"May grace and peace be yours in abundance..."

As I said - I am working on birthday pictures of David Lanoue...such a hard job but someone has to do it!  I am on a short time frame today due to a repair man coming in a short while.  Just thinking a lot about how we are allowed to find that grace and peace in the midst of the craziness. 

The full verse taken from the first reading today - 2 Peter 1: 2-7

"May the grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."  then St Peter spells it out for us..

"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love."  Is this a road map to how we are to "share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire?"  Yes!  And it all comes to completion in LOVE!  Looking at some of these things in the context of those that we love the most in this world - our domestic Church/family - they are put to the test there most of all.  The self-control piece, and then the endurance part are very hard with those that we live with from day to day.  They bring out the worst in us!  Why? When they are the ones that we love the most, and are there to be our Most Cherished Cross?  When we look upon Christ as he suffered and died on the cross - we see how hard it is to embrace that dying to self - this is what he asks of us to do in our vocation as a wife and mother.  If we give no thought to ourselves rather put our husband, children and so forth first - all of these things we are asked to do to reach the ultimate goal of LOVE would be more than possible!  I do find that the more I learn and grow in the Knowledge of my faith - the more I am reminded to look to HIM and not to what my own wishes are... It does help to have that Knowledge as a early piece of the puzzle, and the background of the masterpiece which is my LIFE and LOVE... with the most Cherished Cross in the center, and radaiting out LOVE and LIFE!  The call to humility is ringing within me now... he calls us to recall that we are nothing without HIM!

Jesus, thank you for all the ways that I am allowed to grow in the knowledge and LOVE of you, and your wonderful Word, and Church!  You show me the path that I am to take to find that "grace and peace in abundance!"  How I long to find the path, and to follow you ...laid out before me, and that I may find a small slice of heaven within my domestic Church/family, if I but put aside my selfish needs and desires, and walk through the door ahead into the LIGHT!  "Knock and it shall be opened onto you."  I am asking, Lord, and knocking on the door open ahead of me.  The door marked with a cross - a sign of how we are to follow after you.  May we not complain today, but gain the self-control we need to take life as it comes with a smile, and cheerful joy!  May those around us notice that we are different, and better to be around.  We love you, and need you, and worship you with our lives!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Amen and Halleluia

Bless-bless, Barb

Opening Prayer

"Mary, my Mother, you were the first to live the Way of the Cross.
You felt every pain and every humiliation. You were unafraid of the
ridicule heaped upon you by the crowds. Your eyes were ever on Jesus
and His Pain. Is that the secret of your miraculous strength? How did your
loving heart bear such a burden and such a weight? As you watched Him
stumble and fall, were you tortured by the memory of all the yesterdays-
His birth, His hidden life and His ministry?

You were so desirous of everyone loving Him. What a heartache it was
to see so many hate Him - hate with a diabolical fury. Take my hand as I
make this Way of the Cross. Inspire me with those thoughts that will make
me realize how much He loves me. Give me light to apply each station to my
daily life and to remember my neighbor's needs in this Way of the Pain.


Obtain for me the grace to understand the mystery, the wisdom
and the Divine love as I go from scene to scene. Grant that my heart, like
yours, may be pierced through by the sight of His sorrow and the misery and
that I may determine never to offend Him again. What a price He paid to
cover my sins, to open the gates of heaven for me and to fill my soul with His
own Spirit . Sweet Mother, let us travel this way together and grant that the
love in my poor heart may give you some slight consolation."
Amen.
Opening prayer for the stations of the Cross with reflections by Mother Angelica
http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/stations/face.htm

A photo that speaks grace and peace to me!  Arms full of LIFE and LOVE!

Another one for the road!  A reminder of the grace and peace and joy that come with putting all our life, and our openess to new life in His hands and trusting!  Ruth is a poster mother for that!  We thank you, Lord, for answering her trust with a "Yes!" in the form of precious Rose Ida!