Haiku My Heart: St. Jude

This prayer was found here.
O most holy apostle, St. Jude,
faithful servant and friend of Jesus --
People honor and invoke you universally,
as the patron of hopeless cases,
of things almost despaired of.
Pray for me,
for I am so helpless and alone.
Please help to bring me visible and speedy assistance.
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 (state your request)
and that I may praise God with you always.
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 by publishing this request.
 Amen

St. Jude, patron saint
of frantic and hopeless ones
fill them with your trust.

The object on top of St. Jude's head 

is a flame which

identifies his presence at Pentecost.

linking to the radiant Rebecca's site
for Haiku My Heart

More Sights at National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes

I promised to post more photos taken

in the summer of 2005

at  National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Here are a few....

Note: to learn more about each saint, click on 

each saint's name for a link.

St. Padre Pio

A Prayer

by Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

  

May Jesus comfort you
     in all your afflictions.
     May He sustain you in dangers,
     watch over you always with His grace,
     and indicate the safe path
     that leads to eternal salvation.
     And may He render you always
     dearer to His Divine Heart
     and always more worthy of Paradise.   

 Amen 

 St. Bernadette

Monument Dedication

St. Therese of the Child Jesus

Mornings with Mary: The Holy Family

Blessed Mary reclines in humble estate
with her divine babe Jesus Christ
lending magnitude to the 
circumstance of Motherhood.

I was elated with Mary's unusual position!

 at the entrance
of the National Shrine Grotto
of Lourdes 

Heading back to Indiana
through Maryland,
from Atlantic City,
my husband read aloud the sign
  about the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Being the thoughtful man he was, he asked if
I'd like to visit there.
What a blessing it was to visit it.
I will post other photos of the
wondrous and sights we were
graced to see in future posts.


 

A Hymn for Memorial Day

I find this hymn in the Monday, May 27, devotion
of the May 2013 issue“Magnificat” so fitting for today.

Remember, Lord, the fallen

Who died in fields of war,

In flaming clouds, in screaming crowds,

On streets that are no more,

That we today might waken

And greet this day in peace

With grateful prayer for those who bear

The storms that never cease.

Remember friends and strangers,

And those forgotten now,

Whose names are known to you alone, 

Before whose love we bow

And ask that you surround them

With mercy’s endless light

That they may live, and we forgive

The foe they went to fight.

Remember, Lord, the living,

Who bear the pain of loss-

A death she died who stood beside

 Her Son upon the cross.

Remember all your children,

The dead and those who weep,

And make us one beneath the sun

Where love will never sleep.

May each of you have a peaceful

and safe Memorial Day.

photo taken on Walmart's

parking lot near the display of flowers

my husbands'
term of service plate on his grave

Postcards from Paradise: Our Lady of Guadelupe

Oh, lovely Lady of Guadalupe,
we pray for your intercession
of our petitions to your Son.

Visit the spirit-filled Rebecca
for other postcards from Paradise
at Recuerda Mi Corazon.

Our parish, St. Mary Church
has been blessed to host
A Missionary Image
of
Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The story of Juan Diego
and his meeting Our Lady can be found here. 

The Master's Presence

As part of my prayer time,

I read from a daily devotional, 

a Christmas gift given to me 

by my oldest son and his dear wife.  

Today's reflection hit me full square in my head!  

Having been the oldest child and the oldest grandchild, 

I was primed to be the fixer and leader of our family. 

A few years ago,

both my closest cousin and childhood neighbors 

told me that I was always in charge.  

To say it in 'teacher language' 

I was forever the 'line leader.'  

With that in mind,

 you might see how difficult a time 

I have in handing over my problems to someone else, 

including God. 

I've been aware, but being intellectually aware 

does not mean that I just automatically 

do what is necessary.  

However, today's devotion 

brings the message home to me 

that nothing else has been able 

to hit me where it needs to be...

in my heart.  

Here I am, Lord...walk with me this day.

Here is today's page from: Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence

A book of devotions by Sarah Young

May 25
THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH YOU, My child. Your mind leaps from problem to problem, tangling your thought in anxious knots.  When you think like that, you leave Me out of your world-view and your mind becomes darkened. Though I yearn to help, I will not violate your freedom. I stand silently in the background of your mind, waiting for you to remember that I am with you.
When you turn from your problems to My Presence, your load is immediately lighter. Circumstances may not have changed, but we carry your burdens together. Your compulsion to “fix” everything gives way to deep, satisfying connection with Me.  Together we can handle whatever this day brings.

ISAIAH 41:10; ZEPHANIAH 3:17; PSALM 34:19

Mornings with Mary: Project Gabriel Baby Shower

Last Tuesday our Bible Study group

hosted a baby shower 

for the local Project Gabriel. 

It is an organization that provides support

for expectant mothers.

Details about Project Gabriel

can be found here.

The name stems from the angel

Gabriel who announced to Mary

about her role in the birth 

of our Savior.

I think that it is a fitting name,

don't you agree?

Giving thanks to Rebecca
for hosting Mornings with Mary!

Mornings with Mary: May Crowning

The stunning statue of Our Mother
and her blessed Son was crowned with flowers
by St. Mary Parish first communicants
the weekend before Mother's Day.  Then the following
week, an eighth grade girl
laid a crown of flowers on a
 Blessed Mother statue that stands outdoors.
I cherish that tradition.
 

I captured this right after Mass
when the altar servers were extinguishing candles.

Prayer to Mary, Queen of Heaven

Queen of heaven, rejoice. Alleluia. The Son whom you were privileged to bear, Alleluia, has risen as he said, Alleluia. Pray to God for us, Alleluia. Rejoice and be glad, Virgin Mary, Alleluia. For the Lord has truly risen, Alleluia. 

Hail, Mary, full of grace,

the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women,

and blest is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners now, 

and at the hour of death.

Amen

linking to Mornings with Mary 
at Rebecca's  Recuerda Mi Corazon

and entering the word 'royalty'  
  to Roger at ABC Wednesday.

Mother's Day Prayer

 Prayer to Our Mother of Perpetual Help

O Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke Thy most powerful name, which is the safeguard of the living and the salvation of the dying. O Purest Mary, O Sweetest Mary, let Your name henceforth be ever on my lips. Delay not, O Blessed Lady, to help me whenever I call on You, for, in all my needs, in all my temptations, I shall never cease to call on You, ever repeating Your sacred name, Mary, Mary. O what consolation, what sweetness, what confidence, what emotion fills my soul when I pronounce Your sacred name, or even only think of You! I thank God for having given You, for my good, so sweet, so powerful, so lovely a name. But I will not be content with merely pronouncing Your name; let my love for You prompt me ever to hail You, Mother of Perpetual Help. Amen

May Mary's Son, our Lord, 

bless all mothers on this day

and every day.

                                                           

linking to Madge's Weekly Top Shot #82

Mornings with Mary: Magnificat Cover

linking to the radiant Rebecca 

at Recuerda Mi Corazon

Can’t We Dream?

(my paraphrase of part of the article 

in the May 2013 issue of “Magnificat” 

by Pierre-Marie Dumont)

Guillaume Dubufe was a master in Symbolism 

at the turn of the 20th century. 

Symbolism developed as a poetic and spiritual reaction

 against materialism, positivism and rationalism.  

These isms were trying to drown out art 

by demolishing all sense of the sacred.  

French poets Baudelaire, Verlaine and Mallarme, 

fathers of Symbolism, predicted that materialism

 would dissolve all ties that provide reasons to live, 

that is vertical ties uniting us to God 

and horizontal ties uniting us among ourselves. 

Ever since the Middle Ages, 

art has been a reflection of society’s soul.  

In present times with the world’s soul being lost,

it is thought that 

art can only survive by battling this society

 so driven by materialism.

“Thus, in this House of the Virgin, 

the vibrations of a white, diaphanous light suffuses the painting 

like an image out of a dream, 

an image wherein all is a mystery waiting to be revealed:’’

To dare utter your praises we need it all,

O virgin Mary, O Mary Immaculate,

White through the wing beats of angels, 

you who set your feet upon our consoled earth.

~Paul Verlaine~

More detail about Pierre-Marie Dumont can be found at this site:

http://www.kathleenbeckman.com/Articles/YearofFaithMagnificat.htm

Art prints of work by Guillaume Dubufe can be found at this site.

Weekend Reflections: Stained Glass Window

'neath the reflection
lies Mother Teresa's face
undetected  here.

more Weekend Reflections here

The bars surround where once
baptisms took place. It is located 
at the right upon entering
the inner side door of our church.
Now the baptismal sacrament
is presented in the area 
near where the cantor stands.