The Hanukkah Song - Part 3

Neil Diamond covers Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song

Holiday music continues to evolve. Oftentimes I hate it. But this is pure awesomeness.

Holy Cross College's Trip to Lourdes

Many of you know Casey St. Aubin, aka "Boy Casey." He has put together this trip to Lourdes for our students in the past several years.

Notre Dame Book of Prayer

I was asked to submit a prayer for the prayer book that Notre Dame periodically publishes. This is what I submitted.

Prayer for One’s Own Conversion

Source of warmth and deep desire

Burning ever, higher, higher,

Your love, O Lord, is like a fire.

Hold me in Your warm embrace

Till the day I see Your face.

I cannot live without Your grace.

My heart is not what it can be

Lead it Lord, to victory.

Conquer pride when my heart strays

With love and joy set it ablaze.

Lord, make my heart like unto Thine

Turn this water into wine! Amen.

Random family pictures from Thanksgiving Week

There's no place like home...

Mom opening mail with Adas and Tomek (they don't get bulk 'junk mail' like we do here)...

Noah (left) and Tomek (with BJ) were born 4 days apart...

Grandpa's lawnmower...

Sunday before Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving Mass for the boys before 'oysters'...

New Family pictures -the Downey's

BJ and Ali...

Kathy's Got a Webpage... kindof...

If anyone wants more information on JuicePlus, or to order directly online from Kathy, or just to see how cool their sister is to have her name on a Webpage you can check it out at:
http://www.kdowneyjuiceplus.com/

Come to the St. Matthew Cathedral Parish Mission

Everyone is welcome to this special week of spiritual growth and fellowship - child, teen and adult. The mission will run from Monday, November 30 - Thursday, December 3 starting at 7pm. Each night includes an hour of beautiful music, singing, prayer, a reflection by the guest speaker and time for quiet reflection. Food and fellowship will follow in the gym (except for Reconciliation Night). The final evening will be the Closing Mass with Bishop D'Arcy.

Come to any or all of the nights. Vespers, Holy Hour with Benediction, Reconciliation and Mass with our Bishop - you can't go wrong. Some really fun and free food is included. Click on the headline for more details.

Happy Birthday, Isabel Rose Kloska!

Isabel Rose Kloska (BJ and Ali's 5th child) was born this morning (November 17th) at around 2:30am (just about a half hour after her Mom arrived at the hospital). We were all amazed that God planned her birth just in time for her double Feast Days (Today -St. Elizabeth of Hungry, Tomorrow -St. Rose Philippine Duchesne). Mommy and daughter are both doing well -and the rest of the Kloska clan can't wait to meet their new sister Thursday when she comes home (hospital regulations are forbidding children under 18 to visit due to the flu season).

May Jesus bless you, Isabel!

Happy and Blessed Life! +

Janek, Hania, Adas, Dominik and Tomek arrived!

Welcome to Janek, Hannia and Family!

We welcome Janek, Hannia and their three boys, Adas, Dominik and Tomek to Kloska headquarters! They are travelling here from Poland to spend several weeks with us, and we consider their visit a blessing to us all. We praise God for bringing them safely to us and we ask His blessings upon them and us so that their stay here may be according to God's plan and to bring Him greater glory.

(This picture is from just before Janek and Hannia were married - I didn't have one that included the boys. )

Funeral Information for Mom Tonneman

Mary Dorothy Tonneman (born December 8, 1929 in St. Louis, Missouri), was called to God on November 6, 2009, as a result of complications from Alzheimer's Disease. Beloved wife of 57 years of Raymond J. Tonneman. Treasured mother of Michael, Patricia, and Daniel (Isabel) Tonneman, Joan (David) Magnacca, and Margaret (Robert) Kloska. Proud grandmother of seven; Amanda Tonneman and Maria Magnacca of Columbus, Ohio, Michael, Nicholas, Joseph, Monica, and Meg Kloska of South Bend, Indiana.

Friends may call at Egan Ryan Funeral Home Northwest Chapel, 4661 Kenny Road, Columbus, Ohio, 43220 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 19, 2009.  Funeral Mass will be held at St. Patrick Church, 280 North Grant Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43215, at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, November 20, 2009.

Juice Plus FYI

AMDG+JMJ

There once was a man caring for his father dying of cancer. His father became so sick that he was unable to eat anymore -and therefore death was very close for him. His son began juicing fruits and vegetables in his garage and turning them into powder, which he spoon fed to his father -who was thus able to live another seven years. Eventually this man's concept was made into a product that could benefit all of us. That product is Juice Plus.

For many years Karen and Scott have been taking Juice Plus as a supplement, which was highly recommended by an acquaintance. It is totally organic and is food (concentrated vegetables and fruits), therefore more easily absorbed into the body than a pure supplement. The USDA recommends we eat 7-13 servings of fruits and vegetables a day -but who really comes close to that? Juice Plus is a way to make sure your body is getting the food and nutrients it needs. Juice Plus is a boost to the immune system -full of anti-oxidants. Karen will attest that since her family has been taking it, they are sick much less often. Dad began taking it a few years ago, and since then has not had one cold. I have received 'donations' of it from people, and when I am on it I have less allergies and also am sick much less frequently. Bobby and Theresa tripled up on it when they had cancer in order to boost their immune systems. Aunt Marie has been taking it for years. And anyone I've spoken to who takes it has nothing but praise. Many clinical studies have been done on the product with amazing results.

Why am I telling you this? Well, first of all, because the product is very helpful. Secondly, because after convincing Kathy that it would help her family, I was also able to convince her to start selling it. If you or anyone you know would be interested on information on Juice Plus - or would like to purchase it -please contact her. Juice Plus is only sold through their sales people (not in stores), and even if you order it on the Internet -you are randomly assigned a distributor (so you might as well use Kathy and help her out). Any new adult signing up for Juice Plus is able to get free Juice Plus for a child (ages 4-18, or 19-24 if they are still dependants in college) for 3 years. So ultimately you would be getting two for the price of one. The product is highly recommended by the famous 'Dr. Sears.' The kids in our family who have taken Juice Plus have been less sick than others in their family who don't take it. It is something great especially for those who work in schools or other places where sickness travels a lot.

For more information on the product, click on the title above and you can read their web page. If you or anyone you know would be interested in buying Juice Plus, please contact Kathy. It is really easy to do, so even if you are not from the area she can set you up. And the 'business' would really help her family. If you have taken it before and want to start up again, she can get you going. Its worth at least reading the web info...

Mom always said that it is better to spend a little money to prevent sickness than a lot of money to treat it. I think she is right. I think it ends up being about $1.50 a day... but Kathy would have to get you that info exactly. This is just her loving sister trying to help your health and give her a plug.

You can contact her at: Kathy Downey kjkplace125 (at) aol (dot) com
or her cell number (she said I could write it out) is: five seven four, three six one seven nine four eight.

Welcome, Bishop Rhoades!

Click on the headline for the news conference introducing our new Bishop.

Looks like we have a new Bishop for the Diocese of Fort Wayne - South Bend: Kevin Rhoades of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Click the headline for a bio on our new bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne - South Bend to be announced tomorrow.

The Kloska Nation of little saints....

Once again, the Murphy's hosted a really fun 'Saint Party' this year. We had 6 or 7 Kateri Tekawithas, a few St. Francises, a few St. Peters and St. Josephs, and several Mama Maries. St. Lucy, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Joan of Arc and many others also visited the party -including two large priest saints looking over the group (Bobby and Nick). At the end of this post I also put a picture of Dad with baby Joseph, and another with Dad reading to Lexi, Olivia and Luke the other night. Sorry it took me all week to get this up. I hope you enjoy!

And Thank You Murphies! for such a great time.

(Baby Julia and Joseph also attended the party. Who would have guessed that little Julia on the left was born a month earlier than Joseph on the right? Joseph gained 3 pounds in 2 weeks... wow!)

Mom Tonneman

We lost Margy's mom last night. She passed on Margy's birthday.

Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord and may perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest in Peace. Amen.

A timely quote from from Joan:

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,
spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts
for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.

I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone"

Gone where?

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,
hull and spar as she was when she left my side.

And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.

And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone,"
there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices
ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"

And that is dying...

Happy Birthday Margy!

Morphing Icons

I read this today and I thought I'd share it...

Just an excerpt...

Silence Prepares Us for the Coming of Christ
by Catherine Doherty

When peaceful silence lay over all,
And night had run the half of her swift course,
Down from the heavens, from the royal throne, leapt your all-powerful Word;
Into the heart of a doomed land.
(Wisdom 18: 14-15)

It is not easy to be silent, but it is necessary if we are to begin our journey inward to meet the God who dwells within us. Jesus Christ said, “My Father and I and the Holy Spirit will come and dwell within you.”
Silence can also become a cradle. Silence is the cradle of the Incarnation of God, for there was a great and awesome silence when God was born.
I make a cradle out of my heart for any one of you to rest in like a child. As Christ said, “Unless you become like little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” That’s why my favorite prayer is: “Lord, give me the heart of a child and the awesome courage to live it out as an adult.”
Silence is also an inn. There was a Good Samaritan who picked up the man besieged by robbers. Who of us is not besieged by robbers today? Who of us does not need an inn where all is rest and peace and silence? This is what silence does; it becomes the highest communication, the quickest way to peace, the cradle for a child, an inn for the weary and tired.
Silence produces all this if you and I fall in love with God. For it is out of that love, that fantastic union that only God could devise for us, that silence can become all those things.
What does the world need most of all? It needs to touch God. Through silence I realize that I can touch Jesus Christ everywhere. Silence is the key to many secrets of God. Why don’t we ask him to give it to us?

Meddling in God's Work...

So, we all know about people trying to 'play God' in many different facets of life -from controlling the sex of their child to the moment of their own death -and we know that these attempts of humans 'playing God' have had disastrous affects on humanity.

Well, two news articles that I've read the past week or so have hit a funny bone with me -both having to do with a new area of 'playing God.' They have to do with controlling weather. The first speaks of Moscow's mayor who is going to hire the Russian Air Force to chemically control the clouds above Moscow this winter in order to prevent snow. The second has to do with China's government, which chemically created snow to fall in Beijing. I won't claim to know the moral implications of weather control (maybe it is a good advancement in science -something that can 'help' people suffering from droughts or blizzards) -but just at first glance it seems to me like a dangerous enterprise when people try to take on 'God's work' in such a magnanimous arena. God has perfect order in Himself -humans (fallen in sin) usually have total disorder. Don't you think there are some things better left to Divine Providence? Not only really important things like life issues, but also weather? It will be interesting to see the global ramifications of this new weather 'game.' To read the articles click here:

Russia: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/luzhkov-takes-snow-fight-to-the-sky/387446.html

China: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20091103/wl_time/08599193409000

I wish more people in the world believed in the old Gospel value of surrender to Divine Providence.

Is this the fruit of 40 Days for Life?

From KBTX-TV in College Station, Texas. (Click the headline for more).

"Planned Parenthood has been a part of Abby Johnson's life for the past eight years; that is until last month, when Abby resigned. Johnson said she realized she wanted to leave, after watching an ultrasound of an abortion procedure.

"I just thought I can't do this anymore, and it was just like a flash that hit me and I thought that's it," said Jonhson.

She handed in her resignation October 6. Johnson worked as the Bryan Planned Parenthood Director for two years.

According to Johnson, the non-profit was struggling under the weight of a tough economy, and changing it's business model from one that pushed prevention, to one that focused on abortion.

"It seemed like maybe that's not what a lot of people were believing any more because that's not where the money was. The money wasn't in family planning, the money wasn't in prevention, the money was in abortion and so I had a problem with that," said Johnson."

The bad effects of soft drinks

Click on the headline to motivate yourself to stay away from soft drinks - even diet soft drinks!