St. Jude, Pray for Us

In the Catholic Church, the sacrament of Confirmation gives us a special grace that strengthens and deepens our faith so that we can share it with others by example in what we say, the things we do, and how we live our lives.  In preparing to receive this sacrament, Catholics are asked to choose a saint who will serve as their role model and on whom they can call on to intercede and pray for them. One of my sons chose St. Jude for his Confirmation saint, and recently, during some serious situations, I found myself calling upon him, too.

St. Jude Thaddeus is a relative of Jesus and one of the twelve apostles, not to be confused with Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus. He is the patron saint of lost causes and desperate cases, reminding us that nothing is impossible with God. The Epistle of Jude is attributed to him, and in it he warns Christians against false teachers and prophets and stresses perseverance and growth in faith, prayer, and love of God.

In addition to private prayer, I have visited the St. Jude website, www.shrineofstjude.org and sent prayer requests that were delivered to the altar of St. Jude at the National Shrine of St. Jude in Chicago. Around 2:35 pm on June 6^th, I went to the website and placed a prayer request with vigil light for the healing of my daughter-in-law before heading out to the hospital. My son had called earlier to inform us that his wife had suffered severe injuries in a motorcycle accident.  My family and I were six hours away from the hospital in Lubbock, TX. When we arrived shortly after 9 pm, we learned that she had passed away shortly before 7 pm, around the time my son arrived from Abilene.

Not all prayers are answered the way we would like. Leanne’s death was a shock to us all, for she was young and full of life with the promise of great things to come in the future. As the days go by and life moves on, her absence is a bitter pill to swallow.  The greatest consolation is that God knows what He’s doing, and He asks us to trust in Him.  I also find comfort in the numerous ways that the Catholic Church offers for souls to gain entry into Heaven, including: the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the rosary, the Stations of the Cross, a plenary indulgence for Divine Mercy Sunday, the Divine Mercy chaplet, the Divine Mercy novena, and plenary indulgences on All Souls Day.  

I’m writing this in thanksgiving for the gift of Leanne and in thanksgiving for my petitions that were granted, as well as to spread the devotion to St. Jude so that others may benefit.

St. Therese of Lisieux

I finished reading The Autobiography of The Little Flower, Story of a Soul and learned about the extraordinary life of St. Therese of Lisieux. Who among us can say that their parents sought entry into religious life but were turned down before getting married? Or that their parents desired a religious vocation for each of their children, grooming them toward this end by immersing them in their faith through daily life? Amazingly, all five surviving daughters became nuns! 

What a different world this would be if we responded as St. Therese: “Whenever I find myself faced with the prospect of an attack by my enemy, I am most courageous; I turn my back on him, without so much as looking at him, and run to Jesus. I tell Him I am ready to shed all my blood to prove my faith in Heaven. I tell Him I am quite happy that the eyes of my soul should be blind, while I am on earth, to the heavenly wonders in store for me, so long as He will open the eyes of unbelieving souls for all eternity. So, in spite of the fact that this trial takes away all sense of joy, I can still say: ‘Thou hast given me, O Lord, a delight in Thy doings’ (PS. 91:5), for what can give such keen delight as suffering for love of You! The more personal the suffering and the more hidden from the eyes of the world, the more pleasing it is to You, my God.” (pp. 121-2)

Free Catholic eBook and audiobook online:

Story of a Soul 

Fifth Anniversary

          As the fifth anniversary of the publication of Ebram’s Story: The Haunting approaches, I’ve taken time to reflect on my writing journey. In many ways, the book memorializes the childhood of my four kids. Like the character, Eric, my oldest son was fascinated with cars. Another son Chris went through a period in high school where he dressed in black: jacket, shirt, jeans, socks, shoes, cap; hence, the idea for the type of clothing Shroudas wore. After five years in Nebraska, we moved to Texas; the Casas-Treski family moved from Iowa to a “haunted” house in San Antonio. The basis for the haunted house was, indeed, one of my brother’s experience living in one.

          As a writer for Christians, my book includes a couple of important things often left out in secular children’s books: a stable two-parent family and characters that make good choices for the glory of God. Many authors and publishers today will argue that children are drawn to books with main characters without parents, dead or alive.  Examples of this type of book are numerous, including several Disney classics. Here’s a link to an article with this viewpoint: 

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2010/09/in-defense-of-deadabsent-parents-in.html,

          The author of the aforementioned article states, “Early and medieval stories across cultures, from Cinderella (orphan) to Aladdin (fatherless), feature characters who lack one or more parental units.” The problem is that children must be taught what a healthy home life looks like because too many don’t have one and end up in broken homes as adults, oftentimes like their parents.

          I’m excited to be working on Book 3 of the Ebram’s Story trilogy. After the third book is finished, I will work on Book 2. Book 3 is about Mazie’s home life, and there will be references to it in the second book. After the third book is finished, I will have plenty of material to refer to in Book 2, and this is the rationale for the roundabout way of writing!

          A final thought. Classic children’s literature with characters whose parents are alive and well does exist. Here are some examples: Cheaper by the Dozen (Frank Gilbreth/Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, 1948); Fantastic Mr. Fox (Roald Dahl, 1968); and Swiss Family Robinson (Johann Wyss, 1812).

My daughter is taking an online Intro to Philosophy class this summer. One of the requirements for this class is a research paper. For several days Sarah tried to think of what to write, landing on wisdom. She found two books at the library, both exploring wisdom as people age. But what was she going to say about it in a research paper?  The professor apparently expected his students to know in advance that a philosophy paper differs from other types of research papers. Since Sarah didn't know this, I found an excellent video on YouTube for her to learn from. After watching it, she realized she needed to change her topic and asked me for help.

Sarah likes to work independently, so asking me for help was a stretch. After reading the assignment, however, I understood her frustration. The professor acknowledges that students always ask about good topics, and his advice that a good start is, What is truth? Knowledge? Reality? doesn't help much. However, I didn't see it as a problem with the professor, but with the limitations of an online course.

Chuck suggested a topic, the purpose of art. Not finding much on an online search of the library, I looked for philosophy and science, with better luck. In the end, Sarah's chosen topic was "Is the World Mechanical?" and she argued that it's not.  A book she used for her research was Rupert Sheldrake's, Science Set Free. Being involved with her assignment piqued my interest in this book, which states that "Contemporary science is based on the claim that all reality is material or physical" and "God exists only as an idea in human minds..."  Wonder what else it says...

Lily's Ghosts reminds me of Halloween, as in little kids dressed up as Disney princesses and comic book heroes carrying treat bags full of goodies collected from friends and neighbors. Pretty harmless fun, no?  But the dark side of witches, mummies, and zombies glorifying evil that show up at our doorstep can draw souls away from what is good and holy to the rebellious and disobedient devil and his minions.

A ghostly character named Lola in Lily's Ghosts pulls a series of harmless pranks on Lily, the main character, not a ghost herself. The ghost wishes she would have starred in a school play as "Lola, the sexy satanic seductress in Damn Yankees"  before she died (p. 25). The author's description of this character can lead to the violation of the Sixth Commandment, Thou shalt not commit adultery. This commandment calls us to chastity and modesty in our thoughts, words, and deeds and forbids books, movies, video games, and other things that tempt us to do otherwise.

In this book, you'll also find Madame Durriken's Good Fortunes Shoppe, "stocked with tarot-card decks, candles, astrology charts, incense, dream interpretation books, spell manuals..."  (p. 37) Madame Durriken is a quack who calls upon the spirits of the dead (p. 39). More than once, she shuffles tarot cards to read them. Despite an entertaining read, this book delves into the demonically inspired occult, potentially raising curiosity among young readers that could drive them into the dark side of the spiritual world. Violation: the First Commandment, I am the Lord thy God: thou shalt not have strange gods before me, which forbids occult practices.

Lily is an only child whose dad abandoned the family, and her mom brings her along as she goes from relationship to relationship in city to city. Eventually, they get kicked out of their home and are forced to choose between homelessness and asking for help from a relative whom they hadn't seen in years. Of her mom's latest boy friend, Lily states that her mom "thought they would move in together and maybe get married someday. But that guy...moved...."  In this excerpt, the author provides an example of actually breaking the Sixth Commandment. Certainly some kids whose parents are divorced can relate to abandonment. In fact, statistics show that around 50% of all marriages in the U.S. end up in divorce. However, we want our kids to have healthy relationships with their future spouse and to teach them that God designed marriage between a man and a woman to last until death.

There's no mention of characters practicing any type of religious faith, yet the author's use of "omigod" and  "(f)or god's sake" break the Second Commandment, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. This commandment also forbids cursing, which the author inserts in an instance of dialogue, "What in the hell is going on here?" (p. 211).

In middle school, kids are starting to navigate the waters of romance, so it's not surprising that Lily has a love interest, Vaz. Up in the attic of her uncle's home in search of her uncle, the door locks mysteriously behind them. As they wait to be rescued, Vaz kisses Lily twice. The author writes that "Lily felt the blood beating in her ears, felt something inside her, achy and new, open up like a bud." (p150) It's a violation of the Sixth Commandment to fall to the temptation of a lustful thought.


We are all sinners living in an imperfect world, and we can expect to write and read all about it.  
The purpose of examining this book under the Ten Commandments is to show how far we've strayed from clean, wholesome fiction. Lola is not the only ghost in Lily's Ghosts, and dishonesty, revenge, violence, and breaking and entering a home are all part of the story. There's even a misconception about heaven: a ghost named Max says there are many heavens. But we are called to love God and one another and to help each other get to the one true heaven. This means writing and reading about this world responsibly.

This book was published in 2003, and you may be able to find it in a library at a Catholic school. I recommend taking a look at the books your kids are reading more closely. If you're like me, you might be surprised at the radical ideas the world thinks you have.

Next year is the fifth anniversary of the publication of my first book, Ebram's Story: The Haunting. The book was written for kids in fourth through sixth grade, and being curious to see something similar in the library, I checked out Lily's Ghosts, by Laura Ruby.

The main character in this book is thirteen years old, a couple of years older than Ebram. My book isn't available at the library, unlike this one, because it wasn't reviewed by mainstream book reviewers such as Kirkus and and Publisher's Weekly.  I agree with School Library Journal's assessment that "(r)eaders (of Lily's Ghosts) will be hooked right up to the surprising ending." However, the book contains content that could send teens to the confessional.  

The Catholic Writers Guild approves books for the Seal of Approval if they adhere to Catholic teachings. I think it's a great idea to go a step further by screening books for inappropriate content, especially books for kids and teens.  We can examine them using the Ten Commandments, the same guide we use for examining our conscience before confession.

Marina's dad died seven years ago today. Marina is the girl friend of my youngest son, Matt. She has become part of our family and is staying with us over the summer. We've opened our hearts and home to her because she doesn't feel like she has a family.  She lost her dad eight days after her 12th birthday and hardly remembers her mom, who passed away a few years before that.

We went to the chapel at Our Lady of Guadalupe to light a candle for Marina's dad and pray a rosary for her family. As she mourned, tears rolled down her face and I wished I could lessen the pain, but all I had to offer was my love, support, and prayers.

As the day wore on I could tell that she was feeling better, and I couldn't help but think that maybe it was because she feels at home with us. I feel blessed that God has brought her into our lives and trust that he will guide us in helping fulfill his plan for her.