"We're on the upward trail..." Song from my past

Maria has given me permission to borrow her pictures from her blog, and this is what greeted me this morning!  A group of pictures of Fr Matthias saying mass in their home - he is a very close friend and Godfather to Therese.  He spent the week with them, and Maria wrote about how powerful it was - "Yeah - pretty much the best! However, as Joe noted after the first Mass we celebrated in-house, it was quite intimidating inviting not only Father, but the King of Kings into our house in such a concrete way! Now THAT is a house guest that you can't hide the dirty floor boards from, if you get what I mean!"  Wow! 

Soon these will become Christ - he will be in the bread and the wine - HIS Body and Blood!  Fr Matthias will hold up the golden plate/paten with the host on it, and speak these Words of Christ - "Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my Body, which will be given up for you."  at the consecration - I bow and say with St Thomas - "My Lord and my God."  I bow to the ground as I am so unworthy, and I recognize that He is my Lord, and Savior come to His Church gathered to receive HIM!  Then Fr Matthias lifts up the silver and gold cup filled with the wine - "Take this all of you, and drink from it, for this is the Chalice of my Blood, The Blood of the New and Eternal Covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.  Do this in memory of me."  I bow to the ground in deep humility and repeat with St Thomas - "My Lord and my God."  Christ is present and he cares not about our dirty floors or closets filled with disarray!  He loves us unconditionally and has endless Mercy upon us.  We in turn need to return that to all those in our lives - most especially those in our domestic Church/family! 

An unexpected job this morning with the two men in the lightly falling snow.  I rubbed shoulders with my super son-in-law, Paul.  He took some time to build me up while we worked together tagging the heifers we are going to keep and will have many calves for us over the next 10 or more years...  He reassured me that my sharing and pictures could be ministering to some in one way - seeing the JOY of LIFE in my photos, and then the ministry of my spiritual ramblings, so.... I am reassured and getting in touch with also the fact that this time of year, since 4 years ago, has become quite a powerful emotional echo!  Yes, it was the huge battle for John's life with the cancer growing back through the chemo... we were in the midst of doing whole brain radiation to save his life, and this week was our week of prayer!  Dec1-7 was an entire week - 24 hours a day of continual prayer!  So powerful and the MRI that we had after showed that the cancer was close to being totally gone, and within weeks we had CR - Christ Rules/Complete Response!  How reassuring and uplifting to have that echo around us as we head, in the snow, to Rochester in the wee hours of the morning to get the good news we expect from our two doctors there!

Thinking of the trenches with John and rubbing shoulders with Paul this morning out by the headgate - it just seemed to me as we are supporting each other in the battle, and this song from my Protestant Camp days came back to me - "We're on the upward trail.  We're on the upward trail.  Singing, singing, everybody's singing as we go..."  It is sung as you march and just really expresses for me the new resolve I feel today - realizing that there are people that value what I do here, but most of all the evangelization that I hope can begin to take place too!  I can picture my little ones climbing the steps to their beds after our family would pray together around the advent wreath, and we would be singing this marching song.  Yes, they were climbing the stairs, but we are most importantly climbing the narrow trail through the battle fields of LIFE carrying our Most Cherished Cross and following after Jesus, our Lord and Savior!

John and Mary having some fun on the weekend when we vaccinated the calves.
Jesus, today we are reminded of a most amazing Saint Francis Xavier...  He shows us how important it is to spread the Word and the Truth to all ends of the earth!  Surrounded by many prayers on our journey is so important, and this day on the anniversary of our week of prayer we are very aware of the miracle we were blessed with through PRAYER!  We carry that forth with us as we travel to Rochester tomorrow for our MRI and meeting with the doctors, who shared our journey - Cancer/healing with us.  We look to YOU with great Trust and confidence that YOU will continue to hold John close to your heart burning with LOVE for him, and use him to share Your healing and answer to Prayer with all those around him - "I prayed for Faith and he answered me with brain cancer - now I believe and will share the Truth with all that will listen to my message of healing!"  John Verly - http://verly002.wix.com/thelightturnedon  Jesus, our world needs your Peace as you revealed a crazy peaceful and world of Trust in Isaiah today!  Picture this...

Isaiah 11:6-9

New International Version (NIV)

^6 "The wolf will live with the lamb,
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling^[a] together;
    and a little child will lead them.
⁷ The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
⁸ The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea."  That is what our week of Prayer did for our hugely anxious fear when we faced the regrowth of John's cancer, O Lord!  Thank you, Lord, and we know that YOU are with us and in control of the storm now and forever.  Most of all tomorrow as we go to Rochester again.  Jesus, we trust in YOU.  Amen and Hallelujah

Bless-bless, Barbara Luke

Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I give you praise, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and learned you have revealed them to the childlike.  Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will."  Luke 10 - the Gospel today!  I am reminded over and over that being small and minor as I am is a gift and necessary to "see."

Touching the hem of his garment... touching Jesus in His Body and Blood!

Danielle Rose - If I touch him

 

I found it!  We're on the upward trail...