EWTN Christmas Appearance, Pt. 2
Johnnette Benkovic has Adrienne Price and me as guests on Women of Grace, singing our favorite Christmas hymns. Reruns nightly at 10:30 pm Central time. Join us!
I Had the Strangest Dream…
I had the strangest dream last night. I had been invited to sing at a Catholic church, where the whole parish was enthusiastic and welcoming. But when it was time to go to Communion, rather than being given the consecrated, living host, I was given a small, beautiful icon of Mary holding the child Jesus–and it was made out of white chocolate! Another one was given to my daughter. It was beautiful to look at and tasted delicious–but it was not the living sacrifice of the Mass. And on the flip side of the paper it came with a price: $11. The pastor had decided that they would charge people for the “Eucharist” as a way to support the parish, and everyone seemed happy to go along.
John 6 immediately came to mind: “Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.’â€
My take-aways:
1) I’m hungry for God, not for chocolate;
2) We are called to come to the table “without cost;”
3) The Holy Eucharist is not a treat, a symbolic wafer, or a gimmick. It is the living body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, in whom I find eternal life. Hallelujah!
“Hail, Holy Queen” now available!
December 8, 2016. Thanks for your feedback on my new CD cover, friends. I took it all into consideration, made some tweaks, and am thrilled to announce that Hail, Holy Queen is now available for purchase! Just go to the Music section of this website. For a special animated 3-D glimpse of the new CD, click here. And after you have look and a listen, please enter your comments below (if it will make me feel good). 
P.S. I’ll extend my concert special to you online since I’m not having a Christmas concert this year: Any 10 CDs for $100, and FREE shipping! But…you need to send the money through Pay Pal (friends and family) to orders@kittycleveland.com for that deal. Just put your address and the number of CDs in the memo. Thanks!
New CD Project: Mary, My Mother and Queen
May 13, 2016–Feast of Our Lady of Fatima
Dear Friends,
After Mass this morning I was moved to go to our parish Perpetual Adoration Chapel with my daughter–something I haven’t made time for in too long. As I prayed with the day’s scripture readings, I heard deep in the recesses of my heart, “It’s time.”
For a couple of years now I’ve been telling people that my next CD will be all about Mary, as a token of love and appreciation for all that she has done for me as a spiritual mother over the course of my life (and usually without thanks or recognition). I just haven’t felt like the timing was right for me to begin the hard work of creating a new CD, at least not until today.
It’s time.
It makes sense that my instruction would come today on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, as next year at this time we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of her first apparition in Fatima, Portugal, in which she gave urgent messages for our times. Many have speculated on the significance of this centennial. All I know is that I have been given a mandate, and I feel called to give the CD to Lighthouse Catholic Media to manufacture and sell at a bare bones price ($2-3/CD) should they choose do so.
Will you help me honor Our Lady of Fatima on her 100th anniversary?Continue reading
Blooming twice
As I prepare to celebrate a big milestone birthday in September, and as I note the growing aches, pains and waistline that accompany it, a death of sorts is happening in me. I saw a time-lapse video this morning of the life cycle of a dandelion (it essentially blooms twice!), and it reminded me of the joyful hope we have in the promises of Christ. May our many deaths in this life bear the seeds of new life and abundant fruit, both in our lives now and in the Kingdom to come.
Jubilee of Mercy: December 8, 2015 – November 20, 2016
THE JUBILEE YEAR OF MERCY (from https://www.relevantradio.com/jubilee-of-mercy)
THE DIVINE MERCY NOVENA:
A novena is typically nine days of prayer in preparation of a celebration of a feast day. The Chaplet can be said anytime, but the Lord specifically asked that it be recited as a novena. He promised, “By this Novena (of Chaplets), I will grant every possible grace to souls.”
For each of the nine days, our Lord gave Saint Faustina a different intention:
- All mankind, especially sinners;
- the souls of priests and religious;
- all devout and faithful souls;
- those who do not believe in God and those who do not yet know Jesus;
- the souls who have separated themselves from the Church;
- the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children;
- the souls who especially venerate and glorify His mercy;
- the souls detained in purgatory; and
- souls who have become lukewarm.”I desire that during these nine days you bring souls to the fountain of My mercy, that they may draw therefrom strength and refreshment and whatever grace they have need of in the hardships of life, and especially at the hour of death” (Diary, 1209).
THE FEAST OF MERCY ON DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY (The Sunday following Easter Sunday): http://www.thedivinemercy.org/celebrate/
For more information on Divine Mercy, please see my other blog post, “What Is Divine Mercy?“
ON GLORIFYING GOD
If you’ve ever had a hard fall, you know the power of gravity. How miraculous, then, that the tiny wildflower with the tender stem is able to stretch toward the heavens in a blaze of glory.
Likewise, we were made to glorify God. When we turn our faces toward heaven and struggle against all that wishes to drag us down, the sap of His grace makes us rise and rise, till our nature can no longer contain us. It is then that God breathes in our fragrance one last time, lifting us to Himself.
Archbishop Luis M. Martinez: “It is our glory to fulfill our own destiny.”
EWTN Appearances
Tune in as I join Johnnette Benkovic and Adrianne Price on EWTN’s Women of Grace for 10 consecutive days, Dec. 22nd through the 31st.  11:00 am EST 11:30 pm EST (rerun)
This is the first time Johnnette has had music on her show and we had a blast–notwithstanding the embarrassing admission I made on one of the shows! Hope you can join us for some music and chat.
PEACE OF HEART
Loved speaking to the generous PSR (CCD) teachers at St. Peter this evening about maintaining peace of heart amidst life’s struggles. Thanks for the invitation, Celie Clark, and thanks, Fr. Jacques Philipe, for your brilliant treatise on the subject that inspired the talk!
“In the Breaking of the Bread”
April 27 2014: Happy Feast of Divine Mercy! And happy Canonization Day, Blessed John Paul II! This song, “In the Breaking of the Bread” (written by Michael Ward), is my very favorite song to sing EVER. I sing it every year on the Feast of Divine Mercy after Communion in thanksgiving for the gift of Divine Mercy in my life and in my family’s. In fact, today is the 14th anniversary of the day my father was miraculously released from unjust imprisonment!
My friend Msgr. Christopher Nalty posted this video (created by another friend of his) on youtube that puts images to the song. You can find the song on my CD, The Miracle of Divine Mercy–hope you enjoy it, and Happy Easter!