Mary Undoer of Knots

Christ came to bring JOY;

Joy to children, joy to parents,

Joy to families and friends,

Joy to the sick and elderly,

Joy to all humanity.

In a true sense, JOY is the keynote message of Christianity,

And the recurring motif of the Gospels.

Go, therefore, and become Messengers of Joy!

~ Pope John Paul II

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Retreat!

I am leaving tomorrow for a 7-day retreat with my soon-to-be sisters!  Woo hoo!  I am excited and a bit nervous, as I know the Lord will give me much to think about this week.  If you happen by while I am away, please pray for me, that I will grow in closer union with Him and never let my pride and self-sufficiency come between us.  And please know that I am praying for you . . .

Please pray also for Melissa, as she prepares to enter the Novitiate on August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, and for all of the sisters as they grow in love to serve the Lord and all of His children. 

Blessed Mother, please pray for us. 
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, please pray for us. 

Let it be done according to Your Word, Lord. 

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Making Room

We must remember only Jesus, think only of Jesus,
counting any loss as profit
insofar as it makes more room in us
for thought about and knowledge of Jesus,
beside whom everything else is nothing. 
I must keep all my powers for God.

~ Venerable Charles de Foucauld, 1858-1916 ~

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Samaritans

What a morning! I was sooo HAPPY that my Mom and I were going to get to go to Mass together. This rarely happens, because I usually have to play the organ, so this was a real treat! But we almost did not make it . . .

As luck would have it-----Not luck------As GOD would have it, my Mom came to my house 30 minutes early. I was thrilled, because I like to have as much time as possible with Jesus before Mass begins, so I was glad she misunderstood the time and came ahead of schedule. Had we not had the benefit of these 30 minutes, we would have missed Mass altogether, as we got a flat tire on the way. This was an awesome gift for several reasons, but mostly because it was an opportunity for great Grace.

Today’s Gospel reading was from Luke 10:25-37, the parable of the good Samaritan. How perfect! As the victim of the robbers lay stripped, beaten and half-dead on the side of the road, the priest and Levite passed him by. But the Samaritan stopped and helped him, tending to his wounds and paying for his lodging so he could rest and get well. It was incredible, that as Mom and I sat on the side of the road waiting for Dad to come and bring the spare, FIVE different cars stopped to help us. This was amazing, because I had been stopped on the Turnpike once in the 80s, and sat there for hours before I could get anyone to help. (Those were the days before cell phones). One after another, on this less-than-busy stretch of highway, men, women and cars with families stopped and got out of their cars to offer aid—Not just slowed down, but stopped and got out and made sure we were OK. One even had a nice chat with us about God and faith when she found out we were on our way to Church. She offered to drive us to Church so we wouldn’t miss, but we were worried about Dad with his congestive heart failure changing the tire by himself, so we waited for him, and he cheerfully and lovingly changed the tired for us and gave us his car for the rest of our trip. As it turned out, Father Jacek must have started a few minutes late, because we only missed the opening prayers and arrived in time for the first reading!  I could hardly believe it!

Father Jacek is a very holy, humble and inspirational priest. His homilies are never dull or uninspired, and they always speak to every soul who is walking on any part of the journey to Jesus. Today’s homily was no different. It was filled with not just one incredible nugget to chew on for the week, but many. Mostly he challenged us to be good neighbors and to open our hearts to loving all of God’s children. Of course I could not help but think of how many Samaritans I saw today and how easily they gave of themselves to a stranger on the side of the road. God’s grace is everywhere!  I am sure that this was not only a gift from above, but a powerful reminder.

In a world where so many find nothing but fault, it was a tremendous gift to see God working through so many souls in such a tangible, generous way. It was a beautiful example of God’s love for us, inspiring us to care for one another even in small things. Yet it was also a great reminder to me of the power of God to move hearts to help when there is a need.  It was an affirmation that He is working everything out to bring me to the Daughters of Mary in HIS time.  When will I learn??  Thankfully, He is a patient teacher.

Thank you, Jesus, for so many great examples of Christian charity today! And thank you for always sending help when we need it. I know you are working things out for our best in this life, and I leave it to you to work out the details. Fiat!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Living in the Garden

Sometimes, it is just plain hard to pray the Sorrowful mysteries of the rosary. Sometimes, I just want to pray over and over and over again, the first Joyful mystery, The Annunciation. I long to learn more and more how to be like our Blessed Mother, so humble and giving and always ready to do the will of the Father. I love her fiat. But other times, especially when I feel like I am suffering for some reason or another, I long for an understanding of Jesus and His Agony in the Garden. This was one of those weeks.

I have confidence that our Beloved has called me to the Daughters of Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Connecticut. But some people hold the opinion that if God does not make straight the path in the easiest and quickest possible way, then there is reason to doubt if it is truly God’s will.

Certainly, if God does not want me to go, then He has good reason. I will be very, VERY sad if that is true, but I know in my heart that His plans are perfect, even if they are seemingly devastating to MY will. So again, I SURRENDER. Fiat!

I do still have great hope. In fact, the way I see this, is that God is refining me, helping me to lose another layer of pride and self-sufficiency, relying only on Him and realizing who I am in the scheme of things. As St Therese once said, He is the One Who IS. I am the one who is not.

My town is a small one. Since the word is out that I am going to be joining a religious order and closing my law office, my phone has all but stopped ringing at a time when I most need financial success to remove the obstacles to my entrance. I knew my announcement would eventually lead to the demise of my business, but I had hoped that the final fundraising would coincide with the end of my business. Fundraising is going slowly, and so the obstacle to my becoming a religious sister remains unchanged. And because of the delay since my initial announcement, the family that was going to give my puppies a new, loving home, got a dog of their own two weeks ago. I can’t blame them, I mean, how can you tell your kids they are getting a dog and then make them wait and wait and wait? I am sure God has a plan for my puppies and for me. It does seem, however, that everything is falling apart. My hope and prayer is that God will amaze all of us with the plans He has to make my vocation come to its fruition.

He always gives me hope with His Word.  Today’s reading from Isaiah 6:8 is my cry: "Here I am," I said; "send me!"

And today’s Gospel is my comfort, "Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Matt 10:29-31

We are loved!
Let it be done according to Your word. Let it be done!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Litany of Humility

~ Rafael Cardinal Merry Del Val
(1865-1930)

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed,

Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved …
From the desire of being extolled …
From the desire of being honored …
From the desire of being praised …
From the desire of being preferred to others …
From the desire of being consulted …
From the desire of being approved …
From the fear of being humiliated …
From the fear of being despised …
From the fear of suffering rebukes …
From the fear of being calumniated …
From the fear of being forgotten …
From the fear of being ridiculed …
From the fear of being wronged …
From the fear of being suspected …

That others may be loved more than I,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I …
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease …
That others may be chosen and I set aside …
That others may be praised and I unnoticed …
That others may be preferred to me in everything …
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should …