Pat ponders why his Catholic faith stuck with him through the formative years... his respect for the Faith of his parents/mother and the Holy Spirit at work in him from his Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation, and lets add also the Sacrament of Reconciliation which weaves in and out of our lives and brings us the washed clean soul with which we approach Him over and over again! Yes, we can see the Sacraments at work in our lives and keeping us on the narrow path to Heaven forever with Jesus and Mary and all the Saints!!!
http://familysoulstory.blogspot.com/p/my-most-cherished-cross-patrick-gerard.html
The Crucifix/Cross between us is the Truth in our marriage!!! During our childbearing years the losses were many and hard including 2 still born sons! Sharing that pain brought us to a place of love and deep caring for one another, and ALL LIFE!
And I also feel that the Holy Spirit was at work in both of our lives as we were called to share the Sacrament of Matrimony one with the other! I even say that his prayers for me and his determination to marry someone who was strongly Catholic... He shocked his sisters when he told them that he would only marry a Catholic! That his prayers were instrumental in bringing me and my entire family into The Church... all 13 of us 46 years ago!!!
http://familysoulstory.blogspot.com/p/the-amazing-story-of-13-becoming.html
As for me... I think that Pat can say that carrying forth his Holy Spirit inspired wisdom of being open to LIFE and raising LIGHTS in our marriage took the both of us, and instilling the Faith in our 5 fell a lot to me in the home. Looking to the Saints was huge for our children to learn about how we are all called to work towards sainthood and that we can persevere no matter the cost!
The 13 shortly after swimming against the tide of all those leaving The Church after Vatican 2 at our "farm," which is kind of joke now that I am married to a man who truly farms... our farm was a building site in Wisconsin with a unused dairy barn and a large garden... no running water made is quite rustic! My parents knew we needed to get out of Minneapolis for the summer and have work to keep us occupied.
These were my early romance years with My wonderful Catholic Church! I call them my "nun years" as I was discerning a call to be a nun, and even lived behind the cloister for a month and wrote a paper about the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. I also read by two Thomas's Merton and A'Kempis! The thing is that each and every days since has been so out-of-this-world amazing!!! My love grows ever stronger and bigger and overflows with all that I am given with each new day from the Readings for the day/Jesus in The Word, The Saints for the day, Mary my spiritual mother, who leads me in prayer to her Son each day through the rosary, The Sacraments whenever possible, and sharing prayer with family and here!!!
Pregnant with our 4th girl, Susan Angela/Little Sister Hallel... We had just had two miscarriages and one was lost as I lay to rest my precious sister, Mary, at age 28 to cancer! I wondered how Susan/Hallel would turn out as I wept through her entire pregnancy. Now 32 years later I can say that she shies away from emotions, so that seems to fit.
The Gospel today is the miracle of feeding the 4,000, who had not eaten much for 3 days as they listened to Jesus teach and watched him heal... I am trying to imagine the atmosphere of day and night for all that time of growing in faith and probably having an ailment or disease or disfigurement vanish at the touch of his hand....
Then after all that experience of heaven on earth and much of it spent fasting as who could think about food when all this was happening around you and all the people experiencing the same thing together... imagine the JOY and the conversations of wonder and awe shared among them!!! After all that the smell of bread being prayed over and broken with his eyes up to heaven and the bread and the fish are passed to them... nothing would taste better to them and they would eat with gusto and deep deep hunger for food!
"They ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets.
There were about four thousand people." Mark 8
A miracle that capped off this glorious experience from which they hopefully never recovered and when he finally sent them away that it changed their lives completely and totally!
Pat happened to go with me yesterday to find a gift from his family/the Gerard and Anna Verly family for his cousin and her family. Char's husband, Deacon Denny, was a permanent Deacon in The Catholic Church, and he had a large garden. I found the plant arrangement, and was looking at a plaque with words of love on it. Pat wasn't impressed and said; "Is there anything Catholic?" We looked all over and there on the top shelf I could see St Francis in the back. It took moving boxes and a ladder to get him down and then we discovered that it is a Holy Water font! He hangs on the wall and we included Lourdes water, which we have a lot of after our 2 visits to Lourdes!
It was the only decidedly Catholic image there!!! And it is so perfect for their family as they can dip their fingers in the holy water on entering their home and feel a blessing from their father, husband, grandpa! Perfect, and the direction of my husband once again made me most grateful for his listening to the Holy Spirit in his life! I see this in both my dad and my husband and that is the BEST!
Jesus, once again I am filled with the emotions that being touched by you brings to me! I am overjoyed by all that fills my days. Today be with Pat and I as we spend 8 hours in the car coming and going to pay our respects to Deacon Denny. Hold his family in the palm of your hand. Be with this upcoming TEC retreat and Pat and I as we share our talks on the way. Jesus, we trust in you. Amen and Hallelujah
This amazes me!! I am using her in my talk at TEC to show how we are to die to self so that Jesus may live in us! No better example and so shocking to take in and be fed by! Bless-bless, Barbara Mary Luke
I need to do better about food fasting, but these are powerful, too!
Mothers are called to prayer for their children and TRUST!
Hard to do!! "Wounded, I will not cease to love."
Those Deacons at work!!!
Happy Feast Day
Saint Scholastica
480 - 542
Feast Day: February 10
Patronage: convulsive children, nuns, invoked against storms and rain
St. Scholastica, born in Italy, was the twin sister of Benedict of Nursia. Scholastica was dedicated to God from a young age. The most commonly told story about her is that she would, once a year, go and visit her brother at a place near his abbey, and they would spend the day worshiping together and discussing sacred texts and issues. Three days after their last visit Benedict saw his sister's soul leaving the earth and ascending to heaven in the form of a shining white dove.
PEACE PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;...
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;...
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
The beads will be in my hands as we travel! We prayed a decade for Deacon Denny while we traveled the day before he died... the mystery - The Ascension/2nd glorious!
Third Day - Born again
Danielle Rose - the Saint that is just me
Peter Mayer- Holy Now
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