Little break

As you have probably noticed, I have not been very prolific in my posting lately. I would just like to let my dear readers know that I haven't forgotten about them. I will be taking a little vacation from blogging. The time, in my estimate, is indefinite for now; but I will be back to blogging as soon as I can.

In the mean time, may the Lord bless you, keep you and protect you always!

The most hateful sin

You can read today's article that I wrote on the Adventus.org website.
May it help your Lenten reflections!

The Josh Groban concert

It was WONDERFUL!!!

When my friend called me to tell me that her friend had extra tickets, I flipped out! Of course I would go with them!

The show opened with an upbeat singer (and dancer!) who was accompanied by pretty impressive percussionists. Her name is Angélique Kidjo, and not only did she prepare us for the explosion of sound that would blow us away, but she also set the stage for the wholesome spirit that would rest on us all evening. One of the last songs she performed was a Song of Blessing ("Chant de bénédiction"), which she wished to extend to all those who were lonely all around the world, that they are loved! What a refreshing thing for a band to do (before the next performer would do it too!).

At long last, Josh Groban appeared to lots and lots of cheering, beginning of course with his famous single "Don't Give Up (You Are Loved)". All his songs were heartfelt, many of them reflecting comfort, and singing of protecting and watching over others. A touching moment was when he sang "I"m just a man" ("In Her Eyes"), singing of how he's not a superhero; and as we looked for him on the stage and couldn't see him, we found that he had actually gone out into the crowd and was shaking hands with all the people he passed by!
His violinist, and whole band were really great; and he was accompanied by members of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. They all produced a superb sound together!

Josh talked about his trip to South Africa and his meeting with Nelson Mandela, and sang of their plight. He started a foundation to help children in distress. He also had as a guest appearance for one of his songs...Angélique Kidjo! She promised that she would teach him how to dance... (haha!)

He also catered to the French we speak here, and tried to speak it himself, which was really cute. He even mentioned how he liked the humourous website so popular here in Québec, "têtes-à-claques"! The crowd went wild, and he was rewarded with a personalized Canadiens' shirt!
This singer, pianist and drummer's charity, goodness and faith were shining! His final "God bless!" topped it all off for me. What an amazing artist and friend!

Yes, this show greatly exceeded my expectations, from beginning to end. Thanks to Émilie for the ticket, Monica for the invitation and her kindness, and everyone we went with. May this joy stay with us always!

Fasting from fear

Today is Ash Wednesday, and in our family we usually talk about what we will give up for Lent.
Other than all the good foods I'm thinking of giving up, I thought that it's probably more important for God that I give up bad things.

So I thought that it would be good this year if we fast from fear. After all, fear is often the motivation that makes us do a lot of foolish and hurtful things.

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love him because he first loved us."
-1 John 4: 18-19

Have a most blessed Lent!

New things

At long last, I have finally found time to update my blog! I miss you all!

I hope that 2007 has been treating you wonderfully so far, and I pray great things for you.

"That's nice", you say, "but where have you been?"

Lots of changes have been happening lately, beginning with the blog. I have now updated "Amal & In The Heart of God" to the new Blogger, so the set-up may look a little different; I may modify its look further in the weeks to come. I have added a new section for "Sports" websites (see right sidebar). I plan on adding at least two more sections, including Christian music links and travelling friends' websites.

Also, I am now a writer for the website Adventus.org, with 4 priests. I have already posted a few of what I considered my deepest articles (written in the past) on Adventus.org, if you would like to go and have a look. My mother and I will continue writing on this blog about our experiences, and let you know here when I (or we) post a new article on Adventus.org.

For now, I will be writing backposts starting January 1st (yeah, how late can one be? Happy New Year REALLY REALLY LATE!!!), so you can also check those out in the next few days.

Finally, I have started a new program of study, and I'm so excited!!! I am doing a graduate degree in Adult Education, and planning to use that knowledge for teaching patients and workers in the healthcare field. I really enjoy my classes, but of course it doesn't leave me time to do much extra!

Well, it looks like there are many new things to come... May the Lord make all things new for you too!

My patron saints for this year

I've seen on other blogs that bloggers sometimes choose patron saints for themselves, either for the blog, for the year, or because they are somehow related to the saints. Instead of New Year's resolutions, I decided that this year I would choose patron saints for the blog, to help me (with keeping some New Year's resolutions : ) I write Saints, because I decided that I would choose them from each different major Christian denomination (even if I'm Catholic), because they each have something special to teach me.













1st saint: Saint Francis de Sales
Known for his gentleness and his centredness on God's Love, Saint Francis converted many people by writing letters to them. The wisdom of his writings is still cited, and he is a Doctor of the Church. His feast day is today. I would like my writing to be inspired like his (although I still have quite a ways to go!).

2nd saint: Saint Marina
Saint Marina is my favourite Orthodox saint, though I'm still trying to figure out exactly why. She could be termed a "female desert father". Even when she was wrongly accused, she didn't return wrong for wrong, and in humility waited till God chose to reveal truth about her innocence in her life (and death). I admire her humility and long-suffering-ness.














3rd saint: Martin Luther King Jr.
I realize that Martin Luther King Jr. was never canonized, but I think that he probably should be. Eloquent in his speech and dignified in his manners, he is my hero full of courage and faith. Zealous for the freedom from mistreatment of his people, he was a prophet of peace, and his legacy of justice and his words live on. I wish to stand up for Peace like he did.


Voilà! I hope they inspire you as well!

The universal manger

Today I went to visit the "crèches" on display at St. Joseph's Oratory with my best friend.
What do I mean by "crèche"? "Crèche" is the French word for Manger, or Nativity Scene. Every year, around Christmas time and throughout winter, St. Joseph's oratory puts out an exhibit of mangers from around the world (110 countries, to be precise), and just like a museum, you can walk in and look at them.

Of course, my best friend and I had some favourites. We agreed that the weirdest crèches were from Canada (yup!). We also saw a really, really neat one from the U.S. that was made entirely out of snowmen. These mangers ranged from being bigger than life-size to being so tiny that we could hardly decipher where baby Jesus was.

One thing that we both noticed is that no matter which country the manger came from, Jesus always looked like he came from that country. In other words, the crèches from China displayed a Chinese-looking Jesus; a German crèche had a German-looking Jesus; and so on. I don't think that this was only an artistic bias. When Jesus came to us, he understood us perfectly. He lived our life, ate our food and slept in our houses. He was truly one of us. He was really God-with-us, Emmanuel. So it would be very fitting that no matter where we are from, we know that Jesus is so close to us. The manger is a way to remind us of that.

NOTE: Visits to the Nativity Scenes were supposed to last until February 19th, but they have now been extended till March 20 (2007), if you wish to go and see it. It's worth it [they take free-will donations at the door]!