St. Joseph, the Carpenter

Our nephew joined the army

and his first day of bootcamp was Monday.

As I sat in daily mass this morning, 

a most wonderful

(and deeply comforting)

thought came.

St. Joseph was a carpenter,

pretty close to a present day

"Horizontal Construction Engineer,"

yes?

I sure think so.

Grace.

Trustin' that St. Joseph 

is watching over our boy

as we continue to hold him

in our thoughts and prayers.

St. Michael, the Archangel,

protect our troops.

Amen.

.           *          .

Savouring January - Day 11 - Thoughts

Sometimes I don’t even know what I think 

until I start writing.

Taking the time to put pen to paper 

(or fingers to keyboard) 

often helps me to untangle 

what’s going on inside of me.

Having a lit candle nearby 

reminds me that this really is prayer 

and that I am never alone 

when I pour out my heart on the page. 

I am deeply grateful for my journal, 

my trusted, faithful friend and witness.

Blessed be.

#SavouringJanuary2018

.            *            .

Savouring January - Day 5 - Move

Whenever I move into a new journal, 

my long-held tradition 

is to start by making the first page into a calendar. 

And the next page? 

That one is a prayer asking for blessings and guidance, 

both for time spent on the pages and off.

#SavouringJanuary2018

.             *             .

Evening Mass - Feast of the Holy Family

The Christmas angels are back! 

❤️🎄❤️🕯❤️

Lighting candles tonight after mass,

 I asked darlin' hubby,

"who do you want us to light a candle for?" 

Without missing a beat,

he named our nephew who's birthday is today

(and a little auntie birdie tells me is struggling a bit).

🕯

So the third one from the left on the top row

is for him.

May he find Peace.

💙

.             *             .

Remembrance - Day 33 of 40

Two folks who I have no doubt

have carried me in their thoughts and prayers

during the hard, feel-like-I'm-falling parts  

of my journey.

.         *          .

Happy Mail

.          *             .

Remembrance - Day 22 of 40

Remember who you are down in your bones. 

💙💙

.         *          .

November Remembrance - Day 1 of 40

Gina Pender was a very devout soul

and friend of our family. 

She strongly believed in and 

talked often about the importance of prayer 

- hers, mine and others.

There was never any doubt in my mind

that she was constantly praying for me. 

She was my encourager to continue praying 

even while I was struggling with bone cancer

and grieving the end of my parents' marriage.

A true light of Hope at a time 

when things were really, *really* dark.

She also made it possible for me to have

some of the actual holy water from the 

Our Lady of Lourdes shrine in France.

(I later passed the remaining water

to my younger cousin, 

who eventually died from cancer.)

Cathy Smith is a dear friend and sister

who I have laughed with, cried with,

and shared hearts with for 

more than 12 years.

Both of these precious women have 

been vessels to and for me...

in different capacities.

The first, passed beyond the veil, 

a vessel of prayer.

The second, still gratefully here, 

a vessel of empathy.

Both cherished vessels of love.

Blessed be.

.          *          .

Cookin' up some fun.

.         *          .

Vespers

Loved this Litany of the Saints

.           *            .

Morning Glory

❤️   .     🍁   .     ❤️

.         *         .

Shutter Happy ~ Day 12 ~ A Hobby

It brings me great pleasure to pair a quote 

or a prayer that I love with pretty clip art.

Another favorite hobby of mine 

is collecting hearts. 

❤️

#shutterhappy

.          *          .

Shutter Happy ~ Day 1 ~ Favorite Morning Beverage

Today is the feast day of our Guardian Angels and this chilly, cloudy fall morning calls 

for a steaming cup of creamy chai.

As I silently sip and still, I am softly adding my voice to the melancholy chorus of 

whispered prayers.

Smiling tenderly as these 2 beautiful lovelies were a gift from my precious Moma. 

They remind me fondly of her and me. 

🕯. ❤️. 🙏🏻

#shutterhappy

.          *             .

Happy Michaelmas!

Mary, the Archangels (it's their feast day today!),

and I all said a prayer for you today. 

🙏🏻  .  ❤️  .  🕯

.          *           .

Breathe September 2017 :: Day 11 - Drink

Smiling on this chilly, windy, and rainy stay-at-home day 

because I was thinking 

"wouldn't a cup of hot cocoa taste good this morning?" 

...

And then I looked up today's prompt. 

Well, that sure sealed the deal for me. 

Whispering prayers for all those 

in the path of Hurricane Irma. 

🙏🏻    🕯    💙

#BreatheSeptember2017

.          *         .

Breathe September 2017 :: Day 8 - Present

Lighting candles always helps 

to bring me back to this moment. 

May God bless and watch over 

those in Hurricane Irma's path. 

#BreatheSeptember2017

.         *          .

Breathe September 2017 :: Day 6 - Read

It was a delight to (re)discover just now 

that the theme for September's prayer for Wednesdays 

in "The Celtic Wheel of the Year" 

is "Trees."

Framing my shot, 

I remembered this sweet little wooden heart, 

a gift from a friend, 

lovingly hand carved by her precious pop.

Smiling warmly as I am feeling on time over here this evening, 

a true gift during this uncertain time. 

 Blessed be.

🍂🍁🌳🌳🌳🌳🍁🍂

#BreatheSeptember2017

.            *            .

This Morning . . .

This morning 

🌻

.          *          .

3 Mary's in One Morning

Our sweet chapel Mary,

who, without realizing it, when sitting next to my friend,

I had sat directly in front of her.

A true blessing on a day when I was feeling down.

You recognize my very favorite Mary

standing in her small prayer garden, yes?

(I knew that you would!)

And we had a special guest in the sanctuary 

in honor of

the 100th Anniversary of 

Our Lady of Fatima.

Blessed be.

.            *           .

St. Joseph, Pray for Us

With my Daddy's name being Joseph, 

and all of his 5 daughters 

being affectionately called by our first name plus "Jo," 

and his son being named Joseph, too, 

I've come to think of St. Joseph 

as our family's personal patron saint.

It brought a warm smile 

to realize this evening 

that this is the 5th St. Joseph 

I've been this close to in the last 11 days.

St. Joseph, 

pray for us 

and please continue to guide 

and watch over us. 

 Amen. 

🙏🏻

.         *        .