"Of all that is seen and unseen"

The last several weeks I have been struck by the following line in bold when saying the Nicene Creed.
"I believe in One God the Father the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
Of all that is seen and unseen."

It is right at the beginning of the prayer and I have come to love this line more and more as I realize how little I know the Lord and what the Lord's Will is for me and our family at any given time. In one sense it can be frustrating because I want to believe that I make progress and do, in fact, know the Lord more intimately all the time - but it is also exhilarating to know that his goodness is infinite and there are infinite ways for me to know him more! I find myself praying for specific things that I think are good or blessings that I think would make sense. Sometimes the Lord answers in ways that I recognize, want or in ways that fulfill my emotional desires, but more often than not he asks me to trust him and be patient and let my life unfold according to his own design. And so I keep going back to the line "Of all that is seen and unseen." I meditate on how powerfully the Lord works and moves people's hearts and minds and my own that other individuals will never know about - but it is a reality. And thus, "I believe in all that is seen and unseen."

Today is the feast day of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Rosary has become a sort of foundation in my prayer over the last several years, so today is a special day to honor Mary as we celebrate her visiting Elizabeth.

A mediation in the Magnificat captures much of what I have been thinking about and it was a joy to stumble upon it today:

"The events of today's mystery bring before the faithful in a peculiar manner the fact that our God is a hidden God, and that his power works in the soul a secret and impenetrable manner. Four people are concerned in the occurrence we are celebrating: Jesus and Mary; Saint John and his mother Saint Elizabeth. Now, it is most remarkable that of all these sacred personages the only one who seems to perform no particular action is the Son of God himself. Elizabeth, enlightened from on high, acknowledges the Blessed Virgin's dignity and humbles herself deeply before her: "When is this to me?" (Lk 1"43). John, even within Elizabeth's womb, feels his Divine Master's presence, and shows his joy in a wonderful way: he "leaped for joy". Mary, marveling at the great effects of divine omnipotence in herself, exalts the holy name of God and declares his munificence in her behalf, with her whole heart. But all this time Jesus himself, hidden beneath his Mother's breast gives no sensible sign of his presence. He, who is the cause of the whole mystery, takes no active part in it.
Strange as this may seem, it is not really surprising. Our Lord here hides his power intentionally, to show us how is the invisible force that moves all things without moving himself, and directs all things without showing his hand. Hence, we shall find that though he may seem to be passive on this occasion, his influence is fully apparent in the actions of the rest, whose movements are really inspired by him alone. One of the greatest mysteries of Christianity is the holy union that the Son of God forms with us, and his secret way of visiting us...When God deigns to look upon us, we can but learn from Elizabeth how to reverence his supreme greatness by fully recognizing our own nothingness, and to acknowledge his benefits by confessing our own unworthiness."
-Bishop Jacques Benigne Bossuet (died 1704)

Meet our Seminarian

Here is our new friend, Joseph, sitting with Faustina and Jude. He is one of the nicest guys around!

I knew he would be a hit with the kids when he walked in our door with a huge bag of treats for the kids.

We are part of a program 'Adopt a Seminarian' and are so lucky to befriend Joseph and invite him into our family during his 4 years studying to be a priest at the Seminary on the University of St. Thomas Campus. Joseph just finished his first year of school; he came to MN from Uganda which is quite the change.

We had wonderful conversation and oh so many questions to ask Joseph about life here in the U.S., life in Uganda, how his classes are going and the list goes on. Faustina told him about her 'wounds' on her knees and that she moved into a big girl bed. Jude....was entertaining in different ways. :)

Since Joseph is officially on his summer break and he is sticking around the cities, we look forward to showing him some of MN!

Birthday girl

Yesterday was Faustina's 3rd birthday. THIRD birthday, what? This little girl seems years ahead of that. Quite the young lady! We had the Lee family over for brunch yesterday on her real birthday (Uncle Aaron was in town). And today we celebrated with both families over yummy desserts.

This pictures captures the Fauster on her 3rd birthday. "Yessss....? What can I do for you? I am three years old and ready to take on the world!"




My favorite part of my little girl's birthday was yesterday afternoon walking up and down up and down the block with her for over an hour while the 4 boys slept in the house. We were able to walk through puddles since it had rained earlier, Faustina was running ahead dancing while singing at the top of her lungs (literally) and we had good conversation too! She carried her cards around the block showing our neighbors and telling them it was her birthday. And then one of our neighbors surprised us and brought over the beautiful doll cake - what a treat! Happy Birthday to our sweet girl!

There Be Dragons

Last weekend Mike and I were given tickets for a special showing of the new movie "There Be Dragons". I came in with no expectations - and I came out of the movie theater with only praise for it. I thought it was an excellent movie. There are scenes, lines, and extremely compelling truths framed in certain light that will stay with me.

I've read criticisms of the movie which I disagree with. One complaint is that there is no plot - that thought never crossed my mind. In fact, the plot and narrative was very straight forward. Another complaint was that the movie should have stuck only with Josemaria's story - I would argue the side story of the father and son relationship strengthened the themes of sin and forgiveness. In general, I found the acting great, the story engaging, the dialogue substantive.

Father Longenecker has a good post about it on his blog and he makes the point that the story of the Saints' lives are mainly about their inner struggle and conflicts. How can one effectively capture that in a movie (he explains in more depth)? There probably is no perfect way to do it, but I thought the director Roland Joffe (who also did "The Mission") did a good job with making this major motion picture. I mean, really, if a person wants the real thing (substance, education, to be called on to think more deeply) - read the BOOK. Books are always better than a movie. Yes, movies are an art form - but they are entertainment with hopefully the bonus of a good story (although that is harder and hard to come by these days)!

I am certainly inspired to read more of Josemaria Escriva's writings.

Reflections on Mother's Day

Mother's Day has come and gone; we had a restful (kind of!) peaceful day. We didn't make it out to Resurrection to visit Grandma Adkins and Grandma Lee - Jude needed to nap and then it started raining out. I, however, have enjoyed going out there the past three days with the kids and spending time walking around and praying a bit by Mom's grave.

Since Mom died a year and a half ago, I have many many people ask me how I am doing and how I've dealt with losing her. It is, surprisingly, a hard question for me to answer. It is hard because people, it seems, expect me to break out crying or launch into a sad heartbreaking story - when, in fact, the opposite is true. Often people ask me with a sad look on their face, with concern and in a tentative voice. My answer is most often with a smile saying - "You know, of course, I miss her terribly; but the Lord has turned Mom's death for me into a blessing!". And then I try to explain as well as I can. Now, that probably sounds very strange - perhaps to most people that would read this or hear me say that. Mom's death is not a 'hard' thing for me or something that I should be pitied for - it was God's will and he will use it to plant seeds of goodness and holiness here on earth.

The reality is that since Mom died, I feel like she is always with me here - all the time! And I mean that in a very literal way. I am sure this is simply a grace the Lord has blessed me with - but as I raise our children, when I am with extended family, as I clean the house, as I quilt or knit, as I experience difficult or joyful circumstances - I can hear her voice, see her face, and I, in a way, live out how she would be with me in that situation. It may sound corny (any one who knows me knows I am not a corny person), but it just is the way it is. In fact, I honestly feel a closer tie with Mom now since she is with God and the communion of Saints. I often ask her to intercede for us (we need it!) here on earth.

Not only do I feel my Mother's presence constantly, but both her time of being sick and her death launched me into a more mature understanding and pursuit of my faith. I have said this before, but her death slapped my in the face with how short our life is here - so I better do everything in my power to get it right. Since Mom has died, the Lord has persistently been answering prayer (not always in the way I anticipated of course) and giving me daily strength for what each new morning brings. I can see how losing a parent could shatter an individual's security, but the Lord has called me to run to him even more and look to him for everything. There are three areas - specifically with regards to motherhood - that I have spent a great deal of time reflecting on: The Blessed Virgin Mary, suffering, and God's will.

The first apspect of my faith that the Lord has strengthened has been growing in my relationship with our Mother Mary. She, truly, is our highest example of motherhood and I am grateful that I can lean on her for prayers and being a gateway to more grace from Jesus. Providentially, the month of May is dedicated to Mary in the Catholic Church - Happy Mother's Day to the Blessed Virgin!

Yet another area that has often plagued me about Catholicism is the notion of suffering. I grew up in a very exuberant, happy environment - there really was no pain or suffering of me to speak of. I always wondered "What is the deal with all the pictures of saints in agony, of everyone looking sad all the time, thinking this world is an awful terrible forlorn place?? Come on! I mean, really, people, this is a bit extreme! God made the world good, let's be happy!" As I saw my Mom suffer and as I get older and have more experiences of the sin and wickedness in the world - I understand more of what these Saints were about. It is all about the cross - that is at the heart of our faith. That is why Jesus came in the first place - to suffer and DIE for our sins! And he calls us to that suffering with him. Teresa of Avila said, (paraphrasing) "The more a person suffers and unites it to Jesus' suffering on the cross, the more holy that person becomes and sees the face of God."

The last area which I have learned much about is God's will - I need to accept it. Of course, it would not have been my will for Mom to die - but it was in the Lord's plan. I have grown up often praying for something fairly specific - but I have changed that mode of thinking quite a bit. I try more and more and more to pray for God's will to be done and that I can recognize what it is. I try not to pray for what my feelings or emotions desire (which for me is the easiest thing to do), but what the Lord's will is. When I really think about it - I don't know what is best for myself let alone how my actions will affect other people; so, I pray that the Lord's will be done, try to listen to people I respect and their wisdom, ask the Lord to open and close doors, and I do the best I can.

I was watching Mother Angelica on Mother's Day (she has been my new favorite for awhile! she is hilarious, so knowledgeable, and I believe a saintly person) and she was talking about heaven and death. One of the many things she said was that we, as human persons, never die. When our time is done here on earth, our souls live with God until the second coming when we are reunited with our bodies. I knew this, but the way she talked about heaven and life in heaven gave me a small possible picture of Mom's existence now. No wonder I feel her presence so strongly with me. Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Into babies

Faustina is turning 3 in a few weeks, and she is into babies! She already has the tendency being the oldest and being a girl with a strong personality to take charge and be a 'mom' to Jude, other friends, or even sometimes Mom and Dad! She loves her dolls and she carries them around in her sweater 'backpack' for sometimes an hour or longer. She sings to them, feeds them, puts them down for a nap, and the one baby often has a dozen different names in the same hour - Faustina can't seem to pick. This behavior is typical of this age and she has been doing it for awhile, but she has certainly stepped it up lately. It is quite endearing.

Blessed John Paul II

Homily, Pope Benedict XVI, Rome 1 May 2011

During the Mass in which Pope Benedict XVI beatified his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, he gave the following homily.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Six years ago we gathered in this Square to celebrate the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Our grief at his loss was deep, but even greater was our sense of an immense grace which embraced Rome and the whole world: a grace which was in some way the fruit of my beloved predecessor’s entire life, and especially of his witness in suffering. Even then we perceived the fragrance of his sanctity, and in any number of ways God’s People showed their veneration for him. For this reason, with all due respect for the Church’s canonical norms, I wanted his cause of beatification to move forward with reasonable haste. And now the longed-for day has come; it came quickly because this is what was pleasing to the Lord: John Paul II is blessed!


I would like to offer a cordial greeting to all of you who on this happy occasion have come in such great numbers to Rome from all over the world – cardinals, patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches, brother bishops and priests, official delegations, ambassadors and civil authorities, consecrated men and women and lay faithful, and I extend that greeting to all those who join us by radio and television.
Today is the Second Sunday of Easter, which Blessed John Paul II entitled Divine Mercy Sunday. The date was chosen for today’s celebration because, in God’s providence, my predecessor died on the vigil of this feast. Today is also the first day of May, Mary’s month, and the liturgical memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker. All these elements serve to enrich our prayer, they help us in our pilgrimage through time and space; but in heaven a very different celebration is taking place among the angels and saints! Even so, God is but one, and one too is Christ the Lord, who like a bridge joins earth to heaven. At this moment we feel closer than ever, sharing as it were in the liturgy of heaven.


"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (Jn 20:29). In today’s Gospel Jesus proclaims this beatitude: the beatitude of faith. For us, it is particularly striking because we are gathered to celebrate a beatification, but even more so because today the one proclaimed blessed is a Pope, a Successor of Peter, one who was called to confirm his brethren in the faith. John Paul II is blessed because of his faith, a strong, generous and apostolic faith. We think at once of another beatitude: "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven" (Mt 16:17). What did our heavenly Father reveal to Simon? That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Because of this faith, Simon becomes Peter, the rock on which Jesus can build his Church. The eternal beatitude of John Paul II, which today the Church rejoices to proclaim, is wholly contained in these sayings of Jesus: "Blessed are you, Simon" and "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe!" It is the beatitude of faith, which John Paul II also received as a gift from God the Father for the building up of Christ’s Church.


Our thoughts turn to yet another beatitude, one which appears in the Gospel before all others. It is the beatitude of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer. Mary, who had just conceived Jesus, was told by Saint Elizabeth: "Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord" (Lk 1:45). The beatitude of faith has its model in Mary, and all of us rejoice that the beatification of John Paul II takes place on this first day of the month of Mary, beneath the maternal gaze of the one who by her faith sustained the faith of the Apostles and constantly sustains the faith of their successors, especially those called to occupy the Chair of Peter. Mary does not appear in the accounts of Christ’s resurrection, yet hers is, as it were, a continual, hidden presence: she is the Mother to whom Jesus entrusted each of his disciples and the entire community. In particular we can see how Saint John and Saint Luke record the powerful, maternal presence of Mary in the passages preceding those read in today’s Gospel and first reading. In the account of Jesus’ death, Mary appears at the foot of the cross (Jn 19:25), and at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles she is seen in the midst of the disciples gathered in prayer in the Upper Room (Acts 1:14).
Today’s second reading also speaks to us of faith. Saint Peter himself, filled with spiritual enthusiasm, points out to the newly-baptized the reason for their hope and their joy. I like to think how in this passage, at the beginning of his First Letter, Peter does not use language of exhortation; instead, he states a fact. He writes: "you rejoice", and he adds: "you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls" (1 Pet 1:6, 8-9). All these verbs are in the indicative, because a new reality has come about in Christ’s resurrection, a reality to which faith opens the door. "This is the Lord’s doing", says the Psalm (118:23), and "it is marvelous in our eyes", the eyes of faith.


Dear brothers and sisters, today our eyes behold, in the full spiritual light of the risen Christ, the beloved and revered figure of John Paul II. Today his name is added to the host of those whom he proclaimed saints and blesseds during the almost twenty-seven years of his pontificate, thereby forcefully emphasizing the universal vocation to the heights of the Christian life, to holiness, taught by the conciliar Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium. All of us, as members of the people of God – bishops, priests, deacons, laity, men and women religious – are making our pilgrim way to the heavenly homeland where the Virgin Mary has preceded us, associated as she was in a unique and perfect way to the mystery of Christ and the Church. Karol Wojtyła took part in the Second Vatican Council, first as an auxiliary Bishop and then as Archbishop of Kraków. He was fully aware that the Council’s decision to devote the last chapter of its Constitution on the Church to Mary meant that the Mother of the Redeemer is held up as an image and model of holiness for every Christian and for the entire Church. This was the theological vision which Blessed John Paul II discovered as a young man and subsequently maintained and deepened throughout his life. A vision which is expressed in the scriptural image of the crucified Christ with Mary, his Mother, at his side. This icon from the Gospel of John (19:25-27) was taken up in the episcopal and later the papal coat-of-arms of Karol Wojtyła: a golden cross with the letter "M" on the lower right and the motto "Totus tuus", drawn from the well-known words of Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort in which Karol Wojtyła found a guiding light for his life: "Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea tua sunt. Accipio te in mea omnia. Praebe mihi cor tuum, Maria – I belong entirely to you, and all that I have is yours. I take you for my all. O Mary, give me your heart" (Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, 266).


In his Testament, the new Blessed wrote: "When, on 16 October 1978, the Conclave of Cardinals chose John Paul II, the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, said to me: ‘The task of the new Pope will be to lead the Church into the Third Millennium’". And the Pope added: "I would like once again to express my gratitude to the Holy Spirit for the great gift of the Second Vatican Council, to which, together with the whole Church – and especially with the whole episcopate – I feel indebted. I am convinced that it will long be granted to the new generations to draw from the treasures that this Council of the twentieth century has lavished upon us. As a Bishop who took part in the Council from the first to the last day, I desire to entrust this great patrimony to all who are and will be called in the future to put it into practice. For my part, I thank the Eternal Shepherd, who has enabled me to serve this very great cause in the course of all the years of my Pontificate". And what is this "cause"? It is the same one that John Paul II presented during his first solemn Mass in Saint Peter’s Square in the unforgettable words: "Do not be afraid! Open, open wide the doors to Christ!" What the newly-elected Pope asked of everyone, he was himself the first to do: society, culture, political and economic systems he opened up to Christ, turning back with the strength of a titan – a strength which came to him from God – a tide which appeared irreversible. By his witness of faith, love and apostolic courage, accompanied by great human charisma, this exemplary son of Poland helped believers throughout the world not to be afraid to be called Christian, to belong to the Church, to speak of the Gospel. In a word: he helped us not to fear the truth, because truth is the guarantee of liberty. To put it even more succinctly: he gave us the strength to believe in Christ, because Christ is Redemptor hominis, the Redeemer of man. This was the theme of his first encyclical, and the thread which runs though all the others.


When Karol Wojtyła ascended to the throne of Peter, he brought with him a deep understanding of the difference between Marxism and Christianity, based on their respective visions of man. This was his message: man is the way of the Church, and Christ is the way of man. With this message, which is the great legacy of the Second Vatican Council and of its "helmsman", the Servant of God Pope Paul VI, John Paul II led the People of God across the threshold of the Third Millennium, which thanks to Christ he was able to call "the threshold of hope". Throughout the long journey of preparation for the great Jubilee he directed Christianity once again to the future, the future of God, which transcends history while nonetheless directly affecting it. He rightly reclaimed for Christianity that impulse of hope which had in some sense faltered before Marxism and the ideology of progress. He restored to Christianity its true face as a religion of hope, to be lived in history in an "Advent" spirit, in a personal and communitarian existence directed to Christ, the fullness of humanity and the fulfillment of all our longings for justice and peace.


Finally, on a more personal note, I would like to thank God for the gift of having worked for many years with Blessed Pope John Paul II. I had known him earlier and had esteemed him, but for twenty-three years, beginning in 1982 after he called me to Rome to be Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I was at his side and came to revere him all the more. My own service was sustained by his spiritual depth and by the richness of his insights. His example of prayer continually impressed and edified me: he remained deeply united to God even amid the many demands of his ministry. Then too, there was his witness in suffering: the Lord gradually stripped him of everything, yet he remained ever a "rock", as Christ desired. His profound humility, grounded in close union with Christ, enabled him to continue to lead the Church and to give to the world a message which became all the more eloquent as his physical strength declined. In this way he lived out in an extraordinary way the vocation of every priest and bishop to become completely one with Jesus, whom he daily receives and offers in the Eucharist.


Blessed are you, beloved Pope John Paul II, because you believed! Continue, we implore you, to sustain from heaven the faith of God’s people. Amen.

[Vatican Press Office; Original: Italian]

Our bubble gum girl

Faustina had her big spring recital today, and she did a great job! This group of 2-3 year old have come a long way this past year. Faustina was very comfortable standing in front of her audience without dancing her routine during her first performance last December. A few weeks ago on the car ride home, I asked her why she still wasn't always dancing with the group. She promptly responded that she was not suppose to dance, Miss Laura told her to watch. And she is right, her teacher DID tell the girls to watch her in order to imitate her dancing. Faustina was only doing the 'watching' part and not the 'dancing' part. So Mike and I grilled into her head over the last few weeks that she is suppose to watch AND dance. In fact, the whole point of her performance is for people to come and see her dance. Well, it seemed to work - because she did dance for us this time.

Coming to class every Friday for 30 minutes these girls [started to] learn how to be graceful young ladies. They learned to work as a group, follow instructions, they memorized a routine, performed in front of a large group of people and were pretty much as cute as could be. Faustina had her parents, Grandpa Lee and Terry, Grandpa Gary and Jeanne, Uncle Travis, Aunt Kim and Lizzia there to support her in her big debut. Afterward, Grandpa Gary treated us to very nice dinner. We're so proud of you, Faustina - you've got the groove! (Unfortunately, the video quality is poor, but it gives a general idea!)