Thursday, March 6, 2025

Icy Ash Wednesday/"Nourish all who fed on words alien to the Gospel"/today would be dad's 100th!/ take up your cross daily and follow me. - +JMJ

You can faintly see Tom's Ashes after Mass and a fish sandwich for supper at Arby's. With the ice storm and school canceled they had to get their ashes at the end of the day.  
12 year old Rose Again's ashes were still easy to see.  WE love our ashes reminding us that Lent is beginning and that we need to put all our Faith in our Lord as we are weak and "remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return."
Grandpa Farmer Pat with his ashes under his Trump hat - "Show everyone that I am a strong Trump supporter and Catholic through and through."

Even with no internet due to the wind and storm - he managed to listen to President Trumps full speach to the country.  "It was the best speech he has ever given?"
Out sharing ashes and Communion with my 4 hospice people and with Johns' kids home from school for the day.  
2 year old Lucy is so smart and our youngest grandchild - #23!  
A Lenten gift for grandma!  John and Bobbi's 3 precious miracles!
Sharing noon mass with hubby to begin our Lent!  Such a gift to share what matters most in our marriage - our love of Jesus, Mary and The Catholic Church!  
Maria and her 3 year old Maggie, who now has bangs and a very faint cross of ashes on her forehead.
Lent is a wonderful special time of walking more closely with our Lord and Lady! 

How did this ever happen? So sad and awful.  So many prayers with each day that LIFE can be protected and cherished from Conception to natural death. 
2nd grader Joy reading to her great-grandfather, George Lanoue, at Hill Street.  She was sad to tell me that this was the last time as he is moving.  Special memory for them!  

It was an icy and snowy night leading up to Ash Wednesday morning - school was cancelled and it got a late start for our getting to mass and officially starting Lent.

I was struck by this intercession on Morning Prayer yesterday after hearing about how childish and self-centered the Democrats were at the Presidents address the night before...  Giving no respect to all the people there that were honored and recognized - not standing for a 13 year old boy, who had survived brain cancer, and family of a girl killed by 2 illegal immigrants, and many more!  What happened to respect?

"Lord Jesus Christ, in you the hungry feed upon the Word of LIFE: -nourish all who have fed on words alien to the Gospel.  O God, be merciful to me a sinner."

Today much is melting.  

Alien to the Gospel.  Yes, the Gospel spells out clearly that we are made in the image and likeness of God - Male and female he created them!  God does not make mistakes and this is very clear! 

 Also, it is very much spelled out that males and males and females and females are not as the Lord created them.  A man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife till death do they part.  Much as sex outside of marriage - A step in getting married is not to co habitate first!  It is wrong!  We should protect our purity and give that to our spouse on our wedding night!  

Powerful words by Pope Benedict XVI
Spelling out our penances for Lent!  
A fun picture from 9 years ago on the farm with kids, puppy, kitty and calf!  
2 years ago just because I love to share special memories - we were gathering for Mary's Confirmation.  Maria flew from Charlottesville, VA with Maggie on her lap!
Gina's first topknot!  
Maggie and Tom at the fish fry 2 years ago.

Today is my dad's 100th heavenly birthday!  He died here in my home after 6 months of hospice... sharp to the very end! He shared his birthday with my brother, Dan, who is 64 today!  Happy birthday to you both!  I love you!  
Family Soul Story - Choose Life!: Deacon Robert Cross - my dad on hospice in our Farm Monastery for 6 months - 4/16/20 thru 10/23/20  
Dad at my mother's funeral Mass - due to covid we had to wait until July to have her Mass even though she died on March 16th from a fall.  
5 generation of Dan with his son and grandsons!  This was 5 years ago at mom's funeral Mass in Taylors Falls.  
2 years ago it was granddaughter, Mary's Confirmation!  
4 of our 5 kids gathered for this special occasion- Maria is Godmother to Mary and flew in from Virginia with her Maggie on her lap. 
It snowed!  
The littles 2 years ago - Lucy was just 2 months old!  
Come Holy Spirit dwell in her heart, mind and soul.  Show her the path you have for Mary alone!  
Wow!  
Maria up here last week to look at a house with her 2 youngest girls.  Angela's home in SCF is where they stayed as they bought a house close by - right across the road from my parents' grave!  I imagine I will visit often!  

Tom and Pat spoiled grandma with some pictures with some cute 2 day old calves.  WE have had 8 born today since 7a - "We are getting close to 60 calves!" reported farmer Pat.
Doesn't get much cuter than this.  Look at the cute tongue of the calf.  
Now with a brindle face.  Hubby is calling me to help.  I will step away to return when I can...

My dad on his 95th birthday - 5 years ago today just as Covid was shutting down the world.
Yes!!
Thinking of dad today on his 100th heavenly birthday!  He keeps my eyes on heaven to see him again someday including our 7 losses in heaven and our 6 grandchildren in heaven!  That keeps me on the narrow path dragging my Most Cherished Cross with heaven as my goal!  
 A cow licking her new calf on Cow TV!  
A calf that I watched be born naturally on Cow TV last night!  
Date night watching cow TV together while the farm family was away at Ash Wednesday Mass.  Such brightness from the setting sun!  
There is the head out, and soon the calf came into the world and the mother cow jumped up to lick her new calf and moo at it with so much love and care.
The yard of those waiting to calve.  Freshly bedded with corn stalks that are golden in the setting sun.
A special one of my farm boys - old and young!  
We tried it this way, but the calf jumped up and grandpa had to help out...
Mother and daughter have the same brindle markings - so cute!  
So wonderful to have healthy and active baby calves - we are going to hit 60 today!  
Ashes 3 years ago - Nancy and baby Regina Maria- Queen Mary as grandpa likes to call her!  
Maria and Maggie 3 years ago.
Ruth and Tom 3 years ago on Ash Wednesday.
Last Sunday shopping for brunch after mass with 5 little ones!   Tom and Lucy sharing some grapes at ALDI.
Praying with John in the middle of the night - He has the last hour of Sunday and I the first hour of Monday.  LOVE to share and pray for our family!  
Joy ahead pushing the cart.  We sure love to have 7 year old Joy with us to help.  We might not be so willing to bring the little ones if it weren't for her help buckling and unbuckling and all!  Thank you, Joy Jean!  
Everything sweet in the store in our cart!  We have stopped getting ice cream treats since that was a bit over the top.
We spoiled Joy with a triple chocolate cake, and she shared it with all for our brunch.  There was none left - JOY is such a generous and sweet girl!  
Ruth with Rose on my dad's 90th birthday 10 years ago - it was our first calf and we named it Robert after my dad.


My dad jotting in Morning prayer book!  LOVE! 
Bishop Chad and Adoration for the Pope's health.
My hero, who brought our Community of the Lamb to the U.S. in KCK!  
Truth!  We are so loved!  
The reason for my life on the farm - Marge!  
Saints that are working hard to protect LIFE from heaven!  St JPII and St Mother Teresa of Calcutta!  
How we love our young farm family on the farm!  
Friend Fr Denny doing the Mass at the NH!  
How can it be!?!?
Mass with my friend, Marie, and my friend, Fr Denny!  
Farmboy Tom!  
Happy Birthday Dan and Dad!  What I would give for a couple days again in your wonderful home in SCF mom and dad!  You are keeping me working towards heaven and seeing you again.  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barb and the 33 plus 13 in heaven.
REMINDER:  Holy Hour for you TODAY!


  "Jesus, I give You my whole heart and my whole will.  
They once rebelled against You, 
but now I dedicate them completely to You…
Receive me, and make me faithful until death.” 
 St. Alphonsus Liguori
____________________________

ASH WEDNESDAY*



"Give me, good Lord, a full faith and 
a fervent charity, a love of You, good Lord, 
incomparably above the love of myself; 
and that I love nothing that displeases You
but everything for the sake of You.

Take from me, good Lord, this lukewarm -- 
or rather cold-hearted -- way of meditation and 
this dullness in praying to You.  And give me 
warmth, delight, and life in thinking of You.

And give me grace to long for Your 
holy Sacraments, and specifically to rejoice 
in the presence of Your Blessed Body, sweet 
Savior Christ, in the holy Sacrament of the altar, 
and duly to thank You for Your precious 
visitation through it; and at that high Memorial, 
may I have grace to remember and consider 
Your most bitter passion with tender compassion."

St. Thomas More
________________________________

*ASH WEDNESDAY is solemnly observed by the Church to mark the beginning of the forty days of penance in the Lenten season. The faithful who attends the Mass on this day will be marked on the forehead with a CROSS of ASHES as a sign of conversion, penance, fasting and human mortality.  

Ash Wednesday in Iraq. DoD Photo (Spc Daniel Schneider)

"The ashes create a bond of solidarity between us.
They make it easier for us to help each other choose the 
right way, to offer a word of support, an arm to lean on, 
when we see each other falter." - Bishop Erik Varden, O.C.S.O.


And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him;
and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. - Ecclesiastes 4:12

During Lent, we are called to prayer, fasting and almsgiving. They are the "three-fold cord" spoken of in Ecclesiastes 4:12. Satan will not prevail against us if we follow Christ's call to use this three-fold cord as a basis for our Christian walk.

"Act, and God will act. " -  St Joan of Arc

 

Prayer is good when accompanied
by fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness.
A little with righteousness is better than much 
with wrongdoing.  It is better to give alms 
Let us pray - one for the other - 
and especially Pope Francis -
for perseverance, fidelity and conversion
in this Lenten season!
Matt Maher - the Lord's prayer
Hail Holy Queen as Dominicans sing it - Salve Regina



Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)