62 degrees on Dec 7th!/the LORD is an eternal Rock upon which our house it built./Advent prayers -+JMJ+

Maria shared this wonderful picture of "the military girls."  Momma Maria, 15 year old Therese, 7 year old Evangeline, and 2 1/2 year old Magdalene in Kansas.  Their weather looks like ours here as it got up to 62 degrees today!  

How Pat and I share night prayers by the Advent wreath with the first Sunday of Advent candle lit as we pray together.  Love the wonderful bathrobe that Pat's daughters made for him probably 25 years ago.  

Night prayer on iBreviary  

We shared the Gospel for the next day - our house built on the rock!

"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.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined."  Matthew 7

To Jesus through Mary

Artsy pictures while we pray...

Aglow in the light of our Advent wreath.

My nativity candle holders.

The first reading today is once again from Isaiah... Trust in the LORD forever!
For the LORD is an eternal Rock.
He humbles those in high places,
and the lofty city he brings down;
He tumbles it to the ground,
levels it with the dust.
It is trampled underfoot by the needy,
by the footsteps of the poor.  Isaiah 26

Praying after mass for St Ambrose this morning - candles lit to Our Lady of Perpetual Help 

• "Mother of Perpetual Help, you have been blessed and favoured by God. We come to you today as your loving children. Watch over us and take care of us. As you held the child Jesus in your loving arms, so take us in your arms. in time of temptation, we might fail to call out to you and become lost children. Mother of Perpetual Help. Amen."1  

They always have to do a crazy picture too!  Sigh!  

Beautiful how Our Lady is always coming to be with us - Our Lady of Guadalupe! 

Out to get the mail with Tom - 62 degrees means that we need to swing on December 7th!  

How we love to have such beautiful weather!  

It sure feels good to get out of the house and enjoy the fresh air and no snow to walk through.  The farmers love it!  

The grass looks greener than it did during the drought this summer.  

with the sun low in the sky and the bare trees casting their shadows on the grass and leaves.  

I remember the winter after his mother was born in 1981 that it was a warm open and brown winter like this.  Time will tell what lies ahead.

Tom with the "Moo" before we go inside.

It looks like December in some ways, but...

Jesus, we are so secure as our lives are solid on your Eternal Rock!  May we die to self so that we can serve without counting the cost.  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barbara and the 33 including many Little Sisters and Little Brothers 

Oh dad!

ADVENT assures us that Someone is coming

Who will fill our lives 
with everything we are looking for... 

The LORD is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? 
The LORD is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?
 Psalm 27:1-2

 

 

"Let your door stand open to receive Him,

unlock your soul to Him,

offer Him a welcome in your mind,

and then you will see the riches of simplicity,

the treasures of peace, the joy of grace.

Throw wide the gate of your heart,

stand before the sun of the everlasting light."

 

St Ambrose

Italy ~ 340-397

Father* and Doctor of the Church 
*One of four original Doctors of the Latin Church. 
He died on Holy Saturday (April 4) in the year 397 AD. 
His feast day in the Roman calendar is December 7, 
the day he was ordained bishop.

Spiritual father of St Augustine

Bishop of Milan
Model Bishop and eloquent preacher
Credited with composing "Te Deum" hymn

Feast Day - December 7

 

"One day after he had celebrated Holy Mass,

St Ambrose was approached by a woman

afflicted with paralysis

who wanted to kiss his hands.

The woman had great faith in those hands

that had consecrated the Eucharist;

and she was cured at once."

 

From Jesus Our Eucharistic Love

Fr Stephano M Manelli

 

Click here: St. Ambrose - YouTube 
Ambrose of Milan Quotes (Author of On the Mysteries)
___________________

Let us today make this our prayer too:

From a prayer of St Ambrose

 

"Most Sweet Bread, heal my heart,

that I may taste the sweetness of Your love.

Heal it from all weakness, that I may

enjoy no sweetness but You."

St Ambrose, pray for us!

Danielle Rose 

 

"That's the kind of snow my dad likes."/Our Lord on the Mountain heals and feeds us - +JMJ+

Dropping off Tom a bit ago - I was greeted with excited showing of their snowflakes.  "Dad likes this kind of snow, and he made these snowflakes."  Rose reported.  I had to smile and giggle as I know the farmers are very happy with a warm brown winter without the snow to make life difficult for them and their livestock.

Farmer Pat and I share night prayer by our beautiful Advent wreath with the first Sunday of Advent candle lit - such beautiful LIGHT coming into our dark winter world.  It is getting dark now and it is not even 5p yet.  

Night prayer on our phones  - iBreviary  We then did one of The Catechism in a year podcasts - we are about half way there, but it is still a gift when we can find the time to share the wisdom of The Catholic Church!  

We than follow the tradition of our Community of the Lamb and read the Gospel the night before.  Today's Gospel was amazing from Matthew 15 - Jesus healing those put at his feet and then taking pity on the crowd and feeding them. 

Gospel Mt 15:29-37

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.

Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
"My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way."
The disciples said to him,
"Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place
to satisfy such a crowd?"
Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"
"Seven," they replied, "and a few fish."
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish,
gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.  Matthew 15

It is all too wonderful not to share the whole thing!  Imagine the JOY of those that are seeing the bread they are eating for the first time as they have been given sight after being blind.  Also the mute speaking of the glory of God... the whole scene is one of The Mountain of the Lord!  How I love that Mountain- the Holy Catholic Church where we are fed from the altar, and healed in the confessional! 

My Monstrance made by Dominic and Mary with Jesus- to Jesus through Mary!  

The first reading from Isaiah 25 is about that Holy Mountain in such glorious words of JOY and wisdom!  

Reading 1 Is 25:6-10a

On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken.

On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.

Once again too wonderful not to share the entire thing!  We are so blessed by our God coming to us as a small baby, and then someday to bring us to Him in Heaven forever!  Are we ready? 

Moving the altar back into position after a wonderful concert in our gloriuos beautiful church last evening!  

Rose with her first topknot 11 years ago!  She is now a 6th grader at HRS!  

A full Church last night for SMSU Christmas Concert - how I loved to see our beautiful church as the showcase of the glory of the Lord and Lady!  

Jesus overhead and the stations we lit up along the sides of The Church - Handels Messiah

The Prairie Chorus joined for the vocals!  

No snow outside but they continue to make beautiful snowflakes to put on all the windows.  Rose with a new creation!  

Tom spent the day with grandma and grandpa... in his tug boat with a smile for grandma.

Probably see you tomorrow Tom as mom and dad are trying to finish the Apartments so people can move in this weekend.

David, Tree and snowflakes in the late evening sun.

Tom in his tugboat too. 

It is a snowy world inside anyways - the kind of snow that dad likes!  

Joy showing me some of her flakes - one that has the cross as the center of it.

Rose showing me her Cross based Snowflake - they are all so beautiful and special with the green grass and brown field out the huge picture window on the front of their farmhouse.

Each one unique and beautiful just as real snowflakes are each different from the other.

From outside the front of the house with the tree lights and the sunlight on the porch they put on the house when they remodeled it about 7 years ago now.  

With the setting sun on a 50+ degree day!  Pat is powerwashing the payloader there to the left.  How they love open and warm winters on the farm!  

Let is snow with paper snowflakes on the windows.

When it is dark like now I am sure it is so beautiful with the tree and house lights making them pop!  More pictures I will need to capture yet.  LOVE that I always have more pictures to capture!  

Tom and Ruth gave me a tour of the two basement apartments yesterday.  Now the counter tops and the appliances are in and soon the tenants can move in hopefully this weekend!  

Ruth with her vision - the backdrop in the kitchen

LOVE the view from the Egress window in the basement apartment!  Last night we had our Quad group in the Parsonage and watched the many people come for the SMSU Christmas Concert in our beautiful Church!  I am sure many sat there and thought they had stepped into heaven!  The Mountain of God!  

Jesus, how we love you and long to die to self so that we may take up our Cross daily and follow after you.  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barbara and the 33 plus many Little Brothers and Little Sisters

I want to join you, Howie, and we your Waiter always and forever! 

Will Morrison - I will 
 

Danielle Rose