"The night is lost in endless day." morning hymn

Little Augustine is like a ray of light!  Eyes are drawn to him and smiles appear on faces... just as if there is light at the end of the tunnel, and we walk into the warmth and light of the sun.  He is a symbol to us of how we are filled with happiness... when we leave the darkness of sin behind, and come more fully and completely into a life of prayer, spending time with the Word - Jesus Christ, and coming to the sacarments of healing and nourishment and instruction - our amazing Church has blessed us with all that we need for the journey of LIFE and LOVE! 

Jesus. thank you for the wonder of small innocent and charming little ones in our lives and all around us.  Children are the sign to the world of your LOVE and LIFE!  You are encouraging to families to be open to LIFE and realize that family means so much more to us than acquiring things or gaining status in this passing world.  Listen to the hearts of those that are yearning for the gift of little ones in their lives... answer their heartfelt prayers.  Give comfort to Maria and her recent loss, yet knowing that little Patrick/Magdalene is to be united with them someday in heaven, and is now with your chior of glory and praise at your feet!  Jesus, we trust in you!  Amen and Halleluia

Bless-bless, Barb

"The Lord is my light and my help;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life

before whom shall I shrink?

Though an army encamp against me

my heart shall not fear.

 Though war break out against me

even then would I trust.

There is one thing I ask of the Lord,

for this I long,

to live in the house of the Lord,

all the days of my life,

to savor the sweetness of the Lord,

to behold his temple."

Psalm 27

"O Lord, make us see!" Luke 18

On the fly photo shoot of Gus in the waiting room... while John was in for his MRI.  Many smiles from those waiting there with us.  Today the Gospel is Jesus healing the two blind men...Mt9: 27-31

The reflection from evening prayer that we just shared around the advent wreath...see http://www.magnificat.com/

"Christ is the light not of our eyes but of our minds.  In Advent, we cry out in our darkness: 'O Lord, make us see!'  As Christ comes to us in word and sacrament, in prayer and in daily life, we do indeed begin to see the world differently by the light of faith.  We see by his eyes rather than our own.  And as we see, so we live."  I thought that this was really wonderful to ponder, so I am sharing it... It is so good to have Advent here and to make more of an effort to share prayer, and lighting the candle and gathering around the Advent wreath with the warmth of the woodstove so cozy as the wind howls in the cold outside - feels like winter is at our door.  Jesus, you bring warmth and light to us in this time of the seasons when darkness comes so early and is so cold. 

Jesus, we long to hear you speak to us..."Have sight; your faith has saved you."  May we "see" you in all those that surround us in our lives...especially those in our domestic Church - our family.  We look to you throughout the day as we are in prayer to you in all that we do.  Jesus,we trust in you.  Amen and Halleluia

Bless-bless, Barb

"I am the light of the world."  John 8: 12

Photo story of healing...

Mass with 3 year old Davey this morning..."Thank you for the healing of our son!"

Smiles and laughter after the good news that John continues to be cancer free!

Augustine!

Flying Augustine!

John, Pat and Augustine on Gonda 10... a familiar place to us and now one ringing with good news!

Meeting with our doctor... Celebrate - the cancer is no more!

Peaceful rest...

Augustine charmed many waiting for their tests...

Super cute Gus...

Praying and smiling... with Gus

We are happy and feeling very blessed today!  Jesus, we trust in you!  Bless-bless, the Verlys

Tears of JOY!

I thought that I would start with this super cute picture of John taking an afternoon nap with some others in Rochester yesterday...  Shortly after this we had the joy of hearing the words of healing once again from his doctor..."Your brain is clean!"  He gave his doctor a high 5, and we all cheered with delight!  This morning we were called to HIM in the mass and found tears of joy and Thanksgiving welling up at the wonder of John's miraculous healing!  We are so much aware of the very many facets of prayer, and saints, and sacraments, and doctors that all add up to John being healthy and cancer free, and finding the "new normal" in his reborn life!  We returned home to a wonderful loving message from John on our answering machine..."I just wanted to thank you guys so much for being there always with me... I love both of you!  I love you so much!  This cancer journey would not have been possible without the both of you,so thank you so much.  I love you both so much."  Talk about something that you want to never delete, but listen to every day!  Wow!  We had such a wonderful family day yesterday with our daughter, Nancy and baby Gus there to make us laugh!

Jesus, we trust in you!  Bless-bless, Barb

Update from Rochester... time on my hands with a computer.

We woke up to a small amount of snow on the ground.. it made our travel a bit slower, but we arrived in time to see John before he went back to take his nap in the MRI machine.  Nancy and Gus jumped in with him, so we have been having some special grandparent time with them.  Gus has been charming many on our journey here and there in this familiar complex.  We can see that the Thanksgiving holiday has flowed over to make this a very busy day here.  More people than ever before.  We think that it is because people put off  coming til after the holiday, and not that there are that many more sick people.  That would not be a good thing.  John is now taking a nap in a recliner with 4 older people around him...taking their afternoon nap.  Really cute to see!  There is a homey feel to being back here... the many times we have gotten only good news now for almost a year... takes a lot of the scarey times, and makes them get to be more of a dull and distant memory.  Thank you Lord! 

All the PRAYERS!

Writing through tears as I remember the love my two youngest children have for each other.  Today as we head to Rochester with John for his every 3 month check up, we are well aware of little sister Hallel's prayers, as well as her entire Community of the Lamb.  Yet they do not end there... we are reminded daily by others that have been with us on this journey that they continue to lift John and his family up daily!  We are so blessed!  John always tells people that is why he is healed and to continue as he needs them.  Looking at the healing and all the pieces that are a part of it...there is so much and it all plays a part in the miracle that we see in John!  We are so grateful and lately John is getting in touch with the feeling of ..."Why me,Lord?"  Wondering why he has been spared and there goes with it some feelings of guilt... as he watches other young people die, and he is told that he is the only one they know that has beat it.  There are also feelings of carrying forth the baton of life and that there is something that he is in this world to accomplish... LIFE with our Lord and within His Church!

There are many times that I have thought of John's brain cancer in prayer as the "Crown of Thorns."  That has become a mystery of the rosary that I pray every day for all those that have been with us on this journey through prayer... knowing that they too have prayer needs in their lives as well, and lately getting in touch with all the mental, spiritual, emotional illnesses that seem to come from that place in our bodies..so much of the agony for Christ depicted in the Crown of Thorns is the mental anguish he suffered in his being mocked in his weak and damaged state when he was in reality God in the flesh!  If there is anyone who understands the deep pain in losing our abilities to fight for ourselves and to be humbled by illness... unable to go forth on our own and depend totally on our faith in HIM.... it is our Lord and Savior!

Lord, we go forth today with hope and trust in your continued healing of John.  He falls at your feet in gratitude, and gives over to you all that he has.  We are aware of all those that will pause throughout the day to lift up John as he is in the MRI tube, and when we meet with his doctors.  We remember the powerful week of prayer that began on this day 2 years ago...there were 168 hours - around the clock beginning at 12mn this very morning!  There were hundreds that shared how powerful it was for them and their many experiences from sitting with their young children in front of the monstrance in the church to watching the swans land on the lake just at the hour of their prayertime.  For John and his family... we had just faced the growth of the cancer through the chemo and were terrified as John had 6 weeks of radiation.  There was a scan at the end of the week of prayer that showed almost no cancer and within a month there was CR... Complete Responce/Christ Rules... the cancer was gone and has never returned!  We claim this healing, and continue to expect only good news today.  Jesus we trust in you, now and forever!  Amen and Halleluia!

Bless-bless, Barb

"Be strong, let your heart take courage, all who hope in the Lord."

Psalm 31:25

"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.  The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.  But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock."  Matt 7: 21, 24-27  The Gospel for today... Lord Jesus,this has been our Truth throughout our journey - cancer/healing!  Hear our heartfelt prayer this day for continued healing that John may love and serve you with his life here on this earth!  Jesus, we trust in you.