hobby. #jk #thankyouJC

In college at Franciscan and again before I got married I spent some time reading what our Church teaches about marriage in the Catechism. I’ve been revisiting it lately and am so struck by the depth and beauty that this Sacrament invites us to enter into! Today I read that, “Marriage helps to overcome self-absorption, egoism, pursuit of one’s own pleasure, and to open oneself to the other, to mutual aid and to self-giving.” This is so beautiful! And difficult! Yet this is my favorite part, that, “man and woman need the help of the grace that God in His infinite mercy NEVER REFUSES THEM.” The grace is ALWAYS there! Angry? Ask for the grace of peace. He won’t refuse you. Tired? Lonely? Frustrated? Annoyed? Bitter? Aggravated? Ask for the grace. Ask for the joy. Ask for the life of abundance, one that you can flourish and be free in! He will not refuse you. ❤️

I went to Mass yesterday at this beautiful church with my mom and it was very beautiful and special | Fui à missa com a minha mãe na Igreja de Santa Terezinha em Taubaté ontem e foi muito bonito e especial esse vestido é o Santa Zélia bordô da @carolpulgacec e já virou meu xodó! Ele tem um material muito gostoso, o elástico na cintura faz toda a diferença e também a saia tem bastante tecido, o que deixa ela bem bonita e rodadinha . . #outfitinspo #styleinspo #catholicmodesty #christianmodesty #modesty #modernmodesty #modestia #modestiacatolica #modestiacrista #fashionblogger #styleblogger #catholic #christianblogger #catholicblogger #modaevangelica #saiamidi #prettylittleiiinspo #ootd #lookdodia #modacrista #modacatolica #modestfashion #modestdresses #modestclothing #modest #modestfashionista #modeststyle #modestmovement #blogdemoda

Jesus forgive me for the ways I’ve gripped Your arms to hold you still. I’ve bruised You. Forgive me for the times I’ve pushed You back into Your place, not allowing You to stretch my comfort level. I caused You to trip. I’m sorry for yelling at You, for not letting You lead me into the unknown. By forcing You into a box I’ve put You on the cross once again. Please be patient with me. You are love and so many times I limit You because my mind can not comprehend the love You are. Please be patient. #acatholicconvo

When I was 13, I came home from school and cried into my pillow because the cute popular boy said I ‘would be’ cute if I lost a little weight. When I was 14, a pastor’s wife referred to me as a slut and a bad influence. When I was 15, someone’s mom told everyone I would just end up pregnant living in a trailer in someone’s backyard. When I was 16, I broke up with my boyfriend. He wrote an ‘English paper’ about a ‘red-headed backstabbing b****’ and read it in front of the entire class (I had red hair). I cried as everyone stared at me. When I was 17, I ate lunch in a bathroom stall by myself because I was the new girl at school and the only friend I had was out that day. I’m 27 now. I’m a grown married woman. One thing I can tell you, looking back, I get it. I was no ‘poster child’ for a teenager. Modesty wasn’t a word in my vocabulary. Rules didn’t apply many days. I make the statement that between high school and college, I probably either did it or was in the same room as it. However, let me be ABUNDANTLY clear, my worth was absolutely NO less then, than it is today. I was as absolutely loved then, as I am today. My dignity was the same then, as it is today. My worth has NEVER been contingent. The real problem? I never knew it. And heck, some days, I still forget that. So the next time you feel the need to jeer at the teenage girl you don’t find modest enough. Or maybe stick your nose up at the kid that has a ‘bad reputation’. Or maybe you justify your condemnation by labeling someone as the ‘culture’ you fight against... I hope I can put a face, an actual face, to that girl, to that kid, that maybe you don’t feel fits in your ‘circle’. . If you are a young person and if you’ve had experiences like the above. Ugh, let me tell you again and again, you are so entirely, entirely precious. The words and actions of others don’t dictate your worth. Just because something is said, doesn’t make it a part of who you are. You are more than any label or any belittling feeling. You ALWAYS have a place in this Church. You are WANTED in this Church. Anyone tells you or makes you feel differently?.... you message me. Your words matter. Your actions are remembered.