Prayer for Pope Francis

When I received the May
issue of Magnificat,
I was pleasantly surprised
to see a prayer card
with Pope Francis
on the front and a prayer
on the back side was
included.

May God the Father,
God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit
assist Pope Francis
in his guidance of the Church.

ABC Wednesday: Miniature

These are regular-sized daffodils. 
Below are the mini-size daffodils.
Both bring a shot of cheer to my spirit!

Miniature gems
bring renewal to my faith,
belief in rebirth.

 linking to ABC Wednesday

Shadow Shot Sunday: Shadow on a Drawing, Update

I had not been to our local mall for quite some time.
I was pleased to see a new shop selling beautiful handmade items.
Profits go to the artist. 
Since this store is so new,
I am sorry that I don't remember its name.
I looked for it on the Muncie Mall web site, but
it's not on it. I am hoping that the store
will still be there 
when I next go to the mall.
Upon closer investigating,
I realized that the window display
was all about the horrors
of human trafficking.
More information 
can be found on this site
for Indiana.
Information for other states 
can be found here.

other shadows may be viewed here

Addendum:

I fret sometimes about my memory.

For instance, when I did the upper post,

I asked myself, "Self, why on earth

would I not capture the name of the store?"

Self had nothing to say.

Luckily, today I was searching

for a photo to go with another meme.

Behold, I found the other photos 

I took that had to do 

with human trafficking shared

by this wonderful store in our mall.

Human trafficking is an example

of how inhuman humans

can be towards each other.

Here are the photos; 

I hope they speak to your heart.

My Litany of Gratitude

My Litany of Gratitude
For every breath I take,
May I be aware of each.
For the ability to walk,
May I appreciate this gift with each step I take.
For my sight and hearing,
May I listen the Gospel and view my place in it.
For the Word of God,
May it show in my actions.
For Jesus’ dying and resurrection,
May I show my thankfulness in all that I do.
For my sins which have been forgiven,
May I venture forth with determination to do better.
For the love of family and friends,
May I return that love with awareness.

The ladies' Bible Study in my parish

are studying the spiritual book Abide

by Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB.

The author wrote the book as an invitation 

to invite the reader

to make the Word of God

one's home through the practice

of lectio divina.

The detailed explanation about this practice was 

taken from the Wikipedia site.

I pray that our blessed Mother will assist me

in making this beautiful tradition

a life-time custom for

my daily prayer life.

In Christianity, Lectio Divina (Latin for divine reading) is a traditional Benedictine practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God's Word.^[1] It does not treat Scripture as texts to be studied, but as the Living Word.^[2]

Traditionally Lectio Divina has 4 separate steps: read, meditate, pray and contemplate. First a passage of 

Scripture is read, then its meaning is reflected upon. This is followed by prayer and contemplation on the Word of God.^[3]

The focus of Lectio Divina is not a theological analysis of biblical passages but viewing them with Christ as the key to their meaning. For example, given Jesus' statement in John 14:27: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you" an analytical approach would focus on the reason for the statement during the Last Supper, the biblical context, etc. But in Lectio Divina rather than "dissecting peace", the practitioner "enters peace" and shares in the peace of Christ.^[4] In Christian teachings, this form of meditative prayer leads to an increased knowledge of Christ.^[5][6]

The roots of Scriptural reflection and interpretation go back to Origen in the 3rd century, after whom St. Ambrose taught them to St. Augustine.^[7][8] The monastic practice of Lectio Divina was first established in the 6th century by Saint Benedict and was then formalized as a 4 step process by the Carthusian monk, Guigo II, in the 12th century.^[3] In the 20th century, the constitution Dei Verbum of Pope Paul VI recommended Lectio Divina for the general public. Pope Benedict XVI emphasized the importance of Lectio Divina in the 21st century.^[9]

Sister Macrina is a popular author and

is well known for her spiritual writings and retreat ministry.

More about her ministry came be found at this site.

Her books can be ordered here.

A Memory of My Momma and Music

 A Memory of My Momma and Music   

April 3, 2013

During my youth, my momma and I enjoyed music from her extensive record 

(meaning 78 rpm and LP [33 1/3 €] ) records.  

Some genres that she introduced to me were 

Ragtime, Blues and Big Band Era.  

However, she also had an album 

of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite.”  

I see myself now in the living room 

of our upstairs apartment on West 10th Street.

 

As I view this scene, the 7 year old girl takes the 33 1/3 € disc 

out of the yellow-covered album 

and places it on the record player gently, 

she lays the needle gingerly on the outer edge of the record. 

Now she is raising her arms to wave them to 

the rhythm of the songs, imagining herself the conductor 

of the Boston Pops Orchestra.  

(This orchestra is a guess so many decades later.)  

She plays some of the songs so many times 

that the ridges wear away.  

Her mother never says to her, 

“Do you have to play that again?”  

One may wonder why she did not 

since the apartment is old with little insulation 

and is small for a family of four.  

At the twilight of my own life, 

I could count this mother as a model

 of encouragement for her children. 

Time moves on, and several house moves later, 

my parents now own their own home for the first time; 

it’s 1954.  

At this point and time, I  watch the mother and the 14 year old 

take turns placing records on the turn style and switching it on.  

Each time one of them guesses what the name of the song is 

as quickly as possible!  I am unaware if the two of them keep score;

they just seem to enjoy the competition.

Other times, mostly after the family-owned restaurant is closed,

the mother drives her stunning mint green Buick with a white hardtop around in the country or on the outskirts of town, listening to the radio 

and chatting their mother-and-daughter talk. 

I feel warmth in my heart, 

viewing this simple sharing of love for music, 

and the love the two have for each other.

Mornings with Mary: St. Bernadette

Many years ago
I took the name Bernadette,
for Confirmation.

I chose her name because
she had strong faith and courage.

Bernadette unschooled,
 was blessed (or cursed, some might say)
with the vision of our Mother.
She bore ridicule and unbelief by the local priest.
Some in the village
thought she should be put away;
they thought she was mentally ill.
She was even threatened with being arrested.

At one of her visions,
Mary told Bernadette
that she was the Immaculate Conception.
This was a term
with which Bernadette would not be familiar.
Nonetheless,
Bernadette never faltered
in her telling of what
she had seen.
More about Bernadette may be seen here.
 

The Soubirous Family.
Bernadette is circled.



                                       
                                                                                   



This image of Bernadette in her coffin is from this site.

View others' Mornings with Mary
at Rebecca's
Recuerda Mi Corazon

Quotography: Clouds

"Clouds symbolize the veil
that shroud God."
~Honore de Balzac~

linked to Quotography