Friday, December 13, 2013

St Lucy, virgin and martyr - Motherhood/wifehood vocation

So very happy to have my Texas family here safe and sound in our winterwonderland!  Arrived over at Ruth's this morning just as the Mary and Simon were off to school, and entered the warm kitchen filled with little ones shoveling in pancakes.  Talk about warm feelings - Faith/Family/Farm - filling me to the brim!
These are the pictures that make my day! 
After some wonderful time shared Pat and I returned to our farm to begin the day.  First we started up the woodstove and shared morning prayer around the advent wreath.  What JOY to discover the feast day of a most amazing young girl Saint from the 300s!  St Lucy!  Maria shared with me on the way down here yesterday a sweet story of my little 5 year old, Therese!  "The other day she was speaking about her patron St Therese... 'Mom, St Therese is like the roots and I am like the flower that grows from those roots.  No, it is more like I am the roots, because I am all dirty, and St Therese is the beautiful rose for all the world to see.  When I get to Heaven there will be two St Thereses there, and they will have to think about which one they are praying to.  Is it St Therese of Lisieux or St Therese from El Paso?' "  She shared this special story with me when Therese was distracted and not hearing what we were sharing.  I am deeply moved and touched by the beauty of it.... much like I feel so deeply this morning the powerful message of a young woman embracing the Truth and Faith in the story of St Lucy.  She left the world behind and was a bride of Christ - giving all her wealth to the poor.  This inflamed her fiancé and he was instrumental in her torture and death!  How we can gain from her intercession in assisting us in remaining pure and untangled from worldly possessions or desires!
All the activity and times shared together.  It seems that the winter keeps us gathered together inside enjoying each other! 
This seems to not fit with St Lucy - yet it is what a lot of us women are called to rather than the life as a Bride of Christ - that of Motherhood and wifehood!  http://catholicexchange.com/vocation-motherhood  I was blessed with this beautiful article shared by a young mother, who recently suffered a miscarriage.  She writes about how we find Christ in our sufferings and it is wonderfully written!  I would suggest taking the time to read it!  This paragraph is so wonderful that I am going to share it!
"When I was first introduced to the concept of “vocation”, I understood it to mean the path God planned for a person that would bring him the most happiness.  I saw the process of discerning one’s vocation as the process of finding one’s “happily ever after”.  While finding the vocation intended for you may bring you the most inner joy, I now think of it less as a road to happiness than a road to suffering – the specific struggles and sufferings that will bring you closest to God"
Mandi Richards - her blog is Messy wife, blessed life
St Lucy was blinded in her journey towards martyrdom - "In her suffering courage we catch sight of the LIGHT of Faith that cannot be quenched by any darkness."  see www.magnificat.com
Lord, there is so much this day that reminds us that the suffering we endure as we embrace our Most Cherished Cross leads us to YOU and the LIFE eternal that you have brought into the world!  The LIGHT that has done away with the darkness of sin and death!  We are so blessed by the great vastness of Mother Church in all that she gives us to grow in the knowledge and LOVE of YOU with every day!  To have all these young virgins and mothers sharing your Truth with the world and showing us that being called to both are a beautiful "vocation."  Jesus, reveal the path for each one - finding that place of inner joy which comes from the specific sufferings we endure as we embrace our Most Cherished Cross and find LIFE/LOVE/LIGHT!  Jesus, we trust in YOU.  Amen and Hallelujah
Bless-bless, Barbara Luke
"Behold, now she follows the Lamb who was crucified for us, powerful in virginity, modesty her offering, a sacrifice on the altar of chastity."  Entrance antiphon from mass today
My Most Cherished Cross with some LIGHTS to the world!  St Lucy and St Therese, we know you are with us on our journey and help us on our individual paths to sainthood!
Danielle Rose - the Saint that is just me
Danielle Rose - Pursue me - her vocations song

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