Grandpa with our 3 new grandchildren!!! His big hands make it look easy. Today is the Presentation in the Temple as Mary and Joseph bring their newborn son joyfully to the temple..."Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate of the law of the Lord." Luke 2: 22-35
You have all heard me share from the rooftops... how my husband filled with the Holy Spirit directed our marriage and life of our family, and now the families of our daughters and son... "The world needs LIGHTS!" is the motto of our family in answer to the world telling us that we should not be open to family and LIFE. How do you counter the mess and darkness of the world - not by limiting our children in number, but by saying "YES!" to LIFE and then with great care and effort raise LIGHTS to bring the darkness to an end! We were blessed with 11 - 6 in heaven praying and helping us on our journey down the narrow Path carrying our Most Cherished Cross, and the 5 that we so appreciate and LOVE that are here with us on earth! The best thing ever, as a parent, is when they in turn take you deeper and deeper in your FAITH!
The 9 grandchildren - two screaming after a long day at Christmas Camp... Sharing the nest years openly with our children. Grieving the loss of the 6 together... it just makes you appreciate the siblings you do have that much more. Our children are terrifically close to each other, and it is very true that you have one foot in heaven as you anticipate meeting the others someday, and knowing that they are with us in Spirit here on earth! Little Therese was so cute when she spoke of her two siblings in heaven, and all of them being united someday (Maria has also now had two mischarriages). "When we get to heaven we are going to have to have a big van for all the kids!" There is no doubt that those kids will be so close, and be aware of their family in heaven!
Family and LOVE involves the happy and the sad. Without the down times and the hard times... the good times would not be nearly so good! When you embrace LIFE and are open to family, as the Lord calls us to... it just doesn't mean that you end up with 10 kids or more. Yes, you will probably end up with a large family, by today's standards, but you are also taking very seriously passing on our Faith values/morals to our children. There are numerous examples of how we were strongly directive in our children's lives... One very large one I would like to share today. Our 3rd daughter, Maria, was looking at colleges. She was only going through the motions in her Catholic Faith, and we knew that she would be looking to leave it as soon as she got away from home. We looked at two colleges one Lutheran and one Catholic. She decided that she wanted to attend the Lutheran college. We put our foot down, and told her that if she was going to attend a private college it would be Catholic, and that she would not have the option of choosing. She did not fight us on this, and we were very firm! So off she went, and within the first week she asked a seminarian where she could find an Efree church as she was going to leave the Church. "We have to talk." Led into a conversation that changed her to the point that she wrote me a letter at the next TEC retreat I worked thanking me for my prayers for her, and assuring me that she had not only not missed a Sunday mass, but was now going to daily mass! I have the letter forever taped in the front of my Bible!!! She entered Catholic Studies, studied in Rome for an entire year, entered the Poor Clares for 5 months, discerned that was not for her and is now married to a strong Catholic man she met there, and has 5 children - two of which are in heaven! Her life would have been so much different without that strong direction she received from her parents... I will say that without hesitation! There is also the constant prayer we are called to as parents in there too! That is my true calling as a mother - Parents Real/Truth All-tell Yearning Exclaming Reaching-to-Heaven24/7 - PRAYER 24/7! Yes, we have to use our mouth sometimes and give firm direction, but praying for them, and with them, and sharing our FAITH with great JOY is so important in raising LIGHTS!
Lord, today in the psalm for mass - Psalm 96, A grand Hallel Psalm of the highest Praise to you... You tell us to
"Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!"
Lord, when we do this within our domestic Church/family the JOY, and Peace, and LOVE surely do abound to the highest heavens! Our families become the place of growth in YOU, and we are filled with Your Spirit of Truth and LIFE! We go forward filled with the knowledge and LOVE for you, and sharing that is the way we live and act towards all those around us. May it truly start in our homes, O Lord, where we can allow all the JOY of knowing and loving you to overflow to our children, children-in-law, and grandchildren! We thank and praise you for your Church and how we are helped in our quest to raise LIGHTS/Saints for the world. May the darkness be no more, and may parents pass all the beauty of FAITH on to their children. We need your Spirit to come and show us the narrow path we are to follow in your steps towards LIFE eternal. Jesus, we trust in you. Amen and Halleluia
Bless-bless, Barb
"Behold this child is destined for the rise and fall of many in Isreal, and to be a sign that will be contradicted ( and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." Luke 2 The Gospel today! Mary, Mother of ALL, help us to bear your Son to the world this day - most especially those in our domestic Church/family! We yearn to model our families after your Holy Family.
Mary with her Godmother, Maria, saying goodbye til next time... always knowing that she is surrounded by PRAYER!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PANiveIKVX0 Come to Jesus by Chris Rice!!! Yesterday at a funeral.. this song was beautifully sung - John sat between his dad and I and took both of our hands - we wept at the miracle of John's Faith journey called cancer/healing/seminary! Lord, we are overwhelmed by YOU!
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