"God's not dead...He's surely alive!"

David is sitting at the breakfast table singing... He has sang for us many times the song about "God's not dead - He's surely alive!"  He practically roars when he sings the words about roaring like a lion in his little 2 1/2 year old voice.  Maria just called in, as we wait for her car to get it's oil changed and checked out, to see how her little son did overnight.  His cap is off!  He has not changed and that is a very good thing at this point.  We are very anxious to get there and see him without the hat and hood today... the doctors are doing rounds now and they will look at him very thoroughly and carefully look at everything this morning as he is slowly warmed up.  Maria had a good night and is storing up a lot of her milk for her son.  Soon he will be hopefully in her arms!  The cap had to come off and the line into his belly button will have to come out before that can happen.  We do not know when that will be at this point.  Looking at sweet precious gift from God, Patrick... yes, we can know that God is at work in such a powerful way like a LION!  Yet the opposite comes to me this morning looking at how sweet and helpless and trusting he is - a LAMB!  And we all know that the true FAITH is that of the Lamb that is led to the slaughter for us!  And in our own experience we know that in our weak lamblike state we reach up to Christ to carry us in his arms to safety!  

I have many phone calls to make now, so I will just say that we are so grateful for all the prayers.  We are lowered into his presence and Christ is reaching his hand out to us as he sees our FAITH, and the FAITH of our friends and family!  Christ reminds us in the Gospel today that our physical family is important for us to be here, but it needs to become the domestic Church which includes us in the Body of Christ, His Church!  "Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it."  He tells us today!  Lord, we are surrounded by YOU in this wonderful Catholic Christ filled home!  The little ones are so naturally filled with LOVE, LIFE and LIGHT... we are lifted up by their innocent grasp of the Word and Truth!  Patrick from his quiet lamblike state is teaching us the ways we are truly called to come to Him meek and humble.  We are finding that place in our hearts in the inner sanctuary within where we fall down before YOU!  Thank you for the river of graces flowing over us at this time of the Year of Faith!  We are overwhelmed by the river of LOVE!  May Joseph's journey home to be with his family be swift, and safe, and peaceful.  Jesus, we trust in you!  Amen and Halleluia

Bless-bless, Barb

"Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,

have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, 

have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, 

grant us peace."

Gaining strength in our home/domestic Church - surrounded by HOPE, PEACE, PRAYER, THE SPIRITUAL ARMY OF HEAVEN AND EARTH!  So fun to see St Barbara so honored here!  What a gift to have my namesake looking out for us in heaven!

The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross "God is dead! No wonder the earth quaked, the sun hid itself, the dead rose and Mary stood by in horror. Your human body gave up it's soul in death but Your Divinity, dear Jesus, continued to manifest its power. All creation rebelled as the Word made Flesh departed from this world. Man alone was too proud to see and too stubborn to acknowledge truth. Redemption was accomplished! Man would never have an excuse to forget how much You loved him. The thief on Your right saw something he could not explain - he saw a man on a tree and knew He was God. His need made him see his own guilt and Your innocence. The Promise of eternal life made the remaining hours of his torture. endurable. A common thief responded to Your love with deep Faith, Hope, and Love. He saw more than his eyes envisioned - he felt a Presence he could not explain and would not argue with. He was in need and accepted the way God designed to help him. Forgive our pride, dear Jesus as we spend hours speculating, days arguing and often a lifetime in rejecting Your death, which is a sublime mystery. Have pity on those whose intelligence leads them to pride because they never feel the need to reach out to the Man of Sorrows for consolation." Amen Mother Angelica's Station of the Cross!   Lamb of God, teach us how to be a lamb to your LOVE and TRUTH!