Jottings on a Sunday in Ordinary time...

Nancy was heading to a concert at the State Fair last night with her brother, John- they were celebrating John being cancer free!  She was leaving little Gus with his dad, and now that he can hold his head up, he was sitting in his little molded seat facing his dad... "Bill was having a conversation with him." Reported Nancy as she sent this picture from Bill's Iphone.  We feel like we want to have a conversation with him too!  He will be here for a visit in a few days, as Nancy is bringing our foreign exchange student from Brazil, Breno and his parents down to the farm on Thursday.  We haven't seen Breno since 2001 when he and our daughter, Maria, graduated high school here.  His parents we will meet for the first time!  

Our Lady lost her head in the storm, and I finally got some good glue to try to fix her... I have missed her as I drive by my droughted out garden... crazy after the too much rain we had up until a month or more ago.

A little worse for wear... she is resurrected!  Looking out over the now turning corn field - early due to lack of rain.  It is so good to have her back gracing my pathetic garden and springing to my heart and mind...
"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you!"  I am heading out to mow and to be saying my rosary as I mow... it is my life's blood and gives me a sense of peace and joy and hope... the fruits of the Spirit and by the fruits I am convinced that there are graces flowing out upon the world from those prayers!  My Mother...I love you and give all in my care into your care.

Something really grabbed my attention at the end of the Eucharistic prayer III today... we were towards the back of Church, and took in the full church and the many families and noises of the little ones...  "Father, hear the prayers of the family you have gathered here before you.  In mercy and love unite all your children wherever they may be."  I thought that it was so appropriate and true as we knelt before HIM on the altar!  How wonderful to be there in such a beautiful space together! 

One last thing to share in this kind of this and that sharing...the Prairie Catholic arrived yesterday and I was interested in the sharing the Bishop did about WYD in Madrid - he was there.  One of the most powerful things he shared about was the sudden thunder storm that struck the aging Pope along with 2 million pilgrims on the vigil service at an airfield...
"The vigil was interrupted by a terrific thunderstorm with a driving wind and rain; yet the Holy Father was present throughout the storm, which lasted about an hour.  He was asked twice whether or not he wanted to leave the scene.  He replied both times:  "No, I am staying.  We are staying."  ( It was quite something to see him sitting in his seat covered from head to toe with a covering of umbrellas)

"Seeing the Pope was staying with them, the young people cheered and cheered.  It seemed that in the storm the devil was after us all, but led by the Holy Father and the protection of God, he was helpless.  After the storm, Pope Benedict continued the vigil and we all adored the Blessed Sacrament."  Bishop John LeVoir

Lord Jesus Christ along with your wonderful Blessed Mother... we are so blessed to have you with us on this journey called LIFE!  Grant us the graces we need to shine forth in this world all the light, love and life that we are given from our Baptism on.  May we gather as a family in your Church and go forth into our small domestic churches - our families... living as you would have us with the fruits and gifts of the Spirit to guide us now and forever.  Jesus, we trust in you!  Amen and Halleluia

Bless-bless,Barb

"Through him,

with him,

in him,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

all glory and honor is yours,

almighty Father,

for ever and ever.

Amen." 

Eucharistic prayer

Reading about Merton...

I have shared in the past that as an early Catholic - I discovered, to my joy and delight,Thomas Merton. I read much of his books and poetry, and he is very deeply ingrained in the romantic part of my romance with the Catholic Church!  I am reading a biography of his life right now... a falling apart book that Maria handed me a few months ago along with many other books of edifying nature.  I am seeing that Merton was very human... as we all are... and was a writer extraordinare, yet had many doubts and struggles... He lived as a monk in Kentucky with an order that was enclosed away from the world.  He found the surroundings to be uplifting in nature, and I thought this description of a corn field was beautiful..

"How high the corn is this summer!  What joy there is in seeing the tall crests nod ten and twelve feet above the ground, and the astounding size of the silk-bearded ears!  You come down out of the novitiate, through the door in the enclosure wall, over the little bridge, and down into this paradise of tall stalks and leaves and silence.  There is a sacredness about the beauty of tall maize and I understand the Mayas must have felt about them... How can we not love such things? .... The completely irreligious mind is,it seems to me, the unreal mind, the tense, void, abstracted mind that does not even see the things that grow out of the earth or feel glad about them.  It knows the world only through prices and figures and statistics." 

He writes so beautifully about such common things, and then ponders how this relates to the world on much more spiritual and meaningful level...   I love that beautiful combination and find that to be true in the life I have been blessed with here on the farm.  A Catholic Farm wife, mother foremost and nursing home nurse.  That is the description of me that pretty much covers it.  Thomas Merton, a wonderful writer and seeker of the Truth... enters very deeply into the early life of my Catholic Journey!  It is hard yet good to go deeper into the man underneath. 

I married a strong and determined Belgian farmer... he is also a man of tremendous wisdom in things that really matter in life - first and foremost the spiritual basis of our marriage!  I am forever grateful for this man that I am sharing my life with, and his loving and wise guidance to me and our children.  We are being forged in the furnace of LOVE!

Lord, sometimes, when I look at my life, I am amazed at all that has come to me through you.  Your fingerprint is so powerfully on me and my life, and for that I rejoice!  Thank you for all the daily blessings - yes, there are the hard and the not so hard... but it is all a part of my becoming more the person that you want me to be... a humble servant of yours... carrying forth your Light and Love into the world - most especially to those closest to me in my domestic Church - my family.  Jesus, we trust in you.  Amen and Halleluia

Bless-bless, Barb

"Sunrise hidden by pines and cedars to the east:  I saw the red flames of the kingly sun glaring back through the black trees, not like dawn but like a forest fire.  The sun beccame distinguished as a person he shone silently and with solemn power through the branches, and the whole world was silent and calm.  It is essential to experience all the times and moods of one good place." 

"More and more I appreciate the beauty and solemnity of the 'way' up through the woods, past the barn, up the stony rise, into the grove of tall, straight oaks and hickories around and through the pines, swinging to the hilltop and the clearing that looks out over the valley." 

Thomas Merton

May the beauty of your world give you JOY this day!

Making a "fresh salad"with Mary

On the way to the house after getting off the bus from Kindergarten...we had to take a stop by the garden and found some beans, a carrot, some cucumbers, and some tiny strawberries... They were brought into the house, and...

The cutting board was used for some serious chopping... daddy helped with the carrots, but Mary cut each bean into tiny bites...

Then Simon started cutting the cucumbers... these wonderful vegetables had just been growing on the plants 10 minutes before... they were still warm from the sun, and filled with all the natural healthy fresh goodness!

Davey is watching with interest as he munches on some cucumber slices...

Mary mixes all the goodness together... yes, even the strawberries!  When asked if she wants to add dressing - No, grandma, it will be good to be just fresh and natural.

Time for a taste test... Yummy!  It is fun to live out in the country with a garden to stop at on the way in the house, and cutting all the good vegetables, and some fruit too, into a healthy FRESH salad!  Mary was very proud and pleased with her creation!

She put some in the fridge to share with her family, and to take to school for a fresh snack!  I think that her teacher could use it as a health class... on what is good for our bodies to eat.  Mary knows what is truly good!  Nothing better than fresh!

Nature helps calm the savage beast...

On a busy highway edge at 7A... pulling two wagons while Pat loads bales on the back... I pulled up to this picturesque sunflower plant, and it helped to calm me, and remind me of what a beautiful world we live in... Thank you, Jesus!  P. S. We could really use some rain.

I expected to be long gone for another load, but the spear on his tractor broke... I will tag onto this entry now, and add some thoughts for the day.  The hymn from morning and evening prayer yesterday... see http://www.magnificat.com/ speaks to me of life with Christ!

"Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,

Whose trust, ever child-like, no care can destroy,

Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,

Your bliss in our hearts,Lord,

at the break of the day." 

(to the tune of Be Thou My Vision)

"Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,

Whose strong hands were skilled

at the plane and the lathe,

Be thou at our labors, and give us, we pray,

Your strength in our hearts, Lord,

at the noon of the day." 

Seeing Pat laboring in the heat, and day after day on the farm... this verse is so much a part of his life.  He reports that he is often saying the "formula prayers" as he faces the many frustrations and challanges of the day.  Now, unexpectedly, he has to work on this spear in order to continue picking up bales.

"Let us put into God's hands our heart, our soul, the deep recesses of our being wherein dwell  those beliefs and thoughts that govern our actions, so that he may guide us in the ways of the Gospel."  see http://www.magnificat.com/

"Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,

Your hands swift to welcome,

your arms to embrace,

Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,

Your love in our hearts, Lord,

at the eve of the day.

"Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,

Whose voice is contentment,

whose presence is balm,

Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,

Your peace in our hearts, Lord,

at the end of the day."

Back full circle to the wish for Peace in the midst of the hectec life around us....  May we rest in Him, knowing that He is in control.  HE dwells within us and His Spirit is the giver of all good gifts and fruits... so that we can go forth into our day with determination and peace, joy, patience and love.  Wouldn't that be great? 

Lord Jesus and your Queen Mother, we come to you in this new day, and ask that no matter what comes our way... we may call upon your Spirit dwelling within us to give us strength and fortitude to go forward.  We know that our lives are in your hands, and that gives us comfort as we face the ups and downs.  Jesus, we trust in you!  Amen and Halleluia!

Bless-bless, Barb

"Thus says the Lord of hosts:  Lo, I will rescue my people from the land of the rising sun, and from the land of the setting sun.  I will bring them back to dwell within Jerusalem.  They shall be my people, and I will be their God, with faithfulness and justice."  Zechariah 8: 7-8

 

"Wounded, I will not cease to love."

Working on a picture of the three to send to Hallel... Always a challange and usually one or two are not smiling or happy...  I felt defeated yet wanted to at least give it a somewhat try...  Life seems to be rolling over me these days with many things on the horizon.

This picture makes me feel happy inside, and so I will put it on here to remind myself that life should be taken as it comes and if we give it our very best - always with a prayer in our hearts - that we will find a measure of peace.  Sometimes there are hurtful things said between family members, but we must realize that we are here to love no matter what, and fogive and foget.  Jesus, we trust in you! 

The Community of the Lamb... their motto - "Wounded, I will not cease to love."  The Lamb was sacrificed for you and I out of LOVE!  Show us how to be a lamb in our lives, dear Lord!

Most important teacher to our kids - Parents!

Three year old Davey shows me his tractor as I watched the kids for a few hours yesterday... His brother and sister were soon to come home from school, so we went out to wait for the bus by their huge cottonwood tree that stands at the end of their driveway...

Chasing the tails of a kite caught in the branches is in the wind!  As we are waiting the kids dad, Paul comes home between appointments.  He has changed jobs over the summer from being a high school ag teacher and FFA advisor to now working with farmers and their ongoing education. 

Davey loves playing with and having his dad there for him... although Paul was a wonderful teacher and touched many kids lives with his devotion to Agriculture... now he has the time to be there with his own kids and that is much more important in the scheme of life!  It was a beautiful thing to see first hand as we waited on a hot windy day in the shade of the huge cottonwood tree!

Last night Pat and I went to the opening of Faith Formation for this year as we are going to attempt to be 9th grade teachers again.  We were reminded of the fact... that we believe with a fervor... "Parents are the most important teachers of their children!"  We could have stood up and applauded at that comment!

The kids are all excited to share with dad about their day and are touched to see him there as they come off the bus... it is a wonderful family moment!

Paul can now focus his energy and gift for teaching with his kids!  Thank you Lord for giving my daughters such wonderful husbands, and my grandkids such caring and nurturing and loving and teaching dads!  They are being blessed with a wonderful start at being lights for the world.  This is what we are called to do as parents by Christ - raise lights for the world!  That is how we can and should be open to family and rejoice with each child that we are gifted with!

A beautiful sight - like a wonderful work of art, and so it is to have the bond and the concern and the sharing and the teaching of the path of faith, hope, love, patience, and all the amazing fruits of the Spirit!

Thank you, Lord, for family and for the parents that are there to teach and guide their children onto the path leading to true Happiness with You!  The way may be hard at times, but they do not give up... they get God!  It was so beautiful to hear Ruth praying with her kids the other night... standing in the hallway between their two bedrooms they said the formula prayers together and then their intentions they wanted to pray for... it is fine that little Dave prayed for grandpa and his tractors, and Simon prayed for the farm, and Mary prayed for her family...they shared the language of LOVE - prayer together lifted to you and your Mother... yes, a Hail Mary was shared too!  It was a delight and a very special time for them to share their growing and developing love for YOU with their parents at this time each night... drifting off to sleep in this safe and peaceful and joyful place - knowing that they have placed it all in your hands and they need not have any fears or worries.  That is a beautiful gift to give to your children!  Jesus, we trust in you!  Amen and Halleluia

Bless-bless, Barb
Parents For Eternal Life


by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

"What do we mean when we say that parents are the primary educators of their children? We mean everything.

We mean that parents begin to teach their children from the moment their children are conceived and born.


We mean that parents teach their children during the children’s infancy and childhood.



We mean that parents are the first, and most important and indispensable teachers of their children.


We mean that unless the children are taught by the parents, the children will be getting only a substitute education.

All of this we mean when we say that parents are the primary educators. But we mean much more. After all, there is a primacy in what the children are taught. They can be taught how to walk and to talk. They can be taught how to read and write. They can be taught how to eat and drink and take care of their things. They can be taught arithmetic and spelling, and history and geography. All of those things they can be taught and should be taught. But what they mainly need is to know why God made them; why they are on earth at all; why they are in this world; that they are here in this life in order to prepare and train themselves for the world to come.

In a word, children are to be taught that their short stay here in time is only a preparation for the world that will never end. They are to be trained for heaven. That is why the subtitle of my article to you is: “Parents for Eternal Life”.

Having said this, we are now in a position to get into the principal message I wish to share with you. It can be stated in a single all important statement: “Under God, parents are the first in time, first in authority, first in responsibility, first in ability, and first in dignity to educate their children for eternal life.”
http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Family/Family_028.htm .. this looks like a good site!