"I think of the notes, and I want to play them for you, grandma." David, age 5 this morning

Love this picture and this familiar image since St John Paul II was pope for my married life up until 2005...  Life has washed over me already this morning and I feel like I am finally coming up for air.  Catch a breath and dive under once again!  The breeding each morning and night is wrapping up and as a result many cows and their calves are being moved to one of 4 different pastures - some as far as 10 miles away and some just across the road from our farm.  Paul has his small active full of life side kick farm boy along - 5 year old David.  He just went into the front room and on the piano made grandma's day with his wonderful playing for my delight.  He shared that; "I think of the notes , and I want to play them for you grandma.  I know that you love to hear the piano, so I do it for you.  The notes just come to me."  David

In for some breakfast with dirt on the top of his hands - he washed at least the under part - dressed for a day of work on the farm with his dad, uncle John and grandpa... David could be heard in the front room playing so beautifully that grandma had to come and watch and applaud with camera in hand!  On this feast of the Visitation... I have been visited by JOY at your glowing active sharing or LIGHT with me! 

David playing for me and the entire house was filled with his happy sounds on the piano... not hard on the ears at all!  Paul was sharing that according to our own perspective things sound good or bad... "Your sister in law was here yesterday and said that the mooing of the cows would get on her nerves quite quickly, but to us it is just normal and even a good thing."  Paul... I think he was trying to say that David's playing sounds so good to us, because we love him and appreciate all that he does to make our lives special.  Possibly... But I thought this was definitely music to my ears!  It added such an element of praise and joy and even a sense of peace and contentment in the midst of all that is going on with the farming this morning.  It makes all the psalms of praise using all the instruments come to mind!  In today's psalm from mass taken from Isaiah 12 the voice is the instrument of praise, and truly the sweet words of David were part of his sharing of all those wonderful messages of LIFE/LOVE/LIGHT to me this day!
"Sing praise to the Lord for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!"

A ray of sunshine in more ways than one!
With Nancy in her final weeks, and possibly having her son at any time... the feast of the Visitation today takes on a new depth this morning.  In giving birth and welcoming a new life into the world we are encountering the miracle of LIFE and holding it first in our wombs and then in our arms after the pain of childbirth we forget the pain when we hold that warm bundle in our arms and it suckles at our breast.  Oh wait!  I am writing about the honor and privilege of being a woman and able to experience this... a man never will know the extreme involvement the woman is given in this child!  We embrace our Most Cherished Cross and are filled with the seeds of life which combine with our eggs and life is begun when they come together.  Protect all life from conception to natural death, O Lord.  Then as women we are so blessed to carry this life forth to grow and develop in our wombs til they are ready to come and join us, we then give birth with pain and suffering and new joyously welcome this miraculous new life to now cherish and raise as LIGTHS for the world!  Recalling all this in the light of the Visitation today gives me such a wellspring of JOY and privilege to have been called to bring 12 into the world - 5 with me and 7 in heaven praying for me and our family until  we can be united in heaven!

"I hear the notes and want to play them to make you happy, grandma."  Sweet active David... like a bumble bee or a humming bird in how he is always on the move and then when tired drops in his tracks!  When we took him to Texas to visit his cousins there along with grandpa and grandma and Nancy with her 2... we were blessed with his kindness to the other kids, good eating and easy to put to bed!  A dream traveler as we were 4 days on the road!
"The Visitation is an encounter that carries with it a meaning that is exceptional... the exceptional presence of the Son she carries within her womb.  We can be certain that the mystery of the Visitation is effective in our live if we do now, before Jesus was born, what Christ will command us to do as he dies: 'Behold your mother.' "  See www.magnificat.com
What I am getting in touch with this day is that Mary bearing Christ in her womb visits each of us women as we are carrying that life and then bringing it into this world.  We realize that since Mary said "yes" and bore Christ in her sinless virginal womb... there is now a light in this world and there is a small piece of heaven in our domestic Church/family where this new LIFE can be raised to be a LIGHT in this world with the help of Mary bearing Christ to us as well as His Bride, The Church!  May we and the lives we have brought into this world and raised as LIGHTS then also become the Voice which can carry forth The Word, Christ, to all those we encounter on our narrow path following Jesus carrying our Most Cherished Cross!  So amazing!

David is very animated and expressive, and it was fun to capture him in some of this expressions as he shared how deeply he was feeling the music he was sharing this morning!
Jesus with Your Mother ever at your side, interceding for us and bringing You to the world each moment of each day.  Yes!  We do behold our Mother, and are so blessed to have her ever revealing the beauty of LIFE we are now given as You, O Lord, have entered the world in human flesh and suffered and died for us to take away our sins!  You then ask us to follow your example and to embrace our Cross and follow You... dying to self so that the Holy Spirit may live and breath and move within us!  May we die this day to self.  I thank you, Lord, that I have the privilege to be a woman and to bear life into the world, such a gift!  The encounter I have with Your Mother and God in her womb reveals to me just how blessed this gift is - to be a woman called to give birth to LIFE and to be open to LIFE!  May we ever embrace this call with a joyful excited YES!  Jesus, we trust in YOU.  Amen and Hallelujah

The rose matches sweet David's tie dye shirt he made in Michigan last summer... just weeks away from our 2 weeks in paradise!
Bless-bless, Barbara Luke

From the first reading this day - it was a beautiful gift during Patrick's miraculous healing after his being born dead - October of 2012
"Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer."  Romans 12:12
One more time for David... enjoy the human sunbeam...

Go Dave Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This one reminds me of you Dave!  And we all need to live by it!

Hold on tight!

Danielle Rose - Wonderfully made - Psalm 139

The field of battle between God and Satan is the human soul. This is where it takes place every moment of our lives. The soul must give free access to our Lord and be completely fortified by Him with every kind of weapon. His light must illuminate it to fight the darkness of error. He must put on Jesus Christ, His truth and justice, the shield of faith, the word of God to overcome such powerful enemies. To put on Jesus Christ we must die to ourselves. St. Padre Pio

  I just found this and had to add it here for all to groan over as I just did!  Too amazing for words - so take the thoughts of this Saint to heart!

Ukey

Luke took a very nice long nap, then grandma got him dressed cute and we went out to see what fun we could get into.  We found the baby kitties napping on the chairs out on the porch... Uke is what Rose calls him and we have all adopted it... actually all the little ones starting with Gus call him Ukey.

Soft to the nose... kitty seems to like Ukey to snuggle with her.

Our Lady was so beautiful as the storm was blowing in around us!

"I love her and always will- nothing is better than a Mother!"  Uke

How about a grandmother, Uke?

"She likes to take selfies of us, and I make them super cute."  thought Uke

"I found my daddy and grandpa - the rain made them come into the garage to see me."  Uke is super cute in every picture he is in...

"When a woman is in labor...." pain becomes joy at the sight of her child! John 16

Here is a crazy picture of Ruth out walking with her newborn about 7 months ago... along on the walk are her other 4 and Nancy with her two - what a sight for others to witness!  Ruth has experienced labor only two of her 5 children, and Nancy is entering the phase of some mild labor pains as her little boy has dropped and is getting ready to come into this world.  Nancy was just saying that she would love to wait a few weeks more and have a bigger boy to "push out."  She was also sharing another's experience pushing out a 10 pound baby 2 weeks ago and is still recovering from it.  Yes, I can relate to the Gospel for today and know it to be the Truth!  I was able to have my kids without C-section, so I know first hand the pain involved in the deliveries.  It is very hard to go through, but "she no longer remembers the pain because her joy that a child has been born into the world."  John 16:20-23  That beautiful new life makes all the pain and suffering fade away, and for me as they grow and are no longer filling your arms - I yearned for the next little one to fill it!  I realize that if I had known that John would be my last - I would have been a worse mess than I usually am and might have had a breakdown of sorts.

Rose at only 1 1/2 years old loves her new baby brother, Luke, back in November!

Why would Jesus mention this to us in the Gospel today?  As we embrace our Most Cherished Cross, as Jesus asks us to, and follow after Him down the narrow path of life... Yes, it is painful and hard to die to self so that The Holy Spirit may live within us and the Spirit of the Lord may be our spirit of Truth... but here is where we find the True Joy in this world by embracing all that is Good.  We give birth to LIFE/LOVE/LIGHT and forget about the labor pains we experienced to get there.  The world tries to make us think that our happiness can be found in material things and in big houses, big vacations to far flung places, a couple kids to indulge with all the things we never had, having the big job, having the perfect body, staying eternally young and beautiful, all me-me-me-me-me.  Lies and the wide path to destruction and darkness and loss of LIFE in this world and less LIGHTS for this world cast into darkness of sin and death!  "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy."  How I love it when Jesus speaks to us!

Bill and Nancy with their two as they hold new beautiful Luke 7 months ago... soon their arms will be filled with their new son!  Such exciting times and all that really matters in this world - the bringing of new LIFE into the world and raising them as LIGHTS!

How I am convicted by the message of Jesus and His Bride, The Church... that we are called to be open to LIFE and that truly calls us to die to our selfish desires and if the good Lord wills it to have large happy families/domestic Churches filled with LIGHT of Truth as we seriously take on the task of raising LIGHTS for the world.  I have shared many times that on our engagement weekend we were the only couple sharing that we wanted to have a large family- my doctor tells me that when I came in for my first pregnancy I told him that I wanted to have 12 kids!  All the other couples on our weekend said that they wanted one, two or none due to the mess the world was in.  It even make me wonder if we were being selfish to want a large family - Pat's immediate wonderful Spirit filled answer to me - "The world needs LIGHTS!"  The Truth revealed!  Just as St Paul in the first reading from Acts today... "The Lord said to him in a vision, 'Do not be afraid.  Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you...' " Acts 18  I know that this is my message, and I need to share it over and over and over and over, so that others may find the JOY after giving birth to many!   Look at 2 of my daughters now being told no more children after a rupture and with prayers and being watched closely and getting them here through C-section when they are ready to come... Ruth now has 3 miracle babies, and Maria is having her first miracle baby! 

http://familysoulstory.blogspot.com/p/my-most-cherished-cross-patrick-gerard.html  The page I devoted to our most cherished story of LIFE/LOVE/LIGHT!

Gus still loves Luke and prays for him and grandpa first every night.  He will be a wonderful big brother and probably over and over again!

Jesus, how blessed was I to find this Gospel this morning to greet me and encourage me to share my story of Truth.  If only we would take to heart the wisdom and teachings of our wonderful Church!  We need only to look there and to know that Jesus and His Bride, The Church, are there to help us reach the True Joy and Peace and Love to be found in Heaven!  How we long to dwell always with You, O Lord, and that is possible if we only die to self so that You may live within our hearts, minds and souls!  Come Holy Spirit and make us holy and lead us on the path to Sainthood as we are all called to be.  Jesus, we trust in YOU.  Amen and Hallelujah

Rose was an instant good big sister, and some of her selfish ways were dealt with naturally by a new younger sibling!

Bless-bless, Barbara Luke

"So you are also now in aguish.  But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you... Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you."  John 16: 20-23  How's that for a promise to hold onto?

Soon to be big sister, Bernadette!

Danielle Rose - The Saint that is just me

I am fiends of ST Therese site - I think it will be the best!

just discovered that it is Nancy's patron saint today - Happy Feast day, Nancy... ST Joan of Arc, pray for us!  I know you share your courage with Nancy as she faces the pain of childbirth as well as courageously sharing your Truth!

"for the prayers of my sisters and brothers in heaven...thank you, Lord." John Verly

John is home for the summer - looking for work, praying with mom, helping his dad with farming and his mom here and there, he has a part in the summer musical here in town and is taking voice lessons most days and practice at night - how he has always loved being involved in stage productions!  Why are we back to job hunting?  Because after his doctors visit in Rochester in January, where we got some shocking news that his brain is showing changes... John went into a deep depression and knew that he needed to be some place where he had support and that means here in Marshall.   He lived with Fr Craig during Lent in Canby and discerned that religious life is not for him, so now it is to find a job.  His only deep burning desire is to share his story of finding faith.  As he prayed this morning - "Thank you, Lord, for giving me brain cancer out of LOVE for me so that I could find Faith."  I corrected him that the Lord allowed him to have brain cancer, but in John's mind it was all out of love, so he prefers to think of it as the Lord gave him brain cancer.  "And that is a good thing."  In the first week of July John is going to Rochester on his own as we will be in Michigan... he has asked for another MRI and for a test to see how his memory and mental abilities are so that we can have a baseline to keep an eye on down the road.  Most of all we are praying like crazy for his brain to continue to be healed and protected from any damage from the radiation or chemo, and we ask for all to join us in this regard!

Rose gives Mary a smell of heaven - lilacs!  How John has fallen head over heels for Our Lady!  Today is in some places Ascension Thursday... here it will be on Sunday, but there was much wonderful food for thought shared today that really was powerful to share first with Pat and then with John...

"we go to heaven to the extent that we go to Jesus Christ and enter into him.  Heaven is a person:  Jesus himself is what we call 'heaven.' "  Pope Benedict XVI

How does this all tie in?  Well, I have shared over and over that sharing our Faith as a family after the example of The Holy Family has brought a small slice of heaven here on earth!  Our openness to LIFE did not turn out the way we had anticipated at all... we have 5 with us and 7 losses in heaven.  It truly ties us closely to heaven to have so many there praying for us and we feel those love and prayers on our journey of LIFE/LOVE/LIGHT!  Yes, Jesus has risen to his rightful place in Heaven and He has sent LOVE into us in the form of The Holy Spirit, and through Him we are able to rise above our sinful temptations of life and give of ourselves entirely and completely - giving without counting the cost!  When we see the mess the world around us is in and how Satan lies are accepted as truth... there truly are a cause to weep and mourn.  But when we are given the gift of sharing Faith in our domestic Church/family we can experience how that grief can become JOY!  For John to pray this morning with his eyes on his siblings in heaven - knowing that they are praying without ceasing for his needs as well as those of our family - for the safety of the farmers in all they do, for my work in the nursing home, for the two little boys in the wombs of Maria and Nancy, for the continued healings of Patrick and John, for John to find his path in life, for all the LIGHT we are called to reveal to the world in sharing our stories of Faith/Family/Farm, for our seeking of The Way, the Truth and the LIFE - Jesus and His Bride, The Church, and for now the openness to LIFE in each of the girls in their marriages, on and on.  It is such an amazing blessing to know of their prayers for us - as John said this morning - "Thank you, Lord!"

John with the kitty he wants to have someday - Oreo, and Godson, David.

Jesus with your Mother, Mary the Mother of God, we are given the graces we need each day to reject the evil, darkness, and sin that surrounds us and lies to us and confuses us.  We need to listen to the Spirit within us and embrace the Truth!  How do we hear this Truth - the Holy Spirit?  By listening to your Word each day, by partaking in your Sacraments, by looking to your Saints, by listening and taking to heart all the dogmas of our wise Holy Catholic Church - the Church is helping us get to heaven and we are not to pick and choose what we believe, by having an undying devotion to Our Spiritual Mother of heaven and earth... how many times has she appeared to he humble of this world?  That is where John fell in love with her - at Lourdes and the miraculous healing waters where Bernadette dug after she was instructed by the Beautiful Lady!  I have also recently heard that she appeared to some school girls in Rwanda before the horrible genocide that occurred there... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Kibeho  Then there is Guadalupe, Medjugorje, and Fatima!  How she loves us if only we will be small an humble and allow her to bring Christ - the LIGHT- into our hearts, minds and souls!  How we are given the ability to find Heaven within us - Christ Jesus and His Bride, The Church!  Jesus, we trust in YOU.  Amen and Hallelujah

I recently discovered a new hat that Our Lady wears - Our Lady Undoer of Knots!
The article I read from the Catholic Digest speaks of how in relationships there are twists and turns and tangles and that praying to Our Lady, who intercedes to her Son - there have been cases where they are straightened out!  On both sides of our family there are those places where there are knots, Our Lady, please bring those knots to openness and unconditional love and forgiveness. 
Bless-bless, Barbara Luke
"Eve, by her disobedience, tied the knot of disgrace for the human race; whereas Mary, by her obedience, undid it... for what the virgin Eve had bound fast through disbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith."  Lori Hadacek Chaplin in the article in the Catholic Digest - The Pope's Favorite Marian Devotion - Our Lady Undoer of Knots

Now Mary undoing the knots...
http://www.catholic.org/news/international/europe/story.php?id=52743  Here is a reflection by Pope Francis on this devotion.

The Litany of humility sung by Danielle Rose - the first time I heard this I thought how can anyone pray for this?  Now I know that Jesus and Our Lady comes to the humble and small - may I find this in myself, O Lord.

The Memorare by sung by Danielle Rose - repeating it 9 times plus all the prayers kept the storm away in Kansas City a few weeks ago for the 3 Americans taking their habits and becoming Little Sister Agape, Little Sister Kateri, and Little Sister Frances!  It can't rain there are too many prayers for this event of Faith!

On facebook from my friend, Fr Robert Barron!  Wishing you an amazing Ascension Thursday!

Finally a great sweet picture of my Therese from Texas - a family picture she did on the white board - mommy is holding her new brother due in September and it looks like dad is holing miracle boy, Patrick!  Notice that she has lost both of her front teeth... too sweet for words!

A wonderful sight to behold

There is a lone tree in the back pasture that has such a special shape, and wonderful shade for the cows and calves this morning as we went out to check the fence and move them from one pasture to another. 

The shade is cool on a warm day... step out a  few feet and there is lush grass to eat, or for a calf find your mom and you can get a belly full of milk.

Bear and her cute week old calf Teddy are already out on grass.

 An oasis...

Coming to move into the next pasture as we call them - "Come Boss!!!!"

 Rosary, phone, lilacs and camera are my companions as turn on and off the fence... Some nature shots.

Dazzling sunlight with a dandylion aglow in its light!

 Soybeans seem to be growing larger and larger after the rain...

Across the road checking the fence...

 An explosion of LIGHT and color is a picture of what a glorious day it is!

A green special temple on a glowing spring evening on the farm.  Treated to many special sights today as I had time with rosary, camera, and lilacs while checking the fence.  Jesus, we trust in YOU.  Bless-bless, Barb

Being silly without Sue/Hallel - Krusties and silliness brings her closer

An 8 year old and 7 year old girls experiencing the 3 Americans taking their habits! 
A morning remembering Hallel and the miraculous time we went there early in John's brain cancer - after his 2nd chemo he called during the night for his dad to help him to the bathroom.  There was no reception and he had to get there on his own - barely but he did it!  We both agreed this morning that it was the Holy Spirit at work- giving us the glimmer of hope we needed to even think about buying our tickets back to go to France for Hallel's taking of her habit and changing her name from Susan to Little Sister Hallel.  Eating Krusties brought us back to how crazy amazing it was that in 24 hours we had bought tickets and drove down the driveway to catch our plane in the Cities! 

 In the airport in Amsterdam on a lay over on our way to Toulouse, France! 
Life has interjected and I have been out moving cows from one pasture to the next... I was able to get some of my rosary in, but kind of lost my train of thought.  There are those things that make us feel close to our Hallel in France.  It helps that we have been there and have that mental picture and spiritual awareness of all that Saint Pierre holds for us. 

Susan sees John for the first time - we surprised her with our suddenly coming to France. 
John was saying today that he wants to travel to places where the Community is and where Hallel is with a new group.  She is now in Marseille, and John said that he would like to go there and see her life there.  Krusties pancakes this morning reminded us of our daily pancakes with unique toppings.  It is a long story of a very expensive bag of Krusties getting shipped to Hallel for Easter that year.

An outside lunch...

How we love our expanded family - The Community of the Lamb.  We prayed for the family to gather in Michigan in a month..."all except Hallel." John prayed.  "Why?"  "Because we need her prayers, and we can't have her presence there."  It would be wonderful, but is impossible. 

Newly habited in August of 2009 and now Little Sister Hallel!
Jesus, you reveal the Truth in this world by Your Spirit which dwells within us.  May we carry that forth with great JOY to change our world.  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barb
St Paul to us in the first reading..."It is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything.  He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any of us.  For "In him we live and move and have our being," ..."For we too are his offspring."  Acts 17:15-18:1  Paul speaking to the Athenians

John with Little Sister Marie, the founder and Judith.
A Hallel Psalm in mass today - Psalm 148 - a psalm of total praise of Our Lord!  "Everytime someone says my name they are giving God the Highest praise - Hallelujah!
"Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.
Praise him, all you angels;
praise him, all you hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory."

The Eucharist is shared out under the stars and with the watchful eyes of the little ones!
"But when he comes, the Spirit of Truth, he will guide you to all truth."  The Gospel of today John 16
"It is not impossible for a man to imitate the virtues of God when he has received the Spirit of God... It is from the influence of this Spirit, as from a heavenly seed, that the children of God are born."

Third Day - Ballad of songs