{"id":5525,"date":"2011-10-06T08:00:54","date_gmt":"2011-10-06T13:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=5525"},"modified":"2011-10-05T23:31:39","modified_gmt":"2011-10-06T04:31:39","slug":"how-can-i-keep-from-singing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2011\/10\/how-can-i-keep-from-singing\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can I Keep from Singing?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>I like to think I\u2019m a funny person. I mean, my jokes are so funny, I laugh at them even though I know the punch line&#8230;But in this blog, I am going to be writing, comically at some times, about a serious issue &#8211; the issue of our very purpose on Earth&#8230;.which is&#8230;. to be a Saint. To live a life that is Holy. To honor God through the thick and thin, or as my confirmation <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sttaustin.org\/index.cfm?load=page&amp;page=301\" target=\"_blank\">Saint Therese of Lisieux<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0says, to love God through everything in every \u201clittle way\u201d by giving God every little thing that you do &#8211; whether cleaning, studying, driving, working, or just being.<\/div>\n<div>\n<div id=\"attachment_5549\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/index.php\/2011\/10\/how-can-i-keep-from-singing\/2011-10-05_22-28-58_325\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5549\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5549\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5549 \" title=\"High School\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/2011-10-05_22-28-58_325-225x300.jpg?resize=200%2C250\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"250\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5549\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Me at 15<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Saint Therese is a model Saint<em> (yes all Saints are, well, Saints, but they\u2019re not all models &#8211; do your homework on St. Augustine of Hippo to see what I mean)<\/em>. Therese never strayed from the church throughout her life. She entered the convent when she was 15 and died of tuberculosis at 24.The image to the right is me \u00a0t 15, which, coincidentally is when Therese entered my life as my confirmation saint. At 24, I was married, out of college and working &#8211; living a very different life than my dear patron. More on Therese later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>When I think of Saints, I think of two main ways to become a Saint &#8211; you are <em>reallllllly<\/em> good or you die. To be honest, I think the martyr route is the easier of the two. I think that in today\u2019s world, it is harder to be a Saint (yes, partly because we can\u2019t just go get martyred on the way home from church). I think we have more distractions, more disagreements, more distance (personal and physical), more disillusions about Church and church. But I think that for every one of these hurdles, our era brings with it unique tools to not just achieve but seize our ultimate calling.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5556\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/index.php\/2011\/10\/how-can-i-keep-from-singing\/2011-10-05_22-22-47_718\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5556\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5556\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5556 \" title=\"Cute but no cigar\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/2011-10-05_22-22-47_718.jpg?resize=240%2C180\" alt=\"Cute but no cigar\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5556\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cute but no cigar<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Follow along with me, and you\u2019ll learn more about me and my shot-in-the-dark approaches to reaching that brass halo. But hopefully, with your thoughts and comments, and the Spirit\u2019s movements, <strong><em>we<\/em><\/strong> will, <em><strong>together<\/strong><\/em>, keep each other accountable on the path to our final goal, the path where no wants to be <em><strong>The Biggest Loser<\/strong><\/em>, and ultimately, the path that Our Greatest Fan, who also happens to be Our Greatest Gift-Giver, the Make-It-Happen-Man, desires for us.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5558\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/index.php\/2011\/10\/how-can-i-keep-from-singing\/2011-10-05_22-41-59_772-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5558\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5558\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5558\" title=\"First Communion\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/2011-10-05_22-41-59_7721.jpg?resize=300%2C225\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5558\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">That&#39;s what I&#39;m talking about (First Communion picture)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Will we make mistakes? Probably. But when (not <em>if<\/em>) we fall, we\u2019ll give each other a hand, dust off our skinned knees, and lift each other up.How do we know if we\u2019re doing it right? Well, we\u2019ll be sure to ask really smart people and pray about it! But I can promise that there\u2019s also one sure, simple sign. We are gonna wake up one morning and ask,<em><strong> How Can I Keep from Singing?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Note: Reflections in this blog are my own and do not represent the positions of my employer.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I like to think I\u2019m a funny person. I mean, my jokes are so funny, I laugh at them even though I know the punch line&#8230;But in this blog, I am going to be writing, comically at some times, about a serious issue &#8211; the issue of our very purpose on Earth&#8230;.which is&#8230;. to be&#8230;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2011\/10\/how-can-i-keep-from-singing\/\">[Read&nbsp;More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,4,90],"tags":[55,51,2886,50,37,262,168,263,143],"class_list":["post-5525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-acnm","category-blog","category-faith-blog","tag-catholic-2","tag-catholicism","tag-community","tag-faith","tag-gospel","tag-heaven","tag-holiness","tag-holy-spirit-our-advocate","tag-saints","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":107345,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/04\/do-catholics-need-to-believe-in-miracles-of-saints\/","url_meta":{"origin":5525,"position":0},"title":"Do Catholics Need to Believe in Saint Miracles?","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"April 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"There are some topics in the faith that are a little confusing and even hard to believe. Saints are certainly of particular interests. We are blessed to live in the communion of saints that surrounds us to encourage and intercede for our intentions. To be a saint, a person must\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Faith&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Saints and Miracles","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/SaintsandMiracles-550x275.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/SaintsandMiracles-550x275.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/SaintsandMiracles-550x275.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":169749,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/saint-maria-goretti-in-texas-and-basics-on-relics\/","url_meta":{"origin":5525,"position":1},"title":"Saint Maria Goretti in Texas and Basics on Relics","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"November 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Texas has been blessed to get a unique saintly visitor this week. The Pilgrimage of Mercy has been traveling the country in preparation for the Jubilee of Mercy, and the bones of St Maria Goretti are traveling for the faithful to venerate and ask for her intercession. I went to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Faith&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"MariaGoretti-Relic","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/MariaGoretti-Relic-550x237.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/MariaGoretti-Relic-550x237.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/MariaGoretti-Relic-550x237.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":745067,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/a-traditional-st-joseph-altar-in-the-brazos-valley\/","url_meta":{"origin":5525,"position":2},"title":"A traditional St. Joseph altar in the Brazos Valley","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"March 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"He is sweating in the morning sun, easily turning a huge table top over in a cloud of wood shavings. I cough but he doesn't break his concentration, only smiles as he measures an edge with his hands, squinting, nodding to himself as he stands up. \"You still do this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/St-Joseph-the-Carpenter-of-Nazareth-361x700.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2736669,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2024\/11\/always-we-begin-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":5525,"position":3},"title":"Always We Begin Again","author":"Geoffrey, Obl.OSB","date":"November 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Thanksgiving Holiday presents the perfect time to take stock of every blessing we've received from our great God and Savior Jesus Christ and start fresh on the path of holiness.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/file-8jUis2e89SrwpD2HRURmi9.webp?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/file-8jUis2e89SrwpD2HRURmi9.webp?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/file-8jUis2e89SrwpD2HRURmi9.webp?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/file-8jUis2e89SrwpD2HRURmi9.webp?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/file-8jUis2e89SrwpD2HRURmi9.webp?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":167867,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/10\/sunday-says-november-1-2015-mass-readings-and-reflection\/","url_meta":{"origin":5525,"position":4},"title":"Sunday Says Podcast &#8211; November 1, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflection","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"October 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"November 1, 2015 Solemnity of All Saints Lectionary: 667 (NAB Translation) [powerpress] We celebrate the great Solemnity of All Saints this Sunday. Reading 1 Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 In this week\u2019s first reading we hear an apocalyptic passage of the great witnesses that have gone before us. We hear of how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sunday Says&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sunday Says","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/podcast\/sundaysays\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sunday Says Podcast","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/SundaySaysPodcast-logo-300x231.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":773319,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/properly-clothed-for-holy-week\/","url_meta":{"origin":5525,"position":5},"title":"Properly Clothed for Holy Week","author":"Norine Shaivitz","date":"March 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The man came to the turbulent mob scene of Jesus\u2019 arrest wearing only a linen cloth. It was right after the 12 had fled. What a time to show up. And then he also fled, somehow losing the little bit of clothing he had. I find that passage curious each\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/512px-Bartolom%C3%A9_Esteban_Murillo_The_Annunciation.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5525\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}