charla_misse_new2021 Category

New Morning Routine

By Charla Misse For a few years now, I have prayed over my son before he leaves for school. We ask for the grace of learning God’s holy will for us, the strength to follow his holy inspirations and the protection of our minds, bodies and souls.  We thank him for all the saints and […]

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Not Yet Flying

By Charla Misse Light and free Fragile and beautiful Graceful A miracle of God’s design In the glimpse of a butterfly, I see hope, the promise that I, too, can reach the height of God’s design for me. I run along, not yet flying, with faith that I, too, will transform by receiving Christ and […]

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A Time to Grow Together

By Charla Misse I am truly delighted when I hear about the various activities that families are doing together over the summer. I can see how much parents cherish the time focusing on their children, as well as having their children’s attention on them. Family trips, of course, but even simple things like playing board […]

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Pray the Memorare

By Charla Misse My son’s fifth grade religion teacher assigns homework on Fridays. One was “Go to Mass.” I love that.  A “little” thing like a child urging to attend Mass can make a big difference for the whole family. On a recent weeknight, this teacher’s assigned homework was, “Pray the Memorare.” Wow. Now, that […]

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Recharge

By Charla Misse About seven years ago, the “power stick” (portable power source for mobile devices) came out. At the time, my then 3-year-old son asked me if there was such a thing that you could take with you and plug into your phone to recharge it if the battery was low. I was totally […]

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The Gift of Time

By Charla Misse When my husband and son ask me what I want for a present, beignets and a bike ride are always at the top of my list. I don’t really want things from them; what I really want is to spend time with them. When my son was 3, he and I gave […]

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Gifts of the Holy Spirit

By Charla Misse The “Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts” is the oldest of all novenas and the only novena officially prescribed by the Church. During the novena, each of the Holy Spirit’s seven gifts is pondered alone on an individual day: fear, piety, fortitude, knowledge, understanding, counsel and wisdom.

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All Souls’ Day

By Charla Misse As we approach November, the month dedicated by the Catholic Church to the souls in purgatory, I noticed a reminder in my calendar on All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2: Pray the Our Father and the Apostles’ Creed at church for a plenary indulgence for souls.

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Returning a Smile

By Charla Misse I’m a smiler. I smile at people when I am running, driving, shopping …  Basically, if a person is within my vicinity, I am going to smile at them for no reason other than them just being there. No matter what is happening in my own world, I want to emanate “love.”

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Would You Say a Prayer?

By Charla Misse I think my favorite and most memorable NOLA Catholic Parenting blogs are those of parents writing about lessons learned from their precious children. My heart swells when a child’s value is recognized, and I am especially touched when God speaks to us through these little ones.  

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A spiritual athlete

By Charla Misse I have been thinking about the many parallels between physical training and spiritual training: By starting small and working up to greater goals, we get stronger, go faster and reach higher. Through persistence, we develop good habits and find ourselves conditioned for even unexpected challenges. At times when we are injured or […]

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