I found this statue of Mary in the give away box at Church just at the beginning of our cancer journey with John... Although I have many, this sweet plastic humble Mary, who appears to have lost her halo... I added one at some point, which is now gone again... Her beauty and holiness radiates even without the halo. I took this picture along with some daisies I had stopped to pick from the ditch by the windmills, on the way to Pipestone, and then on to Sioux Falls - where our 20 year old son was in the hospital, waiting to discover what the abnormal thing was in his brain. We had taken him there the day before - Father's Day 2009 to have an MRI and a spinal tap to diagnose what turned out to be PCNSL - Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma! We were in shock and clinging to Mary and her intercession for us with constant "Hail Marys" and constant rosaries throughout each day! Just as we turned to her and this most special and powerful prayer yesterday, when we awoke to worries about Nancy's pregnancy... She surrounded us with her loving arms and protected LIFE!
She traveled to John's room, and with her joyful and simple daisies filled his room with hope and peaceful trusting answers to our constant prayers! The family picture had been taken just the weekend before up in the Cities at his sisters' home... John had started complaining of double vision and tiredness. Susan/Hallel is added from a picture we had gotten of her in France - I wanted to "see" them all together! And John's cancer did bring them all together! We were together always in prayer, and then Susan came to the U.S. to be with us, and to put her loving and caring arms around her little brother( and give him bunny ears in the picture of the 5 of them)! The Cross of cancer/healing brought us together in prayer always, and then in actuality to pray and support one another through the brain biopsy that was eventually needed to treat and HEAL him!
How they love their little brother, John Patrick... he has truly had 5 mothers, being the youngest with 4 older sisters! How they love him and gathered around him to protect and pray and TRUST in the Lord sparing him! Yes! He is now 2 years without any cancer, and told by Rochester that he can have 6 months of life and all that it holds for him until they see him again... in other words we don't have to go back for a check up for 6 months! A vote of confidence that the chances of it returning is that much less! Yesterday we were once again brought together by prayers for LIFE and Healing! We turned to Mary Most Holy in the glorious gift we have been given in the Rosary of LIFE! I feel that it deserves that name and it certainly is true that the LIFE of Christ upon which me meditate upon is our Gift of LIFE in this world! He brought us LIFE and LOVE through the "yes" of his Mother - Mary Mother of God! Those beads in my hands and in my every pocket of everything I own - I start to wonder when every jacket that I wear outside to help has a perverbial rosary in the pocket..."Oh, that is where I left that one!" I smile as I reach in and find a rosary there waiting for me to clutch it as I am watching a gate or sitting in a pickup while Pat puts bales on the rack behind me! Special time of deep prayer and a peacefulness flows over me! I love my travel time to work about 20 minutes or more away... it is prime and lovely rosary time and I can accomplish many decades and prayers for the family in that quiet island of peace! Such a gift!
The little 12 week old baby nestled at the feet of our Spiritual mother seems perfect today discovering that Nancy's little one is 9 weeks today! A call from Nancy awoke us this morning with the encouraging news that the baby looks good, and that there is a tiny spot they can see between the placenta and the uterus that is causing the bleeding..."they say that the baby will be fine!" John's amazing experience with his prayers with fraternity brothers at the same time Ruth and I were praying here... he was wondering what the door opening and closing could mean!?! I just told him that it was without a doubt the Holy Spirit reminding us of the fact that all prayers are heard when two or three are gathered together, and without a doubt He was there with us on our journey for the last 3 years, and we are always walking with us and anwering our prayers united with thousands of others as we witnessed on our caringbridge site - http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/johnverly
Mary Mother of God and your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, we love you and thank you for saying "yes" to LIFE! We know how much you love us and ask us to be open also to LIFE! You provided us with your divine example of how to live in your Spirit - filled with courage to proclaim your Truth! And the call to LIFE and LOVE within our domestic Church - our family! Thank you for your protection of LIFE in the womb - end the horror of abortion.... May women considering taking the life within them come to realize that this is a precious life! Holy Mary, we beseech you to protect ALL life in the womb! Our Lady of Guadalupe intercede for us! Jesus, we trust in you. Amen and Halleluia!
I just realized that tomorrow is Divine Mercy Sunday - I have no doubt that Susie/Hallel will be hanging out with her "Papa Benedict" in St Peters in Rome! How she loves it there, and to think that it is just a nice days drive from where they are in France. So cool that she got her driver's license in France, and now can drive those in the community to Rome, or wherever they need to go! Young, and free, and confident in a religious order! Who says that you give up and leave behind? She has the LIFE! Bless-bless, Barb
"The Lord has risen from the dead, halleluia:
He rose in glory as he said,
Halleluia, rejoice, rejoice, O Mary!
O pray to God, O Virgin fair, halleuia:
That he our souls to heaven bear,
Halleluia, rejoice, rejoice, O Mary."
opening hymn from morning prayer
Together in PRAYER!
"The desert and the parched land will exult;
the steppe will rejoice and bloom.
They will bloom with abundant flowers,
and rejoice with joyful song...
Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
make firm the knees that are weak,
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God...
He comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf cleared;
Then will he lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the dumb will sing,
Streams will burst forth in the desert,
and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become pools,
and the thirsty ground, springs of water." Isaiah 35: 1-7,10
I just walked over to my Easter tree here in the house since the weekend of Palm Sunday... on it were these glorious lilacs and they smell wonderful too! So appropriate on this day of renewed HOPE and TRUST in LIFE! How I am rejoicing, and walking over to smell them often! Thank you, for this heavenly GIFT!
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