I was told no pictures as we walked through the snow in to share glorious morning prayer with Hallel and The little Sisters and little brothers yesterday morning. Watching the snow drift past the windows and listening to the beautiful voices singing, praising, worshiping... all around us the candles lit of many candelabras and beautiful flowers around the icon of the nativity. It was such an intimate and cozy and beautifully Christmas feel to our times together.
Sharing prayer before bed on Christmas Eve with Nancy's 3 oldest... song and prayer and reading Bible stories. Only one night for the 4th Advent candle this year! Sharing extra prayer around the Advent wreath was a special time for our family growing up and there is such a cozy special feel when the candles are lit on the cold long nights of Advent. Wonderful to share in that tradition carried forth now with our children and their families.
After morning prayer... Pat was impressing on Little Brother Clement, who grew up in Florida, about how impressive our winters are in Minnesota. Pat has decided that the worst part of the cold is the horrible winds we deal with. "I can work in 20 below with no wind better than 10 degrees with wind." As he gets older the wind is his enemy.
How I love to have my bowl of coffee!!! This is so French and something that I have come to embrace with JOY! Not for cereal but for our coffee! We had the gift of breakfast with just Hallel! We had such a special visit before we headed down the road for Christmas with Pat's siblings in the Cities!
We had a wonderful French breakfast with bread, meat and cheese, oatmeal with apricots, and wonderful fresh fruit and lots of sharing about our marriage and the farm! We feel her prayers for us, and depend on them. Sharing prayer and a meal with her reminds us of how deeply they live their life of poverty, chastity and obedience and adore her Spouse, Jesus Christ!
Josephine in her special chair, dolly and all the accessories!
It was very special to be there in the morning for opening of presents with little ones, and also sharing special times of prayer, worship, Jesus, and meals with the little/poor/Little brothers and Sisters of the Lamb! We are called to be little/small/humble and it was a Christmas filled with all those living this Truth!
The snow falling looking out from the warmth and light of Lumen Christi/LIGHT of Christ little Monastery! We are with our family and the LOVE/LIFE/LIGHT is aglow in Jesus within!
In the snow and cold they found a stable for warmth and the Holy Family came to be with God as the center of our families!
Hallel saying goodbye in the snow in KC. Luckily we drove out of it quite soon, and had great roads for our trip up to the Cities!
Wintry scene... Hallel has her wonderful family of the Lamb and her Spouse, Jesus, always there to fill her with The Way, the Truth and the LIFE!
7 hours of travel on good roads, and listening to The Hobbit in it's entirety! Then great time with Pat's brothers and sisters. Margie and Ida... two most special sisters to us!
Thank you, Ida, for hosting a great evening! The food and love shared is what Christmas is all about...Faith/Family/Farm!!! Mom was there in our midst!
So beautiful!!! Humble is beautiful too!!! My soul is lifted up in all the ways we share our Faith with our entire family!
A year ago in KC... Nancy and her family! John and I were just saying that for Hallel to come for the year... I have prayed long and hard for 9 years for this to happen... but now it is so perfect as we have a wonderful comfortable home filled with family to stay with while we come to visit Hallel. We only spend a few hours here and there with her, and staying in a hotel for the rest of the time over days of being there would be less than wonderful in so many ways! For the Lord to transfer Billy and family just to KC and now for Hallel to be there for the year. Next coming is Ruth and Paul for New Years with their family, and then John and Bobbi over the weekend of the 20th, and then I am needed to baby sit for Nancy and Bill the next weekend, and when not watching the kids I am sure that I will be blessed with some moments of special closeness to Jesus and His Bride, Hallel!
A tribute to Pat's mother... her dishes at Ruth's for Christmas dinner!
Jesus, I feel so loved and thankful for all the Blessings we are given if only we stay small and humble and die to self so that you may live in us! We carry you forth into our day to day lives as the new year begins once again! Today we are joined by St John the Evangelist... how he loved you and brings us into the LIGHT of your LOVE in his wonderful books of the Bible!
Beloved:
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life —
for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life" I John 1
LOVE!!!
SHRINE FOR THE UNBORN
- Unveiled Mother’s Day 2015 -
St Mary Magdalene Parish, St. Louis, Missouri.
"We desire to be able to welcome Jesus at Christmas time, not in a cold manger of our heart, but in a heart full of love and humility, in a heart so pure, so immaculate, so warm with love for one another."
St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta
this really describes the inner warmth we experience with the Christ child in our midst!
"It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you."
St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Wow!!! LOVE!
The mystery of the Incarnation, when the eternal Son of God became the son of Mary, still fills the heart with joy and awe and thanksgiving.
The real christmas tree with living "decoration" created by bald eagles in Brackindale, British Columbia.
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