St Barbara day!/Thanks Little Sisters for a deeper Lent/The Advent Mountain

 Pat with our Hallel a few days ago!  He hadn't seen Hallel or spent time with The Community for many months - about 6 or 7!

We had gotten a personal invitation from Hallel to come and share Thanksgiving with them "without kids."  No, we are well past having kids at home, but my husband is huge on taking kids along on our family excursions so that they can be with family wherever we go.

Hallel explained that they just wanted the two of us to share and stay with them, and so we drove off into a storm knowing that another storm would make our travel home challenging, but we knew also that the window was closing for us to visit her.  With Advent comes fasting from speaking to family of visiting them, and that was just a few days after Thanksgiving.

Mass on Thanksgiving Day in Lumen Christi/Light of Christ monastery/Lighthouse on the Hill!

Arriving at night with the lights welcoming us and giving comfort and hope to the surrounding poor neighborhood where they are located in the heart of Kansas City... putting down roots in the heart of our country, which is in such need of LIGHT to reveal the Truth, which is trampled upon by the culture of death.

Jesus on the altar after morning and evening prayer... How we adore Him and praise him and find Peace there in this place of great LOVE/LIGHT/LIFE/Jesus in Word, Body and Blood each day!

I am seeing how these precious days spent with our daughter nun and her Community has brought us to a deeper place sharing our Lent as husband and wife!  I am eternally grateful that we shared such deep places of prayer and maundicating/chewing the Word morning and night... and now Pat and I hunger to continue on sharing morning and evening prayer around the Advent wreath, and as we have learned from The Community we read the Gospel starting the night before!

 Pat with family and friends of the Community - "We need to do this more often!  This is so wonderful!" he proclaimed as we shared Thanksgiving with the Little Brothers down the hill in their monastery - the LIGHT of Mary the Mother of God!

I am overwhelmed by the message of this man, who encountered Mary in a dream, and was brought into the only Church where she is loved and respected - the Catholic Church!  Roy Schoeman, speaks so powerfully - Pat and I listened to this together yesterday after our shared prayer...

Some of the highlights of his sharing...
Mary's words to him; "I am nothing, I am a creature, I am a created thing."
"I am the beloved daughter of the Father, mother of the Son, and spouse of the Holy Spirit."
All the graces and gifts to humanity - divinity to humanity come through her!
He was raised Jewish - "I didn't stop being Jewish, but am more Jewish than ever following the Jewish Messiah!  The Catholic Church is Post Messianic Judaism and the Jewish Faith is pre Messianic Judaism."
Take the time to listen to this sharing - so powerful and makes the tears of happiness flow knowing the our LOVE for our Lady is well founded and through her we find Jesus more and more!

 The sink is where much sharing takes place as dishes are part of their day to day lives.

Since going to France a year ago to Saint Pierre for our daughters final vows in France... "the mountain of the Lord" has been very real and deep and means a lot to me.  The faith to move a mountain became very real when we brought 18 from 3 different locations to France!  The Mountain became a very holy place too as we gathered at the foothills of the Pyrenees for this most glorious of Family times... hearing our daughter speak these words in English - "I promise unto death."

At that time:
Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee,
went up on the mountain, and sat down there.
Great crowds came to him,
having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,
and many others.
They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.
The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the deformed made whole,
the lame walking,
and the blind able to see,
and they glorified the God of Israel...
Matthew 15

Nancy sharing her time each week in Adoration is very special!

 Happy Feast day of St Barbara Today!  I recall calling the Poor Clares where our daughter, Maria, discerned a call for 5 months.. I called them 14 years ago today for prayers as I was having my left knee replaced!  They joyfully shared with me that it was the Feast of St Barbara... so much comfort knowing my namesake Saint was with me along with their prayers!

 Nancy's sweet sharing!!!

Taking little ones to Eucharistic Adoration is HARD. So hard.
➖It’s hard to give up a chunk of time right in the middle of the day.
➖it’s hard to get everyone bundled up and carted into the chapel.
➖it’s hard when all the baby want to do is nurse.
➖it’s hard when the 3 year old acts like a...3 year old 😭🤪😭
➖it’s hard when the 5 year old stands up and yells, “I gotta poop!” and stomps out. #thathappened
➖it’s hard when you can’t pray a full Hail Mary without being interrupted.
It’s just hard.
.
So there I was in adoration, full on pity party when a singular thought crept in:
maybe it’s not supposed to be easy. Maybe the fact that it’s so hard is what makes it so valuable.
.
So if you’ve thought about heading to adoration with the littles, but just couldn’t because it was too hard. I get it. I so get it. It is hard.
But we will go back next week, and every week, because spending time with Jesus isn’t always easy, but it is always worth it.

A mountaintop experience even in the midst of all the distractions!

 Her 5 year old Dominic and 3 year old Josephine!

 I got a call from my son, John, to come to his aide... so off I go!

 Glorious sunrise!

Jesus, we love you and long to be with you more and more with each new day!  thank you for the loving mother of heaven and earth we have to comfort us on this journey - as we carry/drag our Most Cherished Cross and follow you down the narrow path.  Bless-bless, Barb

The LIGHT of Advent filling us with more and more love and hope!

Danielle Rose - The Saint that is just me

Danielle Rose - Nothing compares to you