"Lord, please let me see." Luke 18:35-43

So very much is crowding inside of me this morning... this collage I formed piece by piece around the beautiful rose that greeted me on the table from my husband and son... kind of tries to capture the many pieces of resounding bells that are all ringing with great joy and clarity inside of my spirit and soul this morning. 

I am told by some close to me that I use too many pictures with my sharing so today I will try to limit is more.  The Gospel today was a joy to discover as I crawled into bed early, and to my delight Pat joined me so that we could do our evening prayers together... such a gift after being apart of a few days -as I was on the Road to Emmaus over the weekend... a wonderful retreat for women this weekend and men in a few months.  WE prayed and then we turn to the Gospel for the next day with great anticipation... the story of the blind beggar at the roadside, who will not be silenced as he shouted to Jesus to "have pity on me!"  How we all find ourselves in that place of blindness, and such a lesson that we need not hide it, but yell to the rooftops that we need help from HIM!  He too will answer our demand with "What do you want me to do for you?"  And when we ask to "see."  He will say to us..."Have sight; your faith has saved you."  "He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God."Luke 18:35-43 Wow!  So amazing and after sharing this last weekend with many women of faith and to "see" the amazing healing and wisdom they have gained on their journey is a gift... "when they saw this, all the people gave praise to God."

A bit of an explanation of my collage of sorts... Pat had mentioned to me the article in the Prairie Catholic about Magaret McHugh's becoming a consecrated virgin, and I heard many mention it as something very beautiful and new to them over the weekend... this morning I finally read the article and we deeply touched by the power and beauty of this journey for her and for our diocese.  Her beautiful wedding picture on the front page had to be there this morning as was the song and Bible from my talk on Scripture... closely tied to the sunset memorial from Lisa Bratsch's funeral... The afternoon of the retreat... was the wake for Lisa..a 23 year old girl whose brain cancer journey closely followed John's except that she was sent home to die as John returned to his life with the cancer gone from his brain!  And every 3 months that has continued to be our hope - we will return on Dec 1st, and expect to have almost 2 years now without any cancer!  The picture of John is at Lourdes as he holds a candle he blessed with the miraculous waters of Lourdes and lit along with many prayers for Lisa while we returned there this summer in July... he has her bracelet on his wrist, and when he sat beside her in the hospice room a few weeks ago... he showed it to her and told her that he would wear it always and pray for her.  The leaf I picked up on the beautiful grounds of the camp on the lake on the glorious weekend we were blessed with... on it I wrote the words from ST Faustina that are always with me... "Jesus, I trust in you."  The icon is the gift I returned from Kansas City with... the Lamb and the scripture - John 7:37 "If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink."  So much the same as the scripture that changed my whole life... Isaiah 55:1-2

Bible VersionsNRS Isaiah 55:1-2

1 "Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. "  As you can see there is the same theme here, and it is very Eucharistic!  And I have explained many times how this was read by my father at a retreat and he was told to become Catholic with our family - it will be 40 years this Christmas, and those 40 years have been amazing! 
I had to have Hallel in the collage this morning.  She is so with me always and the things that I have gained from her and all of my children gives me so much... How did I ever get so blessed? 
I appologize for the randomness this morning... I am just buzzing inside with deep feelings of being filled to bursting with HIM, and all the sharing of Healing and Sight that took place this weekend from the many directions... Lisa's passing and the support and love we found there as survivors, the sharing of all this weekend of our journies on the road to Emmaus and recognizing Him in the Breaking of the Bread - the sacraments we are so blessed with, the beauty of those that answer the call to be HIS as Margaret did,  and the blessings of HIS WORD in the Gospel shared in the entire Church each and every day of our lives!  So much... my cup overflows!  With all that filling me... the words of the readings last night and this morning were so powerful and like glorious music to ears and eyes and mostly to my heart, mind and soul!  I think Pat got tired of me repeating over and over... "Wow!  That was amazing!"
 

Jesus, thank you for this new day filled with clearer sight!  May we go forth seeing the ways that you are calling us to change.  Ways to see how we can bring you into our homes and our families.  Ways to lead those that look to us into the narrow path laid out for us - carrying our cross after you.  May we use our new sight to fill our inner selves with your Truth and Light.  Thank you for the gift of sight and for your taking pity on us and loving us in our lowly sinful state.  Jesus, we trust in you!  Amen and Halleluia!

Bless-bless. Barb
"The more perfectly and purely we see, the more perfectly and purely we love.  As we see, so we love.  Therefore, the more we see of Jesus Christ, God and man, the more we are transformed into him by love.  And to the extent that we are transformed into him by love, we will be transformed into the suffering which the soul sees in Jesus Christ, God and man.  As I said of love that the more the soul sees, the more it loves, I say the same of sufffering, that is, the more the soul sees of the unspeakable suffering of Jesus Christ, God and man, the more the soul suffers and is transformed into his suffering.  Likewise, the more the soul sees of the greatness and sensitivity of Jesus Christ, God and man, the sharper its vision of Him, the more it is transformed into him through love..."
Blessed Angela of Foligno (1309) was a wife and mother who later became a Francisan tertirary and an esteemed mystical writer.