Prodigal father to all who have lost The Church/Truth - Pope Francis

Happy first anniversary dear Pope Francis - we take this call to Sainthood to heart!

In the sunrise this morning marking the anniversary of the first year of Pope Francis' reign in the Chair of St Peter... it appears as though Our Lady is looking out over him, and we all know that this is the truth!  Pat and I never get a chance to visit these days, with the fatigue and long hours that calving requires of Pat.  But this morning we made the time in the early dawn to visit about some of the deep thoughts Pat has been pondering, since we heard the mission speaker share for a couple nights.  We were unable to attend last night - Pat was working and I was watching the 5 kids so that Ruth and Paul could go with their FF kids.  I did know that he was going to end it with the ways we can grow in our love of Christ and His Bride, The Church... with Prayer, the Sacraments, and looking to Mary, Queen of Heaven and earth!  So very close to my heart!  Jon, our mission speaker, shared at great length the powerful story of the Prodigal son.. the facts that made this story so hard and crazy for the Pharisees.  The unbelievable ways the Father ran to his son and embraced him and forgave him - a privileged spoiled rotten son, who was lowered to a slave, who had squandered all his inheritance on prostitutes and the worst kinds of sin.  Pat shared how he is seeing more and more the way Pope Francis is following the example of Jesus in embracing the penitent sinner yet also condemning the sin!  He might not be as verbal in pointing out the sins and the dogmas of the Church, but they will never be altered or lessened.  Yet, how do we bring all those cast away from our amazing Church?  Jesus, reminds us that He has come for the Lost!  We see over and over those that have had huge burdens of guilt and sin forgiven all - and how they then are on fire for Christ and His Church!  They have experienced the total LOVE and unconditional forgiveness of Christ through the sacraments, and in turn want to share this with all they encounter.  They are on fire!  This is what the Church needs and why Christ came into the world!  To find the lost, to heal the sick, to embrace the prodigal son, to remind us that he nailed all our sins to the Cross with HIM, to show us the Truth that will set us free!

A picture for me of the sick and the lost - John early in his brain cancer journey being ministered to by one of his loving sisters, Nancy!  John struggled with his faith - "I don't feel anything.  My faith has never been tested, so I don't know what I believe."  He half-heartedly prayed for faith and a few weeks later brain cancer struck! John's story from the Prairie Catholic in his own words... http://dnu.org/news/documents/JAN.2013MASTERISSUE.pdf

The Gospel for today is amazing!  As followers of Jesus - we need only ask, seek, and knock and we will receive from Him - what the Father told his oldest obedient son after the lost one returned and he was angry...  "My son, you are always here with me, and everything I have is yours.  But we have to celebrate and be happy, because your brother was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found."   Luke 15:31-32  Pat was sharing fervently this morning about how this lost son was embraced and forgiven all - "he wasn't told to go and sit in the ash heap for years to pay for his sins."  This is what transforms people and inflames them for the True Church and Christ, and this is what Pope Francis is showing the world how to love as Christ Jesus loved! 

After listening to our mission speaker for the first two nights, and then listening to his CD I bought... I felt so much that I needed to share with him a special letter we received from Hallel on the occasion of the anniversary of her sister's engagement about 4 years ago... The Most Cherished Cross!

 

"Nancy, Look I am writing you a letter... aren't you impressed? Well, you better be because both you and I know how often this happens. I am writing to tell you now extremely excited I am about your engagement to Bill. I have to admit, when I got the news I wasn't really shocked but that night as it sunk in during adoration and the next day during mass I was so happy. My heart overflowed with joy for you. How beautiful to know that you have found your... most cherished cross. While I have never had the experience of being married, from what I hear is that he will truly be your cross. But not your cross as human eyes look at it, as a thing to run away from, as a thing of torture but rather as that which is truly the tree of life. It is only when clinging to the cross that one can truly live, it is the source of all life and of all love. Your marriage to Bill will be this, not something to run away from when it gets hard and when it hurts, but something to hold tight to, especially when it hurts because it is in this that you will find life and love. Know that it is through your marriage that Jesus wants to show you his great love for you and also that the best example that you can give to the world of Christ's love is a marriage lived in truth. So, in other words, know that I am so happy for you and that I love you a whole lot. Know that you are in my prayers during this crazy time of wedding planning; that you may not go crazy but rather learn to love each other better and that you may both have great joy and great peace. Remember to pray for me too! God Bless, Your little Sister Hallel"

Such a powerful and helpful message to all those married... realizing that marriage is hard and painful in the necessary ways of rubbing each other's rough edges off!  That hurts and we fight it - maybe if we remember that this is what Christ calls us to, and we need to start with those closest to us in our domestic Church/family!

So blessed that Fr Craig has taken John under his wing now.  Thank you, Lord! 

Jesus, we are so grateful to you for calling Pope Francis to take the succession of St Peter as the leader/pope/servant of The Church!  Yes, there are times when we wish he wouldn't say things that are taken wrongly, but there is much more good and Truth he is sharing and attempting to truly love as Jesus taught us!  This mission speaker, Jon Leonetti, reminds us of how amazing our Catholic Church is, and as Pat said - "He is making people feel good and encouraged to be Catholic!"  Yes!  The Church is amazing, and armed with His Word, His Sacraments, The Saints led by The Mother of God, and all the praying without ceasing... we are flooded with so much each day to help us on our journey!  We take heart and comfort in knowing that we, His Disciples, need only "ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."  Matt 7 - the Gospel for today  What do we ask for?  To have the strength to die to self so that Christ can live in me - so that I can give without counting the cost!  Jesus, we trust in YOU.  Amen and Hallelujah

 Bless-bless, Barbara Luke

"Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.  This is the law and the prophets."  Jesus to us - His disciples today in the Gospel also!

"The mercy that we must give to others includes that of standing up for the poor, the lonely, those who have no education and cannot stand up for themselves.  It means to engage in what we call social justice on behalf of our brother.  That involves opening ourselves to being pushed around and crucified.  This always happens to those who stand up for others..."  Servant of God Catherine de Hueck Doherty (1985)

"Pope Francis is always for the poor - he would stay with the Community of the Lamb - the poor - when he would come to Rome.  He rides the bus around Rome!"  Pat Verly this morning

The lost we will search for, O Lord! 

 Small things with great love

God is by Danielle Rose