..."So that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." So many sporting events... we see the man in the front row behind the camera holding up the sign John3:16... It is all there! So powerful last evening sitting in the church with Jesus in front of me in the monstrance at Adoration... the wind was tremendous all day and within the church it was so loud and strong and the words from John3 that had been repeated for two days in a row in the Gospel about the "winds" of the Spirit.... Today also as I sit here the winds are howling around the house and noisily coming in though the crack open in the bedroom to let in fresh air! The Spirit is alive and well and ministering to us!
With the wind and the reminder of the Spirit surrounding me in the church last evening and I was doing my rosary with its intentions for my family and those that the Lord has given to me in prayer and my Godchildren... also the litany of our families that I place each one in the monstrance with Jesus... I was deeply touched to see a penitent going into the confessional for a long reconcilliation with Father...then coming out kneeling in the pew in prayer for a long time with head bowed and eyes closed... knowing that something deeply troubling had to bring someone in the middle of the weekday to ask Father to take the time to meet with them for the sacrament of forgiveness... reminding me when we were in Indainapolis for National Catholic Youth Conference about 6 years ago... A beautiful Catholic Church across the street from the dome where the conference was being held for 10s of thousands of Catholic youth... was set aside for the sacarment of reconcilliation. They had priests sitting out in the open in a pew and the youth would come to them... You could hear no words but could see the tears and the hands raised in blessing and forgiveness and the hugs of joy! So touching to "see" the forgiveness flowing from our God to us!
As this penitent spoke volumns of the Spirit at work in the sacraments of the Church...a hispanic lady came to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and knelt and lit a candle... another example of powerful work of the Spirit in the amazing miracle of OUr Lady appearing to Juan Diego and converting a whole culture - turning the culture of death which the Myan culture was with human sacrifice to the gods into a Catholic culture of life... Our Lady of Guadalupe has become a symbol of life for the unborn as well as because of the black sash she is wearing reveals the fact that she is pregnant...so we know that Christ is within her! The devotion that is so evident to Our Lady by this culture yet today is a beauty to behold! We attended her feast day with the dancing and costumes and food and joy! How they love her! Our daughter, Little Sister Hallel, also has a very powerful devotion to her. She has a place of honor in their chapel in KC as she is the patron of the Americas! Susan was deeply touched to walk into the chapel in France on All Saints day vigil in 2008 to see her there...."I know that she was there just for me." As she was the first American to join the order as she was given the cross to signify her embracing their heartfelt pledge; "Wounded I continue to love." Our Lady is a powerful connection to us and our neighbors across the border!
The Spirit is alive and well and I pondered the words of John about not knowing where it is coming from or where it is going... that speaks to me of trust and faith and putting yourself in the Lord's hands and asking Him for his plan for us in our lives. It was a wonderful hour and a half in the church with many that come to do the Benediction including my wonderful mother in law. It has been such a blessing to me to have her sharing so many faith experiences since she has been slowed down dramatically since breaking her hip and having it replaced about a year and a half ago. She has regained so much, but still needs to have just a little more help than she would like and so we enter the picture...and it is a wonderful blessing to know that she is there with me! Thank you Lord and Savior!
The hard road we have been called upon to travel going on 10 months now... That is getting to be a fainter and fainter memory... we continue to pray daily together... John, Pat and I... but the prayers now are those of thanksgiving for John's healing and the continued work and progress in regaining his left side. It has flavored the Spirit's presence and made us aware of the Spirit... it's healing work and constant support in our lives to get us to this point and to carry us forward! Jesus we trust in You!
In ending a wonderful story shared in the Meditation of the day by Jean Vanier, who is the founder of an international community that works for the mentally disabled.
"A few years ago, Fred, a man in prison, wrote to me. He told me he had committed a serious crime and had gone to jail. One day he became violent with other inmates and ended up in solitary confinement. Aware that he had lost everything - his family, his work, his mobility, as well as his dignity and self-respect - he wanted to die. But suddenly there rose up in him what he called "tiny stars of love," an urge to find himself and to rediscover love. It was a moment of grace. For many of us, it is only when we touch rock bottom, when it all seems lost, that this tiny light of hope begins to shine. We become aware not only of all the darkness in ourselves, but also in the light of hope. At that moment an ascension begins."
Come Holy Spirit... Your power and wisdom are all around us! How we are filled with awe and wonder to see how you are at work in the past, present and future! WE are the clay and you are the potter... mold us and use us to your honor and glory! Jesus we trust in You! Bless-bless, Barb
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