Sweet Bernadette is just over a year, and she would love to climb into the swing by the warmth of the woodstove and look at books when she was here last week. Today is the feast of St John Bosco, who had a special call to homeless youth. "He chose love rather than severity as his tool for teaching children to treasure God's will and promise." Wow! That is a wonderful lesson to us about how children can gain understanding that God is LOVE by the way they are treated and taught by those in charge of their upbringing. It seems that there was a craziness going on in the world with industrialization and rapid growth going on in the mid to late 1800s, and that these children were lost and wandering the streets. It sounds like how things are today with kids left to their own defenses with electronic gadgets and gangs while their parent or parents work to gain money to live on. How important is it for our homes to be domestic churches where the Faith is shared and where kids are protected from the evil influences? Faithful HOMES where the faith is shared is almost more important than going to Church together as a family - if our faith is not shared with LOVE in our homes than going to Church together is probably like just going through the motions! Yes! Going to mass together and sharing the Sacraments of Baptism first, then Eucharist, Reconcilliation, and Confirmation... then asking our kids to consider a call to Holy Orders as a wonderful possibility for them, and our wonderful Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick that John was blessed with 3 times on his journey of brain cancer! And then if not Holy Orders or religious LIFE - the call to the sacrament of Marriage! A Sacrament that is necessary with each day to embrace our Most Cherished Cross and go down the narrow path of self-denial and giving without counting the cost!
Sharing prayer and our Faith in our homes is a most wonderful and loving way to grow together into a Domestic Church/family that loves Jesus, and His Bride, The Church!
Jesus, with St John Bosco showing us the way to love little ones into the knowledge and love of YOU. Yes, there is room for discipline as we teach them the difference between right and wrong. May we have a good balance and do all out of LOVE. Help families to come to share YOU in all that they do and may those youth we have raised up consider the call in their hearts and ask for the path YOU have laid out before them - always following after YOU carrying their Most Cherished Cross and going down the narrow path to LIFE/LOVE/LIGHT. Jesus, may the tiny mustard seed planted in our hearts and our homes become a huge tree in which many may find shelter in it's branches! The Kingdom of God dwells here in our midst thanks to your coming and saving us. Jesus, we trust in YOU. Amen and Hallelujah
Bless-bless, Barbara Luke
Come Holy Spirit into our hearts and homes!
Danielle Rose - the saint that is just me
I am off to my parents for the afternoon! JOY and safety in my travels! They truly showed me the path to The Church and all the blessings that abound!
http://familysoulstory.blogspot.com/p/the-amazing-story-of-13-becoming.html The page I dedicated to our family story of conversion!
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