Making decisions/The Truth with us/Consecrate - Jesus + each of us= The Church

 A selfie of dad and I yesterday to wish my sister, Marty, 2nd of the 12 kids a happy 47th wedding anniversary.  She gifted St Therese to me for my birthday last year, so it was the perfect spot to pause for our less than wonderful greeting picture.

Dad's greeting to her - "You are a wonderful example of married love for the family."  47 years!  Yes, that is certainly a needed witness to this world where marriage and family are trod under foot!

 Love this 4 generation picture taken on Sunday! 

Dad has been here 6 weeks tomorrow, and we are making plans for some procedures to take place since he continues to soldier on down the path into the sunset of his LIFE!  Death is a part of our lives which we all will face and to have hospice here caring for each new bump in the road has been a most wonderful gift to us!

 Pat ministering the Eucharist to my father on Sunday!  Dad is most appreciative that Pat as an Eucharistic minister can bring him Jesus! 

Today in the Gospel Jesus speaks of consecration and how we are united with Him in The Church and called to eat His Body and drink His Blood hence The Church is where we are fed with His Body, Blood and Word of God!
"...They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth.
Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
so I sent them into the world.
And I consecrate myself for them,
so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”
John 17

 Jesus and each one of us united in His Church!  What JOY to return to mass again as a family and how we are overjoyed to know that Nancy and Bill will join us in a family celebration sharing mass and the Baptism of our newest member, Birdie Barbara! 

Consecration applies to how Jesus called us to build our Church upon Peter, the Rock!
Dad was recalling Matthew 16 today as he had read it in his retreat by St Mother Teresa of Calcutta for 27th day...

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Dad recalls that mother in her last years of life and struggling with dementia would ask him where she could find this verse many times.  My mother was a woman of The Word and knew the Bible forward and backward, so this was a new struggle with her dementia... Why would she ask to find this often?  To remind herself that we are in The True Church, and Jesus will not abandon it!

 Pat's happy place - sharing mass as a family once again!   The first week of life we would attend mass with each new child, and never would we go in shifts.  We always shared our Faith with great JOY and together united in our domestic Church/family sharing our Faith!

 Good to have our farm family sitting with us at mass and to witness the consecration in real LIFE, and able to receive the Body of Christ!  How we have missed that in this crazy time of stay at home.

 Fr Todd talking to Luke and Rose while grandpa gets Jesus for my father at home.

 Jude with his new baby sister... they are warming up to each other, and wonderful gifts of new LIFE!

Birdie Barbara is such a little sweet heart and a good baby according to mom and dad. 

We are very excited to be able to share in her big day of entering The Church on Sunday surrounded by her family.  Even her great-grandpa has some plans to come and celebrate with us all. 

My father prays daily for our huge family of 140+ and has very much on his heart those that are not baptized or united with us in The Church, which gives us so much for the journey with each new day!  Jesus in Word, Body and Blood, the Saints led by his Mother, Mary the Mother of God, and prayer of The Church along with the rosary prayer and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which we cling to these days of many dying all around us! 

 Dad reading the Gospel today from John 17 - reminding us that we are consecrated to The Truth and Jesus to us/His Bride, The Church!  How we find comfort and enjoy the sharing of prayer throughout the day along with all the other blessings and graces we are given for this journey we are on together!

 My father is living with me on the farm!  How we love to share our Faith/Family/Farm!

 We had to try a few and I would say that we missed the mark a bit, but that is real life around here.  A bit of a bumpy road from time to time!

"The Body of Christ"  Amen

Jesus, we are stumbling down the narrow path carrying/dragging our Most Cherished Cross and looking to find LIFE eternal with you, Mary, the Saints, and our mother and sister.  Much of our prayer is focused on my mother, who has been gone now for 2 months.  WE are comforted in knowing that she was truly consecrated to your Truth, your Church and to You, dear Jesus!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Amen and Hallelujah

Each morning dad does a series of prayers starting with the Sacred heart of Jesus prayer, the armor of God from The Word, the St Michael the Archangel prayer and all for our large family.  It is a good start to our day and what it may hold!  Bless-bless, Barbara

So peaceful and sweet! 

Danielle Rose - Small things with great love

Laruen Daigle - Rescue

Communicating with Hallel/Dad is stable for today/Blessed day by day/16 kids!!!!

 My little red headed grandson, Romeo Joseph, is having his feast day today on St Philip Neri of Rome.  Yes, we call him Rome - which is my favorite nick name for him.  And my father and I just read a lot about this amazing saint, who transformed Rome with his light hearted and loving priesthood. 

Rome brings up the end of the group of 5 year old grandsons.  Luke has already entered 6, and in a few weeks Dominic will join him.  On grandpa Patrick's birthday in September Rome will be 6, too. 

 Romeo is such a happy boy, and it is wonderful to have such a man of great humor and mystical graces to look up to!  Here is some more insight into this great man of God...
Philip received many mystical graces, the most telling of which was a mystical "enlargement" of his heart, which he described as being ignited with God's own Spirit.  He began his priestly ministry in Rome, spending long hours hearing confessions.  With joyful energy Philip drew people from all walks of life to the Oratory, for meetings that combined spiritual reading, prayer and music.  

 Augustine turns 9 yesterday in Delano!  16 kids from 3 different families made is a huge fun and special time!

 George looks the part of yummy cake in my tummy and everywhere else, too as only a one year old little brother can!

Something to laugh about!!!

More about your patron saint, Rome!
To have a sense of humor is to be wise enough to see things in proportion.  St Philip Neri was noted for his ability to be cheerful and to laugh from the depths of his burning love for the crucified Christ and to win other hearts for Christ by the quality of his JOY.

Such a lesson to us all!!
Today's Psalm 68 speaks of our JOY in the Lord..
A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
Your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
R.    Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R.    Alleluia.
Blessed day by day be the Lord,

As my father and I take one day at a time... today we had the nurse visit, and dad checked out just fine.  Our main struggle is his stomach complaints at meals and finding the way to navigate that.  We will maybe go to medication now...

 Jude learning to love his new baby sister! 

 Rose Again got to hold Birdie Barbara for the first time on Sunday!  We are anticipating a huge wonderful celebration on this coming Sunday for her formal coming into The Church with her Baptism on Pentecost Sunday/Feast of the Visitation!  So excited!!!

 Last Sunday was our final sharing on Zoom!  So amazing and getting the schedule from them on email opened up my being able to share more with them...

 My dad was amazed that he could look at Hallel and speak with her after 12 years.

Pat sharing last Sunday.

One thing new since the pandemic has changed our lives is that I now can send pictures to Hallel on email to the Community of the Lamb in KC!  We started getting emails from them about zooming mass times and times we could share face to face.  So wonderful!!!  My father was so impressed that he could speak and share with his nun granddaughter after he had not seen her face to face for 12 years!  Miraculous!

I am so happy that dad has been able to spend some time with my growing family!  He has fake plans to get out to mass for the first time on Sunday for mass followed by Birdie Barbara's Baptism!  Even Nancy and Bill are coming down, and I hope to record Augustine's 2nd Communion and we can celebrate that with him also!

Jesus, life is taking on a new JOY with the arrival of our newest member to make our LOVE bigger and more rich and deep!  Our LOVE grows more with each new LIFE! The words from the Psalm today ring true as we take each day at a time and Blessed day by day be the Lord as we share prayer throughout the day and give all the challenges to Him and Trust!  Jesus, we love you and trust in you.  May we die to self so that you may live in us and we may serve without counting the cost with great JOY!  Amen and Hallelujah

 So precious and alertly looking grandma in the eye!  Precious time indeed!

 The sun came out on Sunday for a bit!  Welcome Birdie Barbara!

Life is a gift to be protected and cherished from conception to natural death!  Hear our heartfelt prayer for all those in danger today.  May your Truth come into the LIGHT and put an end to the culture of death!  Hail Holy Queen our Mother of God... save LIFE!  Bless-bless, Barbara

Danielle Rose - Wonderfully made/Psalm 139

Peter Mayer - Holy Now

Danielle Rose - Small things with great love

John's story continues - now father of 2 and celebrating his second wedding anniversary in a week!  Miraculous!  Thank you , Lord!

Memorial day -cows and calves in the green grass/Gus is 9!/The Spirit in us conquered the world!

 Ruth and Paul and their great farm family with my dad yesterday after sharing our first mass at church together and then a big family breakfast.  Joy is getting to know her great grandpa Robert as he has been living in my home for going on 6 weeks now.

The Lanoues are taking some time off for the Memorial holiday to spend time with Nancy's family in Delano and together to make a party for Augustine, who is 9 today!  Instant party when you have a family of 6 cousins living only 2 1/2 hours away now and sharing ages with all of Nancy's kids.

 I dressed myself and my two men in pink for the gathering and pictures of our newest member - Birdie Barbara.  I am obsessed with pictures chronically our life...

Why?  Because I adore our life on the farm and our family. I always described my found addiction as having a hunky husband, babies and baby animals added up to pictures all the time and of everything we were doing as it all is so interesting and beautiful isn't it?

 8 of the 58 great grandchildren that my father has now.

 David the baby whisperer and lover of holding babies in the family.

 Rose again also loves to hold babies and they seem to like to be held by her, too.

Life is something we value always and without end!  Our family has grown now to 30 members and with each new life our LOVE just grows bigger and greater and more LOVE - not stretched more thin.

We value and protect and cherish all LIFE from conception to natural death!  I include the losses in our family which adds 13 lives, which were lost in the womb and they keep our eyes focused on heaven and being united with them someday!
https://familysoulstory.blogspot.com/p/my-most-cherished-cross-patrick-gerard.html

 Praying the Our Father together with Luke, and Joy and great-grandpa... my farmer Eucharistic minister, Patrick, bringing Jesus to my father in the Body of Christ!

 How we love Jesus!  He ministers to us daily in The Word/Jesus present for us as dad and I and hubby pray together the prayer of The Church!  Now to come back to the table and be fed his Body and Blood is such a wonderful blessing!

 My man in pink with precious Birdie in his huge hands!  He always loves to hold those little ones!

We are very excited to have Birdie's Baptism for next Sunday which is Pentecost/The Feast of The Visitation, and my dad plans to come to mass that day and be there for Birdie's big day!  Nancy and Bill have plans to come and join us!

It will be Augustine's 2nd Communion as he was allowed to receive his first early before the closing of churches with the pandemic.  So having him here on Sunday for that special occasion is very powerful and exciting indeed!

 Taking Gus's Birthday card over to go with Ruth and Paul to Gus... these two cuties were along the driveway and I had to capture them in the green green grass and some yellow wild flowers, too.

 Hubby and I had a short date together on the 4wheeler to check no the 15 pairs in the pasture behind our house.  A lot of Memorial days we visit the pastures and admire how wonderful and healthy and happy the cows and calves look on the green lush grass.

 Lots of white spots on faces that makes them stand out and cute too!

Much anticipation of The Holy Spirit coming to dwell in us now that the Lord Ascended into heaven yesterday!  I love the story today from Acts 19 where St Paul introduces some of the followers to being Baptized in Jesus...they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul laid his hands on them,
the Holy Spirit came upon them,
and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

Much of our antiphons in morning prayer also speak of the Spirit in us!

 Our chariot for our date to the pasture.

I love to watch him... I still think he is s total hunk and love to watch him feed the world and take his farming very seriously and he loves what he does and he is a very good farmer!

 Gus with his family hiking at Taylors Falls, MN yesterday.  Today he had all his cousins there to help him have an instant party!  We love you, Gus, have a marvelous 9th birthday!

 Pat loving to be back at mass with family!  Next week it will be even more with John, Bobbi and their 2 and Nancy and Bill with their 5.  Family sharing our Faith is our most beloved time together!

 Fr Todd talking to Luke and Rose while they watch grandpa get Jesus for Great-grandpa.

So good to see them back at mass and I know they missed being here each week!  When you realize that every Sunday since they were born they have been to mass with their family!  These past 6 weeks have been hard and long and make us hunger that much more for our Lord and His Church!

 Precious times of 14 month old Jude with his 2 week baby sister, Birdie, yesterday at our home.

 They are learning to know each other and this was such a precious moment!

 Gentle Birdie waking up for grandpa.

The Gospel today from John 16 - Jesus assures us that we are not alone in facing all that the world has to challenge and cause us pain and suffering -

But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.
In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage, I have conquered the world.”  John 16

 Lilacs, lily of the valley, two babies and big smiles in the bright day of May 24th!  A week from now Birdie will come into The Church and join our domestic Church/family where we share our Faith as a united force.

Jesus, how we love you and long to serve you with our ALL!  May we die to self so that you may live in us and we may serve without counting the cost.  May we face all that the world throws at us and continue to love - "Wounded, I will never cease to love."  Jesus, we trust in you.  Amen and Halleuja

Life is a gift!  Bless-bless, Barbara

Danielle Rose - Wonderfully made

Danielle Rose - True LOVE/the Cross

Tauren Wells - Hills and Valleys