Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of The Blessed Virgin Mary as winter begins - all the cows come home

Ruth and Joy arrived with baby Thomas in tow to help get the heifers our of our pasture now with our first real snow of the winter.  A couple inches make the grass hard to find and as farmer hubby said; "It was time for them to come home, but they sure look like they did well on the pastures this late."

I was very happy to have Ruth and Joy put up the wonderful nativity that Ruth bought and made for me 21 years ago in her first year of college!  

Joy shows daddy my very wonderful Nativity scene complete with Ruth's pet cow from the 4H days - Carmel complete with a cow pie, our cat Thomas at the time, whom we named Tom-Tom, and Baby Jesus and his manger as they were out of them at the time she bought it for me... she got creative and made extra pieces that I cherish so much!  Thank you, Ruth and Joy!

20 years later and now with 7 children to come and be impressed by their mom's wonderful gift and so personal for me!

The cows jumped on the trailer to head for home out of the snow - "they were tired of making snow angels" was the report for how quickly they loaded up to head back to the barn.  Thomas did not even get out of his seat by the advent wreath and Nativity!

The cows came right across the road and now they are all together and Pat will start feeding them in the yard for the winter.  More work for the farmers, but it was time.

Black cows on white snow just across the road - "they know where they are going."  Ruth watches traffic on one hill and I on the other to keep everyone safe.  

Putting the fence back up once they are across.

Ignatius joined me in the snow as I put up my dad's nativity that I have adopted.

Running towards the house...

Iggy checks out Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus...

What's so important?  Oh, the Son of God is a big deal!

Our new Thanksgiving grandson, Thomas Robert, above... It looks like our new granddaughter will be here next week.  Pulling a lot together in the next few days so that I can be there to help out with the other 5 kids while Nancy goes in to have her daughter.

Needed the snow to add to the beauty of it all plus the weathered barn...

So special to have my barn signs thanks to Paul and helpers!  

Out to get the last cows home across the field with all the kids home from school!  My assistant in the pick up was Joy!  Grandma had to get some pink snowsuit with white blanket of snow pictures for sure!

Always need a few!

Up early in the dark this morning to get to Holy day of Obligation - Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary with hubby.  Such a wonderful Mass with Mary music and glorious readings and great teaching by Fr Denny in the homily!

Luke, Joy and active Teddy dog...

Pink Joy in white snow...

All the kids helped on 3 4 wheelers, I drove the pickup and...

Joy was my cheerful assistant.

We led the cows home and they followed all the way up to the yard!

Through the passage way between the bales and on into the yard - all the cows are now home!  Winter has set in and now they are fed in the yard, leading up to calving in a few months.

Dark at 5p now, and Ruth's home looks so pretty in the snow and the lights!

The Nativity aglow in the night and the white!  

A picture post card with the new snow and the lights.  

Nativity, Advent wreath, Christmas tree - had to shut the french doors to keep the cats from knocking over my Christmas tree plus they would get on the table in the Advent wreath with the 2 candles lit!  Had to shut them out!  

Hubby and I prayed evening prayer together as we are trying to spend more time together in prayer for Advent.  Such a blessed time of year as we ask Jesus to come and dwell with us!  

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”  Luke 1 - the Gospel today!

Fr Denny shared in his homily that the Greek word used by St Luke here for "full of Grace"  means that she was full of grace since birth.  Giving us the Truth that she had to be without sin to carry the Word made flesh in her womb.  She was conceived without sin and did not sin, as she was the tabernacle of The Son of God!  

2 years ago on this feast - little Joy and her mom in front of my favorite statue of the Immaculate Conception that is in St Mary's chapel at the Catholic School.  I have always loved this statue and my 43 years living in Marshall have always been blessed by her presence here.

From St Paul today in Ephesians

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him. 
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved... Ephesians 1

David helping Mary move her goats inside...

Mary got a bucket of feed and then they followed.

9 year old Rose and 4 year old Joy are both in pink and grandma can't resist!

Getting the goats in the barn is a group effort.

Mary leads the way with some feed in a pail - she rattles it and they know that means food and follow!

Rose 9 years ago - it snowed the next day - a late winter like this year!

LOVE Brother Victor allowing us to share in the deep prayer lives of the monks in the Monastery.  

Ave Maris Stella - Gregorian chant as Brother Victor shared today

Very Beautiful and peaceful!

How we love her, and are blessed to have her for our Mother and bring her into our homes for peace and beauty to dwell here!

LOVE this and it is Truth!

Mary is the arc where the Word of God came into the world!

Jesus, and Mary we love you.  Save souls.  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barbara

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Patronal Feastday of the United States of America

December 8

_______________________

Sing to the Lord a new song,

for He has done marvelous deeds.  - Psalm 98:1

God chose Mary the Immaculate to be "a model of holiness" ... At Mary's conception, a new way of being human happens, and we are "chosen, destined" to share it.  Adam and Eve were tricked by the serpent's "conception." The yes of Mary at the Annunciation, the culmination of the Immaculate Conception, undoes the disobedience of Eden and makes paradise a possibility once again for us. - From Magnificat, Vol 21, No 10, Dec 2019.  www.magnificat.com

 

 

Lift your heart in joy and exalt Him                   Laud the glorious Conception
In the Blessed Sacrament all Holy, supernal     Of the Queen in God's Kingdom

 

Where the Lord, His glory veiling,                    Who remaining Virgin stainless,
Comforts souls true and lowly.                          Bore for men the Word eternal.

 

Alabado, sung after Benediction

The Immaculate Conception (detail): Sassoferrato

 

Excerpt: Homily, St Patrick's Cathedral -
8 Dec 1996 - John Cardinal O'Connor...

 

"Today is the date of the Immaculate Conception, the eighth of December...Mary was made immaculate, conceived without any trace of sin because she was going to be the co-creator of the humanity of Christ.  She was going to be, as God the Father was the Creator, the re-creator of the human race with Christ.  She was going to be the tabernacle in which Christ would be conceived.

 

    We cannot now, of course, be conceived without original sin.  But the more we can purify ourselves through the Sacrament of Penance, through our own penances, through trying to observe the Commandments and keeping close to Christ, then the more fitting we become as tabernacles of the Eucharist.

 

    All of this requires an effort, perhaps for some an unaccustomed effort. St Augustine tells us the reward.  He was still in process of conversion from a highly profligate, promiscuous life.  Then he went into a Catholic community to worship in the Eucharistic sacrifice.  He said to a Catholic friend:

       

    "How I wept, deeply moved by your hymns, songs, and the voices that echoed through your Church!  What emotion I experienced in them!  Those sounds flowed through my ears, distilling the Truth in my heart.  A feeling of devotion surged within me and the tears streamed down my face - tears that did me good."

 

    May that be our experience in this Holy Sacrifice of the Mass."

Glorious things are spoken of you, O Mary,
for from you arose the sun of justice, Christ our God.
(Communion Antiphon - today's liturgy)

"To the maternal intercession of Mary,

the Virgin of expectation,

 let us entrust our path toward the Lord,

while we continue our Advent itinerary

of making our heart and our life ready

for the coming of Emmanuel, God-with-us."

- Benedict XVI, 12/05/11, Noon Angelus

 

 O chosen and fairest Virgin Mary,

intercede for us!