Tuesday, January 31, 2023

If I touch Him! - Still filled to the brim! - Mass with hubby on this cold last day of January - +JMJ+

Such a precious picture of Bobbi with her 2 little girls!  Bobbi grew up with 3 brothers, so I sense that having girls is a special gift to her.  She loves to paint finger nails and I forsee that she will delight in having special girls time getting pretty and fancy!  After my 4 girls "and then you had that boy"  I can totally relate to how fun it is!  My take away now with my 11 granddaughters is that I love to do girl's hair!  Ribbons and bows are totally my thing!  
Sweet pretty girl baby Lucy is 3 weeks tomorrow!  John reports that she is so peaceful and so sweet!  It is so sweet to see her looking with interest at her big brother, 3 1/3 year old Jude.
So awake and peaceful...
Turned over the calendar to February a day early and discovered this special page!  Bobbi makes our calendars and gifts them to us at Christmas.  They bring tears to my eyes and JOY to my heart!  My goal when Hallel was home for her visit in the first part of May was to get the 5 together with their babies from the last couple years.  John's Birdie was 2, Maria's Maggie was 1, Ruth's Tom was 3 1/2 months, and Regina was 2 1/2 months.  
Jesus is stripped in the 10th Station of the Cross - the late afternoon sun from the front windows lit it up so brightly as I traveled around the church doing the Stations of the Cross while I said the 4th decade of the Sorrowful Mysteries - Jesus carries his Cross.  When my deacon father and I said our chaplet and rosary every day on the porch on my farm - dad would use 10 stations on each of the 10 beads.  It feels wonderful to carry that over now with my prayers for Fr Denny!  

Before we headed out early on Saturday to KCK and our nun, I had the church all to myself for most of my hour praying for Fr Denny with 7 Sisters on Friday late afternoon.  When I arrived there was 2nd graders there having their first Reconciliation!  
Priests in the 2 confessionals and one here for the 40 kids that are having this Sacrament in preparation for their First Communion in 2nd grade.  
Our Lady of Perpetual Help with some beautiful roses.
Roses for Our Lady of Guadalupe at the foot of the Cross
Catholic Schools week is here!  8th grader, David, is teaching yesterday.
David altar server at 8a mass on Sunday - Pat and I were in Kansas City, but I am grateful for pictures! The Catholic School has been huge in our family and in Pat's family and even for his mother and her family!  
Rose in the chior 
Doing a petition.  We have discovered that getting in front of people which they learn from Catholic School and 4H allows them to be able to present themselves as they go forward in life.  For Instance - granddaughter, Mary Lanoue, is now doing great things in Speech, and grandson, Simon Lanoue is leading singing and using the gift of his voice!  
Kindergartener Joy and big brother, Luke, who is now in 3rd grade brought up the gifts at mass.
The Bandzuch kids last week cared for my grandpa and grandma Bandzuch from Pennsylvania while Nancy and Bill were in Denver filming a series on Catholic Parenting for FORMED!  I am excited to see the result and am very grateful for their time taking care of the Delano bunch! 
Luke in Catholic Schools week!  After my time with our nun, and knowing about all the Catholic experiences in our family - I so filled with wonder and awe at all that we are given through the One True Catholic Church!  

I thought that this really helps to understand the process of becoming a priest and nun!  On Thursday 2 girls are entering the postulancy in Kansas City.  They are very much on my heart and I am praying for them at this step they are taking with the wonderful amazing Community of the Lamb!  

Abby from Michigan has been living the life of The Community and has asked to become a postulant on Thursday and her parents are coming to celebrate with her and support her.
Following Hallel in the dessert parade with song and sweets to end our meals with The Community usually with the children in attendance, but Bruce is only 6 months so he needs to be bigger!  Behind Hallel is Collete, from Atlanta, Georgia.  She is also becoming a postulant on Thursday!  They will wear the blue skirts and navy blue polos. 
Postulant Susan Angela Agnes August 2009 with John and Nancy the day before...
Little sister Hallel on the Vigil of the Queenship of Mary - August 21, 2009 shortly after she took her habit and changed her name.  "Whenever someone says my name they are giving God all the glory!"  Hallel is the first part of Hallelujah, and the Psalm 145-150 are Hallel Psalms!  

The Lamb in the cupala in Lumen Christi Monastery - the LIGHT of Christ!  "Wounded, I will never cease to love."  The Lamb shows us how to live this out in our mariages and lives.  When I was first introduced to this as I walked through Saint Pierre in 2009 - "That's hard to do."  "yes!"
My wonderful beef farmer cutting our sirloin tip roast last night for supper.
He recently bought me these new knives - sharp!

Pat joined me this morning for mass on the Feast of St John Bosco - John has many feast days!  Such a cold morning but it was warm to share mass with my hubby!  Holding hands and getting a hug at the sign of peace, and united in our Catholic Faith!  

Hallel exinguishing the candle in front of the icon after mass with the cupala overhead.  

The Gospel today is so amazing from Mark 5 - the healing of the woman with the bleeding after she touched his garment with faith that she would be healed.  And the 12 year old daughter brought back to life!  I had an amazing experience thanks to Susan/Hallel when she was in college at the U of St Thomas in St Paul.  She invited her dad and I to come for Cora Jesu where there was Adoration, Praise and Worship and Reconciliation going on at the same time for a church full of young adults!  Susan spoke simply and sweetly about her love for Jesus to begin!  The tears flowed and my mother's heart was filled to the brim with gratitude to our Lord and Lady!  
Hallel chose St Agnes for her patron saint at confirmation while visiting her sister studying in Rome.  This statue is in the chapel in Kansas City!  It is a replica of one that survived the nuclear bombing in Hiroshima, Japan.  All was destroyed around her, and she was found face down only losing a hand but protecting the Lamb - Agnes means Lamb!

Back to Cora Jesu about 16 years ago.  I noticed that around the base of the monstrance on the altar was a scarf that hung down on both sides, and those present were welcomed to come forward and touch the hem of his garment!  So powerful!  
Danielle Rose - If I touch him
One of the patrons of The Community of the Lamb and my mother''s very favorite Saint Edith Stein. St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross!  Such a special tie between my mother, who wrote at great length about the work of Edith Stein!  
Free E-Books – CatholicDiagramTeacher.com – A user friendly site for Truth Seekers 
Hallel reading a Church father quote relating to the Wedding at Cana... so very deep and beautiful to hear these great minds and hearts for The Church sharing their great wisdom!  
Morning and night an hour with Jesus!  Just imagine how close in prayer and how much The Lord and The Lady speak to their hearts, minds and souls!  
The wool capes when the weather gets cold with the monk like hood.
Deep in prayer at the foot of their LORD!
Gloria during mass with harp, trumpet and flute along with the voices of the angels all around us!  
Jesus in The Word will be processed in at their mass today!  We bow as it passes by!  Every day they receive Jesus in Body, Blood and The Word!  Filled to overflowing with LIFE/LOVE/LIGHT!  
Blind Little Brother David fills all the world around him with such wonderful LIGHT!  Such a blessing to have him share his deep love for Jesus within The Community!  
A special send off is the blessing song!  It sends us on the wings of our guardian angels as we drive down the road.  I prayed that Hallel would come back next year so that we could visit both our daughters and their families as they will only be 40 miles apart when Maria and Major Joseph move to Leavenworth, KS after the summer.  A mother can pray can't she?  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barbara and the 34 + hundreds of Little Sisters and Little Brothers!  
Dad today in morning prayer!  The verse he was reading when the Holy Spirit told him to come into The Catholic Church with his family of 13 fifty one years ago! 
With his dad when he played for the Twins with his baby boy, Patrick, about 25 years ago.
“Trust all things to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
and to Mary, Help of Christians,
and you will see what miracles are." - St John Bosco

 7644673538_8f63bbde12_z.jpg (640×360)

“Take great care to go to Holy Mass,
even on weekdays;  and for such a cause
be willing to put up with some inconvenience.
Thereby you will obtain
every kind of blessing from the Lord.”

St John Bosco
Priest, Educator, Founder of Salesian Society
 Italy ~ 16 Aug 1815 - 31 Jan 1888
"Give me souls. Take away the rest." - St John Bosco
Canonized Easter Sunday, 1934, and given the title:
"Father and Teacher of Youth"
Feast Day - January 31
 
 

“When tempted, invoke your Angel.
He is more eager to help you than you are to be helped!
Ignore the devil and do not be afraid of him:
He trembles and flees at the sight
of your Guardian Angel.”  ~ St. John Bosco
 
St John Bosco, pray for us!

Venerable Mama Margaret is the beloved and holy mother of St John Bosco. The sanctity and holiness of St John Bosco was first nurtured by a mother's prayer, a mother's example.  From Mama Margaret to her son:

"When you came into the world I consecrated you to the Blessed Virgin Mary. When you began your studies, I inculcated this devotion in you. Now I want you to belong totally to her. Make your companions those who are devoted to Mary; and if you reach ordination, never cease to inculcate and spread this devotion."

"I have nothing to say regarding your vocation, except that you should do what God inspires you to do. Do not be concerned on my behalf. You owe me nothing. Never forget that I was born in poor circumstances, have lived in poverty all my life; and I am happy to die poor; and I say this seriously to you: if you ever become  wealthy, I shall never set foot on your doorstep."

"Dear John, you have taken the priestly habit and I am as happy as any mother could be. But never forget that it is not the habit that matters, but the effort to progress in virtue. If you ever come to have doubts about your vocation, be sure you never dishonor that priestly garb. Put it aside immediately. I would rather a poor peasant son than a priest who neglected his sacred calling".
 
"John, you are now a priest; you will be saying Mass; so from henceforth you will be closer to Jesus. Remember that to begin to celebrate Mass means also to begin to suffer. You will not realize this immediately, but little by little you will see that what your mother has told you is the truth."












Danielle Rose


Danny Gokey


 

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Monday, January 30, 2023

"Go home to your family" - All things Catholic/Our Lady of the skies!!! Jesus making wine for our marriages! +JMJ+

Wearing my blue apron I borrow when I help in the kitchen with my daughter, Hallel, in hers over her blue habit.  I tease her that dressing my 4 girls alike led her to religious life as they dress in matching blue habits the color of the sky and the shape of the Cross.  

One postulant to be on Thursday said that meeting us for the first time - she can see a lot of Hallel's way of speaking and acting in me.  Made me smile because I think she is much more like her dad. 

The 4 girls and I  - I even sewed msyself a skirt from the same red plaid fabric!  
Little Brother David, who is blind, holding his brail machine that allowed him to sing the Psalm with 2 of the other little brothers at mass.  

He played the harp during the Gloria along with flute and trumpet.  Hallel is directing the music which she shares with others!  The music and singing is what we will experience in heaven with the angels praising and adoring God without end!  
Pat really enjoyed visiting with David, who visited our farm the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  He is such an amazing young man.  He shared that he went through a lot of rebellion in his teen years as he realized that he was going blind.  A lot of anger, yet now he glows with such a light of JOY!  The LIGHT comes from within where Jesus and Mary dwell in his inner temple!  
I teased him that it is so appropriate that David plays the harp! 

David and Jesus... We are taken so deep with adoration following mendicating the Word of God and finding echoes throughout the Bible morning and night.  He has never been able to see the chapel with his eyes but certainly with the eyes of his heart.

I have to share these sweet babies that joined us for mass yesterday.  The little girl is Rose and is 4 months and the baby boy is Bruce, and is 6 months.  His Aunt is Little Sister Stella.  Nothing more sweet and beautiful to see them meeting each other and Rose was so excited that she just squealed and squealed with JOY!
She was talking and talking with her sweet high voice and I realized that she had been moved to "sing" after all the heavenly music we had just been immersed in throughout the mass!  It truly is as it will be in heaven with the angels and Rose and Bruce were certainly angel babies!  
Little Sister Stella with her entire family in Lumen Christi chapel yesterday!  First grandchild, Bruce is the greatest gift! 

Sharing mass with hubby and other parents of Little Sisters - there were a total of 4 sets of parents at mass and lunch following sharing the blessings and graces we receive from our daughters and our family of the Lamb!  As Pat shared; "We did not lose our daughter or family as she has taken a vow of chastity.  Instead we have gained hundreds new members to our family!  We are all family!"
Little Brother David, with Little Brother Jean Marie, and Little Brother Louis Marie singing the Psalm during mass - David is using his brail machine to read the Psaalm.
The Gospel is processed in and bowed to with insence - Jesus is The Word, and He is loved, worshiped, and adored from morning to night in The Community of the Lamb!  
"MY Jesus!  I adore you!  You came to earth to be part of a marriage."  Part of my marriage and those of my children!  Those that are broken and hurting.  You make wine for our marriages from the water we offer you! Gladness of heart!  

For The Community it was Cana Sunday as they are still in The Christmas Season until Thursday this week!  I was blown away with how deep we went into how Jesus and Mary minister to us!  
Although blind it was so powerful to watch lb David serving father at the altar.
Talk about heavenly music - LS Marie John and LB Louis Marie!  


Still the nativity of the Grotto...

Wonderful to see an old friend from the beginning of Hallel's journey with the Community 15 years ago.  Hallel went to Chicago to work on her Visa and met up with Dorotha.  She has been in Poland for some years.  She shared that she is using a pot that is from her home growing up!  I know how special it is to see our things used and loved by The Community!  
The hand comparison with Marie John and our soup and spaghetti sauce getting put away.  Talk about feeling like we are indeed parents of these women!  Ruth and I can for 6 families and it is so special to have our nun enjoying her homegrown food from the farm where she grew up and helped with the canning!  
Applesauce canning about 31 years ago - John will be 34 on Friday and he looks about 3 here!  Hallel is in the green shirt next to Nancy in the turquoise shirt.
How I love to be parents that can share from our life and work with our nun and her family of the Lamb.  And in return we are blessed to learn and from their deep contemplative life of prayer and love of Jesus in His Word!  Also that they are the poor in their leaving behind all!  
I delighted in  a conversation  between our 2nd daughter, and our nun -4th daughter about her trip to NYC, as well as the saint book Nancy has written and sent to Hallel!  Pat and I marvel at how we are taken so deep at the feet of our children!  
The talked and shared and I was filled with awe and JOY!  
Nancy's book can be purchased on Catholic Sprouts! 
Yes, we took her shopping at Walmart for some pans they badly need!  There are many that look at us shopping with a nun, and I smile inside and probably outside, too!  
My joy to spend time with my daughter and helping with their needs for day to day life.
Back in Marshall this happened!  Such a prize - it will soon be on my wall - John and his sweet family around new almost 3 week old Lucy Marie!  
The girls - Bobbi, Lucy and Birdie
Happy and Peaceful in a picture!  
John and I met and prayed in the middle of the night!  LOVE!

Verly beef for lunch - Hallel and I made burgers for all!  
It was a great 26 hours from arriving at 12:30P on Saturday after almost 8 hours on the road with a winter storm in Iowa, and then heading back at 2:30p on Sunday to arrive home close to 10p after listening to Patrick Mahomes barely win the game - just across the river from Hallel in KCM - Kansas City, Missouri!  
Burgers are a treat for them, while they are quite often our meal on the farm or some version of beef in some way or another.  I have a sirloin tip roast in the over for tonight!
The official pose of the pile of burgers for 24 people for lunch.


Breakfast feels like home when I get my French bowl of coffee!  I smile big as they bring the coffee and pour it into my bowl.  I have my napkin clothes pin that holds my napkin, the Lamb, always flowers and my daughter in the view to make my heart sing!  

Stella pouring Pat coffee in his bowl 
I had to smile at having pancakes with a new jam- strawberry peach.  It makes me recall when John and I went to France very suddenly during his brain cancer - after his second chemo he was getting better!!!  He could get himself to the bathroom on his own at the airport, so we within 24 hours got tickets and went to France for Hallel to take her habit and change her name from Susan to Hallel!  
Family Soul Story - Choose Life!: John's cancer stories 

John in France in August 2009!  He is there with Susan, Nancy, Judith, and Father Craig!  We were amazed that the Lord made a way for us to be there.  And then I would go down the hall and make us pancakes every morning from a huge back of Krusties pancake mix I had sent to Hallel for $50 in the mail!  It is a long story and makes me smile so much!  We had all sorts of different jams to put on it- never syrup!  
Judith and Hallel looking up a scripture verse that has been very special for an engaged couple, who discovered that the house they wanted to live in between the Little Sisters Monastery and the Little Brothers Monastery had a bad foundation.  It spoke of trusting and building up the foundation.  
The desert train that blesses our end of the meal with The Community!  If there are children present it usually includes them, but Bruce will have to get a bit bigger to join them!  The two young women following Hallel are Collete and Abby and on Thursday they will both become Postulants of the Little Sisters!  Collete is one of 8 children from Georgia, and Abby is middle of 3 girls and is from Michigan - her priest is Godfather to Maria's Therese and Hallel is Godmother!  Small world!

An adorable story was shared at our meal of a special chapel in the NYC airport - Our Lady of the Skies Chapel!  Hallel and Marie John will be flying there to return with a Cardinal from France, who is coming to spend time with The Community in the second week of February!  Our Lady of the Skies Chaplaincy at JFK and LGA in New York City (jfkchapel.org)

They contacted the priest in charge, Fr Mark,.and were told that they will provide all the Cardinal needs to say mass when he gets off his plane.  So special!!!   It makes me almost want to fly into JFK someday, but not quite!

The headline - Your Connection Between things up there and down here.

Hallel is very excited to spend a day in NYC!  Thanks to Nancy's Catholic Sprouts network they have a place to stay the night.  "They sleep on the floor so you don't have to have a bed for them."  

The blessing send off after a most wonderful heavenly time with our daughter and our family of the Lamb!    I have been working on this for 2 hours now!  I must end it for today.  Jesus, I am overwhelmed by your LOVE for me and for such a wonderful time with our nun!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barbara and the 34

"The world's thy ship and
not thy home." - St Thérèse of Lisieux

Hail Holy Queen as sung in night prayer by The Community 
Salve Regina







 

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