The 5 brought together by John's battle with cancer 10 1/2 years ago!
Reading the first reading from Maccabee's 7 today, which was also shared a few Sundays ago of the 7 sons facing martyrdom for their Jewish Faith. Today we share with their mother as she loses her 7 sons in the same day... her words are very powerful from a mother's perspective as we look at those the Lord has given us, according to his perfect plan, to share this journey of Faith/Family/Farm with!
There were many losses and questions about the Lord's plan in my nest years, but looking back I see how sharing that pain of loss made us so close and made us value LIFE from conception to natural death whole heartedly!
https://familysoulstory.blogspot.com/p/my-most-cherished-cross-patrick-gerard.html
Some of her eloquent words to her last remaining son;
"I do not know how you came into existence in my womb;
it was not I who gave you the breath of life,
nor was it I who set in order
the elements of which each of you is composed.
Therefore, since it is the Creator of the universe
who shapes each man's beginning,
as he brings about the origin of everything,
he, in his mercy,
will give you back both breath and life,
because you now disregard yourselves for the sake of his law."
2 MC 7
So strongly did I experience the Truth that "the Creator of the Universe" was in control of the mystery of my fertile years and He gave LIFE to the 5 and the other 7 are in heaven praying for their old mom!
Maria and Nancy meeting their new sister, Susan, 34 years ago.
Yesterday I had the powerful experience of visiting a friend in the midst of a cancer battle with John. We brought Lourdes water and prayers from Lourdes, and of course, John witnessed with his prayer ministry.
Some of the powerful prayers John prayed putting our friend in the prayers...
Prayer for Healing I
Lord, look upon me with eyes of mercy,
may your healing hand rest upon me,
may your lifegiving powers flow into every cell of my body
and into the depths of my soul,
cleansing, purifying, restoring me to wholeness
and strength for service in your Kingdom.
Amen.
Prayer for Healing II
O God who are the only source of health and healing,
the spirit of calm and the central peace of this universe,
grant to me such a consciousness of your indwelling and surrounding presence
that I may permit you to give me health and strength and peace,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayer for Healing III
Lord, You invite all who are burdened to come to you.
Allow Your healing Hand to heal me.
Touch my soul with Your compassion for others;
touch my heart with Your courage and infinite Love for all;
touch my mind with Your Wisdom,
and may my mouth always proclaim Your praise.
Teach me to reach out to You in all my needs,
and help me to lead others to You by my example.
Most loving Heart of Jesus, bring me health in body and spirit
that I may serve You with all my strength.
Touch gently this life which you have created, now and forever.
Amen.
Leaving these prayers and some Lourdes water for our friend... a port in the storm.
Little boy John in the back pasture with Pat years back...
More amazing words from this mother, who is suffering with such horrific loss... watching her 7 sons die at the hands of the executioners in one day!
"Son, have pity on me, who carried you in my womb for nine months,
nursed you for three years, brought you up,
educated and supported you to your present age.
I beg you, child, to look at the heavens and the earth
and see all that is in them;
then you will know that God did not make them out of existing things;
and in the same way the human race came into existence.
Do not be afraid of this executioner,
but be worthy of your brothers and accept death,
so that in the time of mercy I may receive you again with them."
To so gracefully and positively know in her heart that God will take him to heaven and give him LIFE-eternal is such a testament to her son and gave him the courage to go to his death knowing that it will have no hold on him!
Father Craig anointing John before his brain biopsy, which has left him with life-long effects with his ataxia on the left side of his body.
How we clung to the Sacraments, Prayer of our prayer warriors, The Saints including Blessed Solanus Casey, and Our Mother Mary in heaven interceding for us. The control was out of our hands and we were reminded by Bishop LeVoir to say these words when we faced the worst..."Jesus, we trust in you."
John and Father Craig just after John had bathed in the miraculous healing waters of Lourdes! "I asked them to pour the water over my head, because that is where I needed the healing."
We consider Lourdes part of his healing... no, he didn't have miraculous healing of his ataxia and cancer, but he is healed now, and fell head over heels in love with Mary at Lourdes!
John on the cross of brain cancer healing to find his Faith, with his arms stretched around his loving sisters! So powerful!!!!
We know that John's life plan by the Creator of the Universe was for this cancer to bring him to find his Faith as he half-heartedly prayed for...
The Sunday 10 years ago when John was anointed for the 3rd time and prayed over by a relic of Blessed Solanus in the aisle of 8a mass!!! Mom Verly is now gone, and we miss her a lot!
John was now facing his whole brain radiation to save his life as the cancer came back through the chemo. Now we are praying him through finding a job and the after effects of the radiation on his eyes, etc. The Journey continues!
Tonight John is speaking and sharing his story at a nearby town thanks to his eye doctor. How he burns to share far and wide his journey with its ups and downs. So beautiful for tonight will be that his wife, Bobbi, and their son, Jude will be along and what a powerful witness that is of how the Lord is at work in his life! So many prayers answered and so many blessings along with the knowledge that the Lord has a plan to use John to touch lives! A big part of his message is... Prayer is real and powerful and Jesus listens and answers our prayers!
In Lourdes in 2011 after Hallel took her first vows... so in love with Mary/Our Lady of Lourdes!
Whenever we pray with others, who are suffering, Our Lady is so important in our prayers! Truly she is our Mother and takes our heartfelt pleas to her Son, Jesus Christ! "We can't love Mary too much, because we can never love her more than Jesus does." St Maximilian Kolbe
Jesus, we place John in your hands and ask that you continue to use him to your honor and glory. We know that you have a plan for him and we trust in you. May his presence and love for you bring many to know you better and to see with eyes of faith that prayer is alive and at work in our lives. Jesus, we trust in you. Amen and Hallelujah
The huge cottonwood tree...
Our red barn needed paint, but...Danielle Rose - Wonderfully made - Psalm 139
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