THE VISITATION

Good Morning Sisters!
I walked this morning in God's wonderous creation and marveled at the beauty of the world He made for us.  Since I was walking alone, I was free to contemplate deeply the Joyous Mysteries.  I was struck in particular by images of the Visitation. 

Poor Joseph!  That was my first thought...Poor Joseph!  He was betrothed to a pious young woman for whom he had great affection.  To me his esteem and affection are so obvious as he contemplates what to do with the information that Mary has imparted to him.  He must have been rocked to his foundation with the astonishing revelation that she was pregnant!  And the story she told him?  How could he believe such a tale?

Kevin Saunders-biblical scholar, doing a bible study at St. Steven's has postulated that Joseph snatched onto the news of Elizabeth's pregnancy as an excuse to send Mary there while he contemplated what to do with this devastating (at least from his human point of view) news that Mary was pregnant.

But then I was struck with this thought.  How sad must Mary have been to see the hurt in Joseph's eyes.  How very difficult must it have been for Mary to know that Joseph was deeply disturbed by the wondrous news of her pregnancy.  Nothing could take away the deeper joy of knowing she was pregnant with God's son, but she must have traveled the many miles to her cousins home with a heavy heart at her thoughts of dear Joseph's hurt.  Mary's compassionate nature would have suffered with Joseph, just as she suffers with us in our hurts.  I can imagine that all the way to Elizabeth's house she must have prayed fervently for God to help Joseph.  I have no doubt that she had no thought to herself as her trust in the Lord was unshakable, but she must have been saddened on that long trek to Elizabeth's house thinking about the dear man that had been so disturbed by the news she gave him.

Imagine how very AFFIRMING Elizabeth's words of greeting must have been after Marys long journey.
"Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"

Can you imagine their joyful embrace?  Can you just feel the burden of the sadness over Joseph's disquiet lifting from Mary's frail shoulders as she is enveloped in love and acceptance by her holy cousin.  How freeing for Mary to be able to unburden the joys and sadness weighing on her pure and loving heart.  And there is Elizabeth, a woman who has been marginalized in her own right by he inability to conceive.  The society would certainly have looked at her askance and she would have felt their disdain.  Elizabeth too needed someone to listen to her joys and past sorrows.  She too needed Mary's sweet embrace.

The supportive and loving relationship between these woman is what I feel when we join together in ENDOW.  I can unburden by heavy heart with those that will accept me without judging.  I can share my joys, knowing that they will be multiplied as you all share them with me.  We all are Mary and Elizabeth to one another.  What an ENORMOUS gift from our Lord!!

Mary our mother,
We humbly ask you to help us be Elizabeth to each other.
We ask you to help us develop our feminine genius to enrich the world
We implore you to love as you did, with a view outside of ourselves and our self intererst
Holy Mother of God
Pray for us!

Women's Conference- Sr. Mary Fidelis

Last Saturday I was able to attend the Phoenix Catholic Women's Conference & among the many informative speakers was Sr. Mary Fidelis of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration. She spoke of Mother Mary& her Feminine Genius at Work. Mary's heart is receptive/ surrendering,trusting,magnanimous& faithful. Sr. Mary linked some of the mysteries of the Rosary to Mary's attributes. The first being the Annuciation. Mary was both receptive & surrendering, though she had no knowledge of what was to come. She was self- giving & thus,"The Word was made Flesh! Mary was trusting, letting St. Joseph lead. Though things went wrong, she trusted in the Lord. She was magnanimous- with largeness of heart,greatness of spirit& no ego or self interest. Mary did not pull back in the " Presentation", when Simeon proclaimed that a sword would pierce her own soul/ heart. Mary was faithful to the end at the Foot of the Cross. She stood at the foot of the cross for all of us,as well,her children. Mary gives us Eternal Love for courage & she is the Mother of Mercy! She is our role model for the " Feminine Genius"

Oh, He touched me!

Oh! He touched me. the loving hands of The Lord What a wonderful feeling With so much love and grace Oh He touched me To give me my desires My life has never been the same Angels from Heaven-looking down Seeing a gift from Heaven to occur At eighty years old a gift to me To write about His love Oh He touched me To write and enjoy the words of poetry Jesus loves you and follow His footsteps,you'll never be alone He'll show you the answers that makes man free A true story to be told Oh, He touched me, and he will touch you too! Only for the asking--He will make you free So look up with hearts full thanks,that He touched me Always have God in your heart-He will touch you like He did me Thank you Lord-for touching me. Irish Cottage VBK This is a poem given to me from a patient in the hospital today. After having some inner frustrating thoughts. I went back to this women's room 3 times She ended up being the last that I saw and after Communion she said she had something For me. I told her I don't accept anything, but she insisted on giving this to me. She said she wrote this 10 years ago and she is on the verge of having a book published. What a wonderful gift she gave me as if Jesus was giving me a message. He is with us Always, especially through other people.

There is a reason it is called...WISDOM

My friends,  Today in adoration I opened the bible to Wisdom Chapter 1.  These words burned in my heart and I needed to share this with my sisters in faith: 1 Love uprightness you who are rulers on earth, be properly disposed towards the Lord and seek him in simplicity of heart;

2 for he will be found by those who do not put him to the test, revealing himself to those who do not mistrust him.  (Interesting that to find HIM, you need to TRUST HIM)

3 Perverse thoughts, however, separate people from God, and power, when put to the test, confounds the stupid.  (Makes you wonder about our current politicians and Media folks)

4 Wisdom will never enter the soul of a wrong-doer, nor dwell in a body enslaved to sin; (And yet, the modern world idolizes every word that comes from the lips of people steeped in sin!)

5 for the holy spirit of instruction flees deceitfulness, recoils from unintelligent thoughts, is thwarted by the onset of vice.

6 Wisdom is a spirit friendly to humanity, though she will not let a blasphemer's words go unpunished; since God observes the very soul and accurately surveys the heart, listening to every word.

7 For the spirit of the Lord fills the world, and that which holds everything together knows every word said.

8 No one who speaks what is wrong will go undetected, nor will avenging Justice pass by such a one. (This is sobering for those of us -like me- who have engaged in the sin of gossip.  It is a reminder for me to measure my words closely and to keep from encouraging others to gossip too.)

9 For the schemes of the godless will be examined, and a report of his words will reach the Lord to convict him of his crimes.  (Words again. Words are more powerful than swords. They can kill as surely as a bullet.)

10 There is a jealous ear that overhears everything, not even a murmur of complaint escapes it.

11 So beware of uttering frivolous complaints, restrain your tongue from finding fault; even what is said in secret has repercussions, and a lying mouth deals death to the soul. (Gulp!)

12 Do not court death by the errors of your ways, nor invite destruction through the work of your hands.

13 For God did not make Death, he takes no pleasure in destroying the living.F  (No, God loves life, it is only Man that takes pleasure in the destruction of life.)

14 To exist -- for this he created all things; the creatures of the world have health in them, in them is no fatal poison, and Hades has no power over the world: (We were made for God, not for sin.  He has given us what we need to succeed in this life, mainly HIMSELF!)

15 for uprightness is immortal. (Righteousness-Living as God as commanded us to leads us to everlasting life!)

16 But the godless call for Death with deed and word, counting him friend, they wear themselves out for him; with him they make a pact, worthy as they are to belong to him. WOW, was my main thought as I read this through a couple of times.  Jesus would refer to those that had died in a state of righteousness as having 'fallen asleep'.  Only sin can bring death to the soul. Dear Lord Jesus,  Let me be one of those dear ones that 'falls asleep' in your friendship. Have Mercy on Us!!

A VISIT TO OUR LADY-AFTER HOLY COMMUNION

Good morning holy ladies of GOD!!!

During one of my meetings with my mentor, I shared with her that at times when I would get angry I would have a tendency to use words that were not so pleasing to God. She gave me a poem that I would like to share with you all. It seemed to put things in perspective for me. Maybe it will do the same for anyone who has had to deal with the same issue.

A VISIT TO OUR LADY
(after Holy communion)

Mother, upon my lips today
Chris't precious blood was laid,
That blood which centuries ago
was for my ransom paid;
And half in love and half in fear
I seek for aid from thee,
Lest what I worship, rapt in awe,
Should be profaned by me.

Wilt thou vouchsafe as portress dear
To guard these lips today
Lessen my words of idle mirth,
And govern all I say;
Keep back the sharp and quick retorts
that rise so easily,
Soften my speech with gentle art
to sweetest charity.

O Mother! thou art mine today,
By more than double right!
A soul where Christ reposed must be
Most precious in thy sight;
And thou canst hardly think of me
From the dear Son apart,
So give me, from myself and sin,
A refuge in thy heart.


SHARE IT WITH A FRIEND!!!! GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!

HUMILITY

This is a poem I received in an email from my brother. Enjoy Sisters!

POEM ON HUMILITY

I asked God for strength that I might achieve;
I was made weak that I might humbly obey.

I asked for health that I might do great things;
I was given sickness that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy;
I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power to have the praise of others;
I was given weakness to feel the need for God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life;
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I received nothing I asked for,
But everything I hoped for.

Almost despite myself,
My unspoken prayer was answered;
I am among all people, most richly blessed!

Today 030112

Today I woke up happy after having a dream of my granddaughter Madison, between 4:45 and 6:45am, she was playfully happy and we were having a fun time like we used to, I just remember it being white or light, she was older but I kept seeing a baby that looked just like her. I wasn't sure who the baby was or why the baby was there with her, having a dream like this has been a rare occurrence. I woke and told hubby about my dream of playing with Madison, and he told me I was so lucky. I went off to the hospital in a good mood loving the memory of the dream, I shared with 2 patients. On my way home I was thinking of my daughter Laura that we should get out for a walk or something. I came into the house and I hear hubby talking on the phone, realizing he was talking to Laura and he told me Laura has lost her baby. I am thinking that Madison had welcomed this baby into heaven this morning in my dream and I am sharing this with her as I am sharing this with you my friends. I keep thinking the baby was a girl because I was surprised at how much she resembled Madison. Well also I just happen to be off work today so I am off to bring her some comfort, maybe someday she will see this but I am not sure she would appreciate my dream just yet, I did tell her I dreamed of of Madison this morning Not really putting the two together yet. Tomorrow she will have another ultra sound to confirm the baby is not living and possibly a procedure. Please keep them in your prayers. God bless us!