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.
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!
No comments:
Post a Comment