John walking our two mothers down the aisle seems like the place to start today... He is calling me as he goes from clinic to clinic at the U of M.... trying to figure out what is causing his high temperature that started during the night. I got a surprise call at 5a - it was John telling me that he had a 101degree temp and would go to the clinic today and see if he needed stronger antibiotic or what was going on...He called me after his house mother had kindly driven him to the clinic close to his fraternity... they were unable to find out what was going on, so they sent him to the bigger clinic and he is now in a room waiting to see a doctor, and calling his doctor at Mayo to let her know that now his temp is 102, and they really don't know what is going on... With only 4 hours of sleep - my mother prayer mode is kicked in and the rosary beads are here ready to lead me into the decade I devote to John and each one of my kids and husband each and every day! These two women are models of prayer for me, and pray for me and each of their kids and grandkids and great grandkids... Such a legacy of faith and prayer, and such role models of how a mother has a "vocation to pray" for all those she has been gifted with as children... then those that become children in law... grandchildren, and grandchidren in law, and finally to the greatgrandchildren! A vocation that becomes more and more... a intention that becomes larger and larger... a deeper and longer place of prayer!
This is including the fathers' need to be lifting up their families... and I know for a fact that mine includes all of his many - up to 70+ these days and growing - in a litany of prayer that my dad and mom do each morning as they come together for morning prayer. But there is a constant place of deep calling to the Lord... that a mother enters...while the father is more occupied with the day to day work. One thing about my dad and husband - they too have jobs where they can carry this prayer and intention within them, as they are busy with things of farming or deaconing... They can be contacted by phone or shared with when they pop in the house for a meal or other time in the house... They work at home for the most part... 
In these pictures from Nancy's wedding as my dad and the priest are praying over the couple in a blessing... I will continue to share about the prayers of parents for their children. One thing that I have found to be concrete and real and powerful and gives me a good piece of time to PRAY deeply and long and hard - is that I say a decade of the rosary for each of my kids every day. With 5 kids that seemed perfect and allowed me to have those 10 beads to meditate not only on the life of Christ and how His Mother was so instrumental in bringing Him into the world, nurturning him, and giving him to the world as the final sacrifice! 
How I love to say my rosary - I have a total need to not turn on the radio as I travel - if I am going somewhere, and I find myself in such a peaceful and joyful and deep place as I meditate on the Life of Christ, and at the same time picture my child for that mystery and it grows to include spouses and their kids and all the needs that they are facing. They all know that I am doing this for them, and report to me their needs as well as the results of those prayers... "Mom, I am sick and going to the doctor." "Mom, today I am going to have an ultrasound and see the baby for the first time... I will call you and let you know how it goes when it is done. I am a bit worried about it... the priest that married us - his sister is due a month ahead of us... when she had her ultrasound there were some issues, so now I know that it always isn't perfect." "Thanks mom, for the prayers...everything is fine!"
Today with John on the move and going to try to figure out what is going on... I am getting frequent calls and updates, and I am eternally grateful to his house mother stepping in for me... I am helpless in the physical ways of being there with him... the phone does help me keep in constant touch... but he is assured that I am praying constantly for him at this time. The desire to go back to sleep after being up all night was strong, but I knew that I needed to be vigilant in my prayers for him...
Pat at prayer as John goes for his brain biopsy - we were terrified and went to cry aloud to our God to protect our precious son, as they were passing a needle through his cerebellum into the exact spot in his brain... they could see a spot of the tumor there and the Lord answered our plea that we would never need to go from the top of his brain into the center near to the very important brain stem. Too scarey and life threatening to go there! We were given a choice and we had to choose the less scarey or dangerous one! We still faced some loss and damage... more prayers needed to this day! 
The chapel is named St Mary's and she is there in beauty and splendor and reminds us of how important the role of a mother is for bringing LIFE into this world! She is the Queen Mother and brings us to her Son for healing and peace and hope... How we were on our knees asking for that at this horrible time of need! "Mother of heaven and earth, we are weak and afraid - hold us close to your mother's heart and bring us as your children to your Son. We are devastated and alone and filled with fear and worry... we stand with you at the foot of the cross and allow our son to embrace his cross - cancer/healing, and to come through dying on that cross to rise with Christ into new life - the Resurrection! 
The 4th station of the cross- Jesus, meets his mother...so powerful and how much more strength did he have to go on knowing of his mother's prayerful suffering presence as he journyed forward to his death! After looking into her eyes of love - he was able to carry that with him as he staggered forward under the weight of the cross - our sins placed upon his innocent shoulders - the Lamb of God slain for us and our sins! WE are clean if we are sorry for them and take them and lay our sins at his feet in the confessional - we are free! 
The points that guided the surgeon to find the cancer cells in John's brain... we know also that the many tearful and desperate and constant prayers that surrounded him - hundreds and probably thousands at that point - also guided the surgeon and allowed us to have a less dangerous spot to go into to find the answer to what the tumor was in John's brain! Jesus, we trust in you! 
More prayers of the most powerful kind - our amazing Church offers us the annointing of the sick. Just hours before his surgery, John is annointed by Fr Craig Timmerman... Susan and Little Sister Benedict arrive to "pray" - sharing the sacrament as family is invited to also lay hands on their loved one and add with the prayers of the Church! There is no deeper place to be taken in prayer - than when your child's life is in danger or when they are suffering on any level - whether it be physically, emotionally, spiritually - I have said many times to families in hospice - there are many kinds of pain! 
The holy healing oils are placed on his head, hands and heart! There is so much that is powerful and real - prayer that we can smell, see and feel in the sacraments! John also received Eucharist every day, while he was in the hospital - He knew that he wanted to have Christ within and with him in this very real and amazing way! We were so uplifted and held close in a loving embrace by all the prayers and sacraments! WE found an island of peace in the midst of the worst nightmare that a parent or family could ever imagine! So many blessing and graces poured out on us! We found hope, healing and peace! 
Never was the rosary out of my sight or hands... it was my constant companion, and a day without my time for my rosary is not a day! Pat just stopped in for a minute to get some warm dry mittens and to catch up on John..."We don't expect it to be related to his cancer do we?" No, but with no immunity - he was due to start getting his baby shots next week when we go to Rochester... we just need to be sure that we are doing everything to help him get better! The doctors are part of that, but we know that prayer is the biggest piece! 
Jesus, we need you to help us when we face the unknown. It is a wake up call that we need you always to be in and with us! When things seem to be going great - how quickly we forget that we probably need you even more than to protect us from allowing things and money and power and lust to get in the way of our following you and serving you with our entire lives! We place John in your hands - knowing that you are in control of all aspects of our lives! Thank you for the gift of a family of prayer and Our Spiritual Mother, who models that PRAYER- LOVE... we stand at the foot of the cross with her and outside the tomb on the day of your resurrection! We know that you came to her first... showing her that her prayers of love and sacrifice were answered! Jesus, we trust in you! Amen and Halleluia!
Bless-bless, Barb
"To live according to the spirit... means to think, speak, and act according to the virtues which reside in the spirit and not according to the senses and feelings which reside in the flesh. We must use and master the latter and not live according to them; but the spiritual virtues must be nurtured and all the rest will be subject to them....But which are the virtues of the spirit....? There is faith which shows us the truths which are not accessible to the senses; hope which makes us strive for things invisible; charity which makes us love God above all things and our neighbors as ourselves, not with a natural, sensual, selfish love but with a love that is pure, firm, and changeless, being grounded in God....To live according to the spirit is to love according to the spirit." St Francis de Sales (1622) pray for us on his your feast day! How blessed we are to have all the amazing Saints joined with us in prayer for the needs of our hearts! We have a virtual army of "prayer warriors!" What peace and joy floods my soul!
Dear Pat, Barb and all the fabulous Verly family,
ReplyDeleteIn the course of creating a Catholic video on the theme of the Adoration of Christ, I came across the incredibly powerful image of the Anointing of your son John and took the chance of including it in the presentation under the fair use provision.
It expresses so much of the extraordinary presence of Christ in our midst.Indeed, your whole 'Family Soul Story' is such an inspiration and I have been deeply touched by your incredible blog.
I am a former Anglican (Episcopal) priest who accepted the authority of the Holy See back in 1998 and so before the Holy Father’s Anglican Ordinariate. With the bishop’s permission, I taught philosophy and religion for a period of discernment during which I became very ill from a crippling disease.
So, I have since had to improvise and be creative! I’ve done some clinical-pastoral counselling and mediation as well as build a website piddingworth.com that promotes the Catholic Faith as well as our western cultural heritage among other things. My channel on YouTube is called PiddFlicks.
I would most grateful to receive your official imprimatur for the picture and wondered if the family might like to see it in the somewhat differently prayerful context in which it has been placed! You can see it on the front page of piddingworth.com. I will be putting up another link to your site soon.
With kindest regards and very best wishes,
Greg Benton