Feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel

The is such an awesome picture... I love the images of Saint Michael being victorious over the enemy.

I especially appreciate days commemorating the guardian angels and archangels. Thank goodness for the reminders that we are certainly not alone.

And Saint Michael is my dear husband's namesake - it's a good one!

Alas, one of my favorite prayers:

"Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray. And do though, O Prince of the Heavenly Hosts, by the Divine power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."

Exhaltation of the Cross novena

It is a special time of the year as I remember Labor Day 2009 to September 14th. During this time, my Mother was preparing to see God, and she truly was carrying a heavy cross! A tradition is falling into place to pray a Exaltation of the Holy Cross novena during these nine days leading up to the 14th. I am confident there is a special grace present for our family as we remember Grandma. Pray for us, Mom! - we need your intercession.

Here is the novena.

Here is the chaplet of the Way of the Cross.

God alone suffices

Let nothing disturb you.
Let nothing dismay you.
All thing are passing.
God never changes.
Patience attains all that it strives for.
He who has God finds he lacks nothing.
God alone suffices.

— St. Teresa of Avila

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]

It's Divine Mercy Sunday

John Paul II will also be beatified today by Pope Benedict XVI.

Prayers taught to St. Faustina by our Lord, Jesus Christ:

Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty yourself out upon us.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us. I trust in You!

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.
[recite this last prayer three times, once for each member of the Holy Trinity]

Amen.

Litany of Humility

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 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 ...
From the desire of being approved ...

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…

Carrying our own crosses

A dear friend gave me this prayer; it is especially fitting for Easter week as we reflect on carrying our own crosses in order to draw closer to our Lord during our earthly life.

"The everlasting God has in His wisdom foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you as a gift from His inmost Heart.

This cross He now sends you He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His Divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with loving arms and weighed with His own hands to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you.

He has blessed it with His Holy Name, anointed it with His grace, perfumed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from Heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God."
- Saint Francis de Sales

"Give us a heart of flesh"

I was talking today with someone who said he had heard a terribly boring homily/sermon on Christmas day-for him, it was a great disappointment. I will refrain from the parish and the details...

I also talked to another person today who said that he had heard one of the best, in fact, the finest Christmas homily he had ever heard. I was very grateful for this news as it balanced out what I had heard earlier.

The text of this wonderful homily is below. Thanks to the friend who mentioned this to me. And for my friend who suffered through a terrible Christmas homily, this is for you!

But before I reveal the text, let me say that indeed this is one of the best Christmas homilies I have ever heard too.

CHRISTMAS HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI 2009

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

“A child is born for us, a son is given to us” (Is 9:5). What Isaiah prophesied as he gazed into the future from afar, consoling Israel amid its trials and its darkness, is now proclaimed to the shepherds as a present reality by the Angel, from whom a cloud of light streams forth: “To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord” (Lk 2:11). The Lord is here. From this moment, God is truly “God with us”. No longer is he the distant God who can in some way be perceived from afar, in creation and in our own consciousness. He has entered the world. He is close to us. The words of the risen Christ to his followers are addressed also to us: “Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20). For you the Saviour is born: through the Gospel and those who proclaim it, God now reminds us of the message that the Angel announced to the shepherds. It is a message that cannot leave us indifferent. If it is true, it changes everything. If it is true, it also affects me. Like the shepherds, then, I too must say: Come on, I want to go to Bethlehem to see the Word that has occurred there. The story of the shepherds is included in the Gospel for a reason. They show us the right way to respond to the message that we too have received. What is it that these first witnesses of God’s incarnation have to tell us?

The first thing we are told about the shepherds is that they were on the watch – they could hear the message precisely because they were awake. We must be awake, so that we can hear the message. We must become truly vigilant people. What does this mean? The principal difference between someone dreaming and someone awake is that the dreamer is in a world of his own. His “self” is locked into this dreamworld that is his alone and does not connect him with others. To wake up means to leave that private world of one’s own and to enter the common reality, the truth that alone can unite all people. Conflict and lack of reconciliation in the world stem from the fact that we are locked into our own interests and opinions, into our own little private world. Selfishness, both individual and collective, makes us prisoners of our interests and our desires that stand against the truth and separate us from one another. Awake, the Gospel tells us. Step outside, so as to enter the great communal truth, the communion of the one God. To awake, then, means to develop a receptivity for God: for the silent promptings with which he chooses to guide us; for the many indications of his presence. There are people who describe themselves as “religiously tone deaf”. The gift of a capacity to perceive God seems as if it is withheld from some. And indeed – our way of thinking and acting, the mentality of today’s world, the whole range of our experience is inclined to deaden our receptivity for God, to make us “tone deaf” towards him. And yet in every soul, the desire for God, the capacity to encounter him, is present, whether in a hidden way or overtly. In order to arrive at this vigilance, this awakening to what is essential, we should pray for ourselves and for others, for those who appear “tone deaf” and yet in whom there is a keen desire for God to manifest himself. The great theologian Origen said this: if I had the grace to see as Paul saw, I could even now (during the Liturgy) contemplate a great host of angels (cf. in Lk 23:9). And indeed, in the sacred liturgy, we are surrounded by the angels of God and the saints. The Lord himself is present in our midst. Lord, open the eyes of our hearts, so that we may become vigilant and clear-sighted, in this way bringing you close to others as well!



Let us return to the Christmas Gospel. It tells us that after listening to the Angel’s message, the shepherds said one to another: “‘Let us go over to Bethlehem’ … they went at once” (Lk 2:15f.). “They made haste” is literally what the Greek text says. What had been announced to them was so important that they had to go immediately. In fact, what had been said to them was utterly out of the ordinary. It changed the world. The Saviour is born. The long-awaited Son of David has come into the world in his own city. What could be more important? No doubt they were partly driven by curiosity, but first and foremost it was their excitement at the wonderful news that had been conveyed to them, of all people, to the little ones, to the seemingly unimportant. They made haste – they went at once. In our daily life, it is not like that. For most people, the things of God are not given priority, they do not impose themselves on us directly. And so the great majority of us tend to postpone them. First we do what seems urgent here and now. In the list of priorities God is often more or less at the end. We can always deal with that later, we tend to think. The Gospel tells us: God is the highest priority. If anything in our life deserves haste without delay, then, it is God’s work alone. The Rule of Saint Benedict contains this teaching: “Place nothing at all before the work of God (i.e. the divine office)”. For monks, the Liturgy is the first priority. Everything else comes later. In its essence, though, this saying applies to everyone. God is important, by far the most important thing in our lives. The shepherds teach us this priority. From them we should learn not to be crushed by all the pressing matters in our daily lives. From them we should learn the inner freedom to put other tasks in second place – however important they may be – so as to make our way towards God, to allow him into our lives and into our time. Time given to God and, in his name, to our neighbour is never time lost. It is the time when we are most truly alive, when we live our humanity to the full.

Some commentators point out that the shepherds, the simple souls, were the first to come to Jesus in the manger and to encounter the Redeemer of the world. The wise men from the East, representing those with social standing and fame, arrived much later. The commentators go on to say: this is quite natural. The shepherds lived nearby. They only needed to “come over” (cf. Lk 2:15), as we do when we go to visit our neighbours. The wise men, however, lived far away. They had to undertake a long and arduous journey in order to arrive in Bethlehem. And they needed guidance and direction. Today too there are simple and lowly souls who live very close to the Lord. They are, so to speak, his neighbours and they can easily go to see him. But most of us in the world today live far from Jesus Christ, the incarnate God who came to dwell amongst us. We live our lives by philosophies, amid worldly affairs and occupations that totally absorb us and are a great distance from the manger. In all kinds of ways, God has to prod us and reach out to us again and again, so that we can manage to escape from the muddle of our thoughts and activities and discover the way that leads to him. But a path exists for all of us. The Lord provides everyone with tailor-made signals. He calls each one of us, so that we too can say: “Come on, ‘let us go over’ to Bethlehem – to the God who has come to meet us. Yes indeed, God has set out towards us. Left to ourselves we could not reach him. The path is too much for our strength. But God has come down. He comes towards us. He has travelled the longer part of the journey. Now he invites us: come and see how much I love you. Come and see that I am here. Transeamus usque Bethlehem, the Latin Bible says. Let us go there! Let us surpass ourselves! Let us journey towards God in all sorts of ways: along our interior path towards him, but also along very concrete paths – the Liturgy of the Church, the service of our neighbour, in whom Christ awaits us.

Let us once again listen directly to the Gospel. The shepherds tell one another the reason why they are setting off: “Let us see this thing that has happened.” Literally the Greek text says: “Let us see this Word that has occurred there.” Yes indeed, such is the radical newness of this night: the Word can be seen. For it has become flesh. The God of whom no image may be made – because any image would only diminish, or rather distort him – this God has himself become visible in the One who is his true image, as Saint Paul puts it (cf. 2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15). In the figure of Jesus Christ, in the whole of his life and ministry, in his dying and rising, we can see the Word of God and hence the mystery of the living God himself. This is what God is like. The Angel had said to the shepherds: “This will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Lk 2:12; cf. 2:16). God’s sign, the sign given to the shepherds and to us, is not an astonishing miracle. God’s sign is his humility. God’s sign is that he makes himself small; he becomes a child; he lets us touch him and he asks for our love. How we would prefer a different sign, an imposing, irresistible sign of God’s power and greatness! But his sign summons us to faith and love, and thus it gives us hope: this is what God is like. He has power, he is Goodness itself. He invites us to become like him. Yes indeed, we become like God if we allow ourselves to be shaped by this sign; if we ourselves learn humility and hence true greatness; if we renounce violence and use only the weapons of truth and love. Origen, taking up one of John the Baptist’s sayings, saw the essence of paganism expressed in the symbol of stones: paganism is a lack of feeling, it means a heart of stone that is incapable of loving and perceiving God’s love. Origen says of the pagans: “Lacking feeling and reason, they are transformed into stones and wood” (in Lk 22:9). Christ, though, wishes to give us a heart of flesh. When we see him, the God who became a child, our hearts are opened. In the Liturgy of the holy night, God comes to us as man, so that we might become truly human. Let us listen once again to Origen: “Indeed, what use would it be to you that Christ once came in the flesh if he did not enter your soul? Let us pray that he may come to us each day, that we may be able to say: I live, yet it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20)” (in Lk 22:3).

Yes indeed, that is what we should pray for on this Holy Night. Lord Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, come to us! Enter within me, within my soul. Transform me. Renew me. Change me, change us all from stone and wood into living people, in whom your love is made present and the world is transformed. Amen.

Requiescat in pace: Gail Marie Lee [2nd UPDATE]

Pictured: Gail & Jude - 3 weeks ago today just hours after his birth.
Grandma Gail passed away around 12:40pm on Monday.

We live in hope and we believe that she was born into Eternal Life.

She was a humble, gentle, kind, and profoundly faithful person - please pray for the repose of her soul.

We believe that Gail is in the Lord's protection now.

Thank you for your prayers.

Thursday, Sept. 17th - Prayer Service & Visitation at Trinity School at River Ridge (601 River Ridge Parkway, Eagan, MN 55121). Visitation will begin at 5:30 and run until 8pm; at 8pm there will be honoring of Gail - Cynthia and three others will share at this time.

Friday, Sept. 18 - Funeral Mass at Lumen Christi in St. Paul (2055 Bohland Ave, St Paul, MN 55116-1911) at 10 am followed by interment at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights (2101 S. Lexington Ave., Mendota Hghts, MN 55120).

A luncheon estimated at 1pm will follow at Lumen Christi. All are welcome to every part of the day: funeral, interment, and luncheon.

Memorials will be printed in the Pioneer Press and Star Tribune the rest of the week.

This is what the obituary in the Pioneer Press and Star Tribune reads:

Loving Wife, Mother, Grandmother & Friend Age 63 Met Jesus September 14, 2009 with family by her side after a courageous battle with breast cancer. Survived by husband Carmen of 41 years, children John (Mary), Travis, Aaron (Amy), Cynthia (Mike), grandchildren Henry, Liam, Leo, Faustina, Audrey and Jude, mother Marian, brothers Allen (Debbie), Mark (Mary) and sister Debbie (Dale). Her father Charles Saunders preceded her in death. Gail grew up in North Dakota earning a Masters of Education from Minot College. However, she viewed her decision to be a "stay at home mother" her calling. Gail always made family her priority and served in countless ways as a covenant member of People of Praise Christian Community. Her joy and selflessness will be irreplaceable. Visitation 5:30-8pm Thursday September 17 at TRINITY SCHOOL AT RIVER RIDGE, (601 River Ridge Pkwy, Eagan), with a prayer service starting at 8pm at the school. Mass of Christian Burial 10 AM Friday September 18 at LUMEN CHRISTI CATHOLIC CHURCH, (2055 Bohland Ave., St. Paul), with a visitation 1 hr prior to the Mass at the church. Interment Resurrection Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred.

Praying for Grandma Gail... UPDATED

Grandma Gail, Cynthia's mom, is fighting hard against cancer right now. Please pray for Gail and for her family in this time.

We pray that the Lord's will be done, and that whatever happens will be filled with God's ever abundant grace, compassion, and mercy.

Asking for the intercession of St. Jude and St. Faustina on Gail's behalf is greatly appreciated. St. Jude is the patron of lost, difficult, or seemingly hopeless cases.

Praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and especially at 3pm (the hour Christ died for mankind's sins), is a wonderful way to support Gail and her family.

1. Begin with the Sign of the Cross, 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and The Apostles Creed.

2. Then on the Our Father Beads say the following:
Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

3. On the 10 Hail Mary Beads say the following:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

(Repeat step 2 and 3 for all five decades).

4. Conclude with (three times):
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Teresa of Avila

This past week I have been spending nights with my Mom while my Dad works security at the State Fair. Mom is doing well although everyday has its own 'twist' if you will. We do not know what the Lord is up to, but we continue to pray that the Lord's will be done and that she is healed.

Mom and I watched a movie series on Teresa of Avila which is about 9 hours. She endured tremendous suffering and was truly an unbelievable woman. It is refreshing to learn about the saints; they are men and women of character who choose to give everything to God, and he uses them in miraculous ways. They are not 'perfect' people by any means, but they are fortified in their faith and have a courage that is sometimes hard to believe. Teresa lived during the 16th century in Spain and was a controversial figure; people either loved or hated her. She definitely had an edge to her and had a will of steal. Lord, use our own gifts to always glorify your name.

Vocation gift

Our friend Rose recently discerned her vocation to religious life, having always dreamed of getting married and having kids. Her story is amazing. God clearly has chosen her and called her to serve Him in vows. She was named after Rose of Lima (read about the saint here), and entered into her budding order (not yet fully approved) on the Feast of St. Rose of Lima. Again, her story is just too amazing and powerful to not take note of here. We chose to give her a gorgeous hand-painted image of St. Rose of Lima that I purchased when in Peru this past spring. She should have this in the convent. Thanks be to God for His love and making Himself known to us through prayer and fidelity. He has been good to Rose by clearly revealing Himself and His plan to her, and now it is her turn to serve His Church.

DEO GRATIAS MAXIMAS!
Saint Rose of Lima, pray for us.

Churches around the midwest

During out roadtrip through Michigan, we took to stopping and checking out the churches in the small towns. It is fascinating to see all the different architecture and art. Whenever we were in a small town we had eagle eyes out for a cross or Catholic churches. I'm confident this hobby will continue as we go on more roadtrips. I told Mike he could write a book about churches throughout the U.S. (and he is a talented writer so he really could if he wanted to)! We also stopped at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadelupe in La Crosse WI. This Shrine was quite impressive and we would be excited to go there again. They have a mini little pilgrimage/walk up to the main church with smaller statues and dedications along the way. We also stopped in Indian River, MI where the world's largest crucifix is. And it WAS quite big; the cross for the wood came from a redwood trees in California. There is much history, culture, beauty to be discovered in these churches and shrines.

Not 'too much' anymore

Right now we have a 5 foot crucifix against the wall in our basement. This absolutely beautiful crucifix has been in and out of our house over the years and will eventually go back to the Catholic Studies Department at St. Thomas. It is a large piece of art and can easily become a conversation piece when someone sees it in our small little house. People asked, "What are you going to do with it?", someone joked, "You should put it above your bed!", someone exclaimed, "That is huge!".

I am growing a special attachment to this crucifix. When Mike was gone and I was unable to go to our midnight hour of adoration, I made a mini little 'chapel' in our basement as I set up a kneeler in front of this crucifix. Years ago, maybe even one year ago, I would have said or thought, "Come on. This is too much. I don't need to kneel in front of a cross to pray. God is everywhere. This is overboard, too pious, too extreme. This is a bit silly for me to kneel in front of a 5 foot tall crucifix - it is almost bigger than me!"

Well, my thinking has changed. Images are important. Art is important. There is a grace present in these icons. Praying before this crucifix gives me the humble image of Jesus on the cross dying for my sins. He is real - here is his presence. When Mike and I were married, I was hesitant to let him decorate our house with icons, Catholic symbols, and other such religious art; now I love it. I realized that I was being a Christian...but I shyed away from a Christian culture. And this is a key realization for me: one ought not try to separate Christianity from culture. We are a Christian family, so naturally our house will reflect who we are and what we hold important. Of course we want visuals on our walls of the Lord, Mary, and the saints to be reminders for us to live good and holy lives as we strive for the kingdom of heaven.

I love going to the Cathedral because I sit in Church and marvel at the beautiful artwork and can say "Yes, this is who we are. This is a little taste of heaven.". I had the same feeling when I lived in Rome for a semester and visited the churches there. They truly have culture.

Prayer Request for Baby Adkins [updated]

On Thursday I had an ultrasound at 21 weeks for our little one. There was nothing unusual about it and ultrasounds are always fun to see the baby moving all over the place.

This afternoon I received a call from our clinic; my doctor called instead of the nurse who usually calls just to say, "Everything looks fine. We'll see you at your next appointment.". Of course, immediately alarms went on in my mind.

She told me that the baby's weight looks good and s/he is on track for the original due date. There are, however, some abnormalities in the baby's kidneys. It looks like the baby has double kidneys on its left side. Since I am only halfway through the pregnancy it is difficult to tell exactly what is going on, but the possibilities are that there are 2 kidneys on the left side or there is a cyst on the one left kidney. I'll be going to a more advanced ultrasound lab in 4-6 weeks to find out more and will probably have an ultrasound every 4 weeks.

Dr. Mary said we won't have a complete diagnosis until the baby is born. She said it is very likely that it is a benign case - what that means I don't know. She didn't offer many details and my mind wasn't quick enough to formulate questions that I thought of later. I asked her if this is pretty unusual and she said yes it is. There was little information online about 'double kidneys'. We will try to assume the best and pray for little Adkins in the coming weeks.

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We'd ask that you pray the Divine Mercy Prayer (on right side-bar) for the little one and/or also the St. Jude prayer (below). St. Jude was Mike's Confirmation name and he's the saint of lost causes; that's why Mike chose him! Anyway, we'd appreciate any prayers. Also, we believe not only in the intercession of our friends and family in life, but those who have gone before us in faith - the saints. We encourage you to also ask for the intercession from these holy men and women who have yet to be canonized as saints:

-Pope John Paul II (+2005)
-Fr. Richard John Neuhaus (+2009)
-Blessed Mother Theresa (+1997)
-John Henry Cardinal Newman (+1890)
-Pope Pius XII (+1958)

Prayer for the intercession of St. Jude

Most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. Make use I implore you, of that particular privilege given to you, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly - (here make your request) that I may praise God with you and all the elect forever.

I promise, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you.

Amen.

Divine Mercy Sunday - April 19th

Here's an image of the shrine in Krakow, Poland.

Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty yourself out upon us.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us. I trust in You!

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.
[recite three times, once for each member of the Holy Trinity]

Amen.

St. Jude, pray for us!

Saint Joseph

Saint Michael the Archangel

Saint Jude

I've been reminded recently of my namesakes: St. Michael the Archangel, St. Joseph, and St. Jude (my Confirmation name).

Not only have I been asking for prayers for Gail from St. Faustina, apostle of Divine Mercy, but those other great saints who have done much in my own life.

Here are some prayers, people! Please, through Christ, ask these saints for intercession for Gail to our Father in Heaven. Gratias vobis!

St. Jude Prayer
A Prayer to St. Jude Thaddeus

Most Holy Apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered your beloved Master into the hands of his enemies has caused you to be forgotten by many. But the Church honors you, and I invoke you as the special advocate of those who are in trouble and almost without hope. Help me to realize that through our faith we triumph over life's difficulties by the power of Jesus who gave his life for us. Come to my assistance that I may receive the consolation and succor of heaven in all my needs, trials, and sufferings, particularly that Gail be healed and cancer free, and that I may praise God with you and all the saints forever.

St. Jude, apostle of the Word of God, pray for us.

St. Jude, follower of the Son of God, pray for us.

St. Jude, preacher of the love of God, pray for us.

St. Jude, intercessor before God, pray for us.

St. Jude, friend of all in need, pray for us.

St. Jude, pray for us, and all who invoke your aid.

Thank You Saint Jude for answering my prayers. Amen.

St. Michael Prayer
Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -
by the Divine Power of God -
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Prayer to St. Joseph over 1900 years old
(offer this up for Gail, and re-devote yourself to God.)

O St. Joseph whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the Throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your Heavenly power I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage to the most Loving of Fathers. O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen

(Say for nine consecutive mornings for anything you may desire. It has seldom been known to fail.)

We attended a Vigil mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul on the eve of World Day of the Sick. The mass was beautifully said by Archbishop John Neinstedt who delivered a wonderful homily on carrying the cross in suffering as Christ.

As we continue to storm the gates of Heaven with our prayers for Gail, I am reminded continuously by the words I hear from Scripture that we must always remember to end our prayers with "Thy will be done."

The Lord has total control over our lives. Like Job, we have no idea what is going on or what is best for us. The Lord can in fact heal us and others around us through allowing us to go through suffering or purification. In many ways, those faithful ones who suffer are miracle workers, for they are witnesses to those around them.

Yet we also know that in the Gospels Christ heals many, many people; for this we pray: (1) that Gail's illness remind us all of the frailty of life and therefore we ought to love one another better by first reorienting our lives toward the Creator God (Ash Wednesday is coming up: "You are dust, and unto dust you shall return."); (2) that the Lord's will be done and achieved in this difficult situation; and (3) we humbly pray that the Lord grant many more years to Gail and for her family members who dearly lover her. Amen.

Grandma Elaine...

Faustina Elaine was named after not only the famous St. Faustina, but also after my mother, Elaine, who passed away June 22nd, 2003.

Today would have been her 55th birthday...
I remembered her today in prayer and I brought her to the altar at mass.

I think I have dealt with (or tried to deal with) her death as well as one can (certainly there are moments), but the hardest thing for me, I think, is the fact that she cannot share joyous moments with Cynthia and I (and the little ones too, of course). I mean, selfishly, I cannot experience events and times in life where I know her joy would have augmented the sheer pleasure of my own life. Yes, I know that her being here, as all that she was - full of life -, would make those precious moments even more so. Yet I must confess, I appreciate and love my mother better now than I ever did when she was alive, but I suppose we all do that- not appreciate what we have until it's gone.

Yet I trust and have hope in the Lord's mercy. I have always thought that my mother was a good woman, and that her suffering was redemptive not only for the sake of her own salvation but for mine and our family in general. (But back to me again - because this reflection on her is really all about me!)

A friend and colleague of mine at Trinity offered a profoundly wise week of morning prayer reflections at school: he pointed out that the life of our Lord, Jesus Christ can be likened to a Greek tragedy. Now of course, tragedy has to be defined carefully; a tragedy is different from catastrophe. Both are hard and cause pain, but a tragedy has a redemptive element to it, whereas catastrophe is simply destructive. And so if Christ's life is the 'perfect' tragedy, and we are called to imitate Him, then we must not only follow Him as admirers but also carry our cross of suffering. We must embrace both the triumph and the tragedy of our Lord - we must be transfigured by His magnificence and His liberating, beatific love while simultaneously offering ourselves to be crucified in a world that St. Paul says is fundamentally passing away.

I wish I had the text of what he wrote... it was one of the most profound yet clear explanations of human suffering and our challenging call to beatitude I have ever heard. Kudos to Scott.

I bring this in because I firmly believe in God's providence, and I see my Mom's suffering coincide with my 'transfiguration', my true conversion. Only through this could I embrace the cross too.

As my wife, brother, and sister-in-law know best, I am a completely different man than I was even 5 or 6 years ago; I still am a great sinner, but my life is no longer oriented toward me, myself, and I (I know... I still need work); it is oriented toward the Lord; I possess faith, that great grace from God. So, because of this, I long for her to see me as I am now, a son of hers who deeply appreciates her and wants to actually share life with her (rather than shut her out and be unappreciative) and tell her about my day and my passion to share the good news. I want to see her call Granny and talk about nothing for an hour and laugh to myself. I want to see her pick up Faustina and grin at her and tickle her and care for her. I want to see her talk with Cynthia and share her life, and look through old photo albums, and cook Thanksgiving dinner together. I want her to look at me and be proud of who I am and what I've done... well, she always did that... but I want her to actually have something to be proud of rather than just loving me so much for being her son (yeah, she loved us all that much- she was a jealous Mom, kind of like how Yahweh was a jealous God in the Old Testament- we were all everthing to her: Dad, Kim, Jason, Granny, and me).

So, with that babbling, I praise the Holy Trinity for my Mother who remained faithful to the Lord and the Church (as much as she knew how in such a troubled era), and I thank God; and I offer my intercession for the repose of her soul, and I know I can also, through Christ, beseech her to look after us and intercede for us as we struggle on the journey to be saints, knowing that if she could she would - and would have already.

Amen.

= = = = = = = =

My lovely sister-in-law, Annamarie, offered this reflection today as well:

It would have been my mother-in-law’s 55th birthday today. Dear Husband and the boys marked the occasion by going to Mass together and praying for her (while I was bedridden).

As Booger gets older, I am more determined for him to know and remember that he does have another grandmother — one that he has never met, unfortunately.

About a week ago, the boys and I were driving around between errands when I realized how close we were to the cemetery where Elaine is buried, and how long it had been since I’ve gone there.

I also realized that this would be the first time our coherent eldest would be visiting her grave, though he’s gone plenty of times as a baby and toddler.

How interesting it was to have a discussion with Boo Boo about where we were and what we were doing. When we got to the mausoleum and I showed him her grave (which is conveniently located on the lowest level, so the boys can see it easily), he put his eyes up to the marble stone and said, “Why can’t I see her in there?” His curiosity and innocence helped lighten the mood a little, at least.

I had the boys kneel next to me and began to pray out loud. We all were a little surprised when I started crying. It really had been a long time since Elaine had died, and we’ve had to go on without her, but the thought that she would never meet and see our children — and DH’s brother’s children — in this life still overwhelms me with grief from time to time.

“It will be OK, Mama,” Boo Boo said, patting my shoulder. He’s right. I do have to trust that it will be OK, someday, and pray for our reunion in the next life. Then we’ll have all the time in eternity with each other…

picture of the day

A little one scatters flower petals before a procession of the Holy Eucharist- priceless.