JTerm at St Thomas is devoted to one class and for the seminarians that tends to involve travel. But for the first year guys - there are 11 including John - it is a day long class they are attending led by a Deacon, who is teaching them about Church history. John also told me that he is dressing in his cassock and surplice daily and assisting at mass, because they are the only ones there. John did bring this home with him over the Christmas holiday to help out at mass, but it was never used. He does admit that he is totally untrained yet in assisting, so he was looking forward to this time to be taught at the feet of those, who know! John shared that he had tried out with the person in charge of the singing, and that he will now be put on the schedule to lead that morning and evening prayer as well as cantor at mass, so he is excited about that. "I have discovered that my prayer is song a lot of the time! That is how I pray, and feel the closest to God." He is awaiting the arrival of a ukulele he ordered, to add an instument that he can sit around and work on. It sounds like a good way to work on his left hand too, which was affected by the brain biopsy he had 3 1/2 years ago.
John also was surprised that many had read his article in the Prairie Catholic even up there at school! "I get a lot of good feedback about it." One thing that really was huge in John's cancer/healing/seminary journey, which is ongoing to this day and beyond, is the humility piece! John has on his back burner the book that he wants to write about it all... and while he was home on break, he showed me the outline he has come up with. It was quite detailed and as I was reading through - every now and then I would laugh at this situation or that... mostly remembering the hard/humble situation that happened. John, due to his times in front of people entertaining them over the years, was quite well known in this community. To have him suddenly struck with brain cancer and the resulting new John - humility was a big piece! John the Baptist speaks to us in the Gospel today - "Christ must increase; I must decrease." When John asked half-heartedly for Faith this was the answer to prayer he was given! Die to self so that Christ can live and work in and through you! And that literally took him to the brink of physical death!
http://dnu.org/news/documents/JAN.2013MASTERISSUE.pdf Once again the article about John from the Prairie Catholic
Walking in France with the help of his Little Sister Hallel at the beginning of this amazing journey! Hallel has always been there for her little brother, and this is such an image of her love and care for him in his need! The title of this sharing is taken from the meditation of the day in the Magnificat. "Mary...meditation on her humility was a cloak or a mantle with which we could warm ourselves. But since a mantle gives this service only to those who wear it and not to those who merely think about it, she said; 'Mary's humility will not help anybody except those who endeavor to imitate her. Therefore clothe yourself with this humility.' "
This picture is the so powerful for our family! It was 8 years ago just as we had taken Maria to the convent of the Poor Clares and she had gone behind the enclosure! These two sisters have always been almost too close in age - just a year apart in school and 16 months in age... there was a bit of a mostly friendly competition between them. But the realization that there would be this enclosure between them - they swallowed their pride and found a special way to show their love for each other! It truly is a glorious picture of putting on the "mantle of humility" which our Spiritual Mother, Mary Most Holy, wears so beautifully for us to model after. Clothed in humility she humbly said "yes" to this life-changing event of allowing Christ/God to enter the world in the humble state of a helpless little child/lamb of God!
Therese holds tenderly her new little brother, Patrick Joseph, who had just come home after 2 1/2 weeks in NICU after being born dead and coming back to LIFE and health through prayer.
Jesus, with your glorious Mother, Mary Most Holy, at your side... we love and thank you for showing us the power of dying to self, and allowing you to enter our domestic Church/family and the world around us... through our humbly allowing your Spirit to work through us! Yes, humility is the most important virtue there is for us to become - HUMBLE! It is so hard to give up our selfish desires, but this narrow path is what leads us to LIFE and LOVE as we carry our Most Cherished Cross. Help us to be humble, O Lord. Jesus, we trust in you. Amen and Halelluia
"Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on, so that children have very little time for their parents. Parents have very little time for each other, and in the home begins the disruption of peace of the world." Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
Take the time to read her address to the prayer breakfast - out of this world amazing!
http://www.ewtn.com/New_library/breakfast.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QVXOy2d5G8 The Litany of Humility sung by Danielle Rose The first time I read the Litany - I thought how can anyone pray for this!?! Danielle shares in her I thirst album that explains that Blessed Teresa's order prays this weekly!
No comments:
Post a Comment