Bethlehem Hearts

 It is the season of the heart. 

Giving hearts, broken hearts, hopeful hearts grieving hearts, grateful hearts. 

Our hearts. 

This Advent the song that has been on my heart is, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. 

It is my favorite Christmas song!

It is the song my heart sings in the ups and downs, preparations, excitement and anticipation of Christmas. 

The words speak to my heart and in every season of life. 

It is the Lord who brings her joy,. It is the Lord who fulfills the desires of her heart. 

Isaiah 61:1-2A, 10-11

St. Augustine said that Mary conceived the Word by faith in her heart before she conceived him in her womb (Sermon 215).

"But because of the purity of Mary's heart, she is able to receive the spoken Word from God and magnify that Word with perfect reverberation and echo. Mary's heart is perfectly shaped to receive the Word of God, for she is completely available to God. To rejoice is to be fully open." 

Rejoice Advent Pilgrimage into the Heart of Scripture by Fr. Mark Toups 

Make my heart your home, baby Jesus. 

Make my heart your dwelling. 

The chambers of my heart are yours. 

My atrium is your manger.  

Bethlehem means house of bread.  

"Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!" 2 Samuel 7:3 

There is no room for sorrow or anger in Bethlehem. 

No room for anything but You, little Baby. 

O Come, Emmanuel into our hearts! 

May your heart be a Bethlehem. 

Meaning of Life

"Am I not here, who am your mother?" Our Lady of Guadalupe  

Painting by Erin K. McAtee 

Today on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a dear friend, whom I never met in person, but was dear to my heart, passed into eternal life.

His heart was beautifully expressed and shared with those who knew him.

Harold and I shared the same hope for miracles when we both pilgrimaged with our families to Lourdes.

However, healing didn't come as expected.

We shared a similar story.

We both clung to hope.

And we both have sisters who are Sisters of Life.

I learned much from his writings and witness to joy.

Harold's heart was on fire for God and he loved Mother Mary, the Immaculata.

"The child Jesus may attract us with His tenderness and infuse the peace to necessary to disillusioned hearts searching for the meaning of life." 2021 Militia of the Immaculata Prayer Intentions 

This was a comment I saved from Harold on one of my blogs.

"Thanks for your post. I Also enjoy watching The Chosen, though with a sometimes critical lens, and most recently was inspired by Episode two of season three. Have you seen it? Towards the end there is a beautiful scene in which Jesus answers this question asked by St. James the Lesser, who happens to have a physical ailment: "Why haven't you healed?" The scene really highlights the dignity of human life, that God has a plan for each life. There are hardships and difficulties – – there is suffering, but as Jonathan pointed out so boldly, Jesus the author of life has already won. Life is all the more worth living, in him."

Harold knew the true meaning of life.

This is for you, Harold. 

"Let not your heart be disturbed." Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe is wrapping you in her mantel. 

She is carrying you to her Son.

Rest now and be healed, you are in the arms of Jesus. 

Heal the Brokenhearted

 It's the greatest time of year and yet the hardest time of year. 

Great because Christmas is coming and hard because Christmas is coming. 

As we prepare our hearts before Christmas, there can be a lot of heartache and sorrow. 

Brokenness wishes to hide and wounds try to be covered up as we anticipate Who is to come. 

"God does great things through the greatly wounded. God sees the broken as the best and He sees the best in the broken and He calls the wounded to be the world changers. Our bad brokenness is made whole by this good brokenness. Who knows why God allows heartbreak, but the answer must be important enough because God allows His heart to break too." 

Be the Gift: Let Your Broken Be Turned into Abundance by Ann Voskamp 

Baby Jesus, He will come and the doors held shut in our hearts will be opened. 

He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to heal the brokenhearted. Isaiah 61:1 

"Love's new abyss renews my wound" 

Painting on Fabric by Erin K. McAtee 

Because

This Advent I am reading and journaling from Fr. Mark Toups's book, Rejoice! 

It is an Advent Pilgrimage into the Heart of Scripture. 

"Today be intentional about pausing for a minute before you actually pray." 

The book teaches St. Ignatius of Loyola's wisdom in praying an Our Father before prayer. 

"Ask the Lord to reveal what is in his heart and eyes as he beholds you." 

Tonight I read Psalm 43:4 three times as part of the homework. 

After reading the scripture, I journal what spoke to my heart. 

A word or phrase... 

Psalm 43:4, is not that long. 

I wondered what would stand out to me in such a short passage. 

And this is what I read...

"Because you are precious in my eyes 

and glorious, and because I love you." 

Psalm 43:4 

The words that spoke to my heart,

"Because I love you." 

My heart melted as I read this the three times. 

It is very easy to question God's love, although we are surrounded by it. 

Reading what stood out to me made me think of a child asking the question, "Why?"

I admit that's a question I think about often. 

Yet, the answer we give to children is the same for you and me.

"Because." 

He came, just to love us. 

Let us Rejoice! 

Re

Skipping Facebook for Christmas

Tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent! 

I have decided I want to go off of Facebook for Advent to prepare my heart for Christmas. 

I will still post the Tri-Parish bulletin, Prairie Mountain Nutrition Menu and my blogs on Facebook. However, I will not be responding or scrolling during this Advent season. 

I feel like Luther Krank as I write this blog. 

Skipping Facebook for Christmas. 

Advent is so short this year, so Christmas will be here before we know it! 

My prayer is to focus on the Reason for the Season and to prepare my heart during these days before Christmas. 

There is no room in the Inn, so I want to make room in my heart. 

No room can compare to the rooms we prepare in our hearts. 

My prayers are with you during this holy season! 

A Marvelous Beginning

This blog is long overdue; but better late than never! 

In January of 2023, my best friend surprised me by sharing her exciting news that she was expecting a baby boy! 

On April 22nd, my best friend and her husband asked me to be their son's godmother! 

The day before my birthday, my newest godson was born!

On October 1st, the feast of St. Therese, my godson was baptized at Holy Spirit Catholic Church.

"By the gift of hope, infused in us at baptism, God helps us to trust in the good news of Christ Jesus and to await confidently the blessings he has promised to those who believe in him." Archbishop Jose H. Gomez  

My mom and I drove to the Tri-Cities to be there on that very special day.

Meeting this sweet baby boy melted my heart! 

Seeing my best friend and her husband as parents filled my heart with joy! 

This little boy is truly a miracle! He is an answer to our prayers! 

"For this child we have prayed." 1 Samuel 1:27

Everything about the baptism Mass was beautiful; the music, the people and of course the Sacraments! 

"At Baptism, we're transformed into members of the Body of Christ, made into "other Christs."  Baptism also has to do with the Holy Spirit. I say that because it was the Holy Spirit who first formed Christ, and it is the Holy Spirit who continues to form other Christs - the members of Christs's Body - at every baptism." 33 Days to Morning Glory 

The Holy Spirit set my heart on fire! 

A burning love for my godchildren and for my Holy Spirit family. 

My other godson, who made first communion this past year, was an altar server at the Baptismal Mass! 

I proudly admit that I was smiling the biggest smile at both of my godsons! 

I can't thank the parents of my godchildren enough for giving their children the gift of baptism! 

Baptism is a gift. It is not a choice. 

Parents do not ask their children if they want to wear seatbelts. They know the seatbelts are there for a purpose and to protect. Baptism is a sacrament that gives us grace; grace that we need for the journey in this life. How can we expect the world to change when we won't give our own children the greatest gift there is? 

"Baptism isn't the end; it's a marvelous beginning, a glorious new morning. Yes, it transforms us, making us into members of Christ's Body!" 33 Days to Morning Glory, Fr. Michael E. Gaitley 

Me and two of my godsons  

Blessed are the Meek

 Happy All Saints' Day! 

Each year on All Saints' Day, our parish priest has gives us the homework assignment to choose one of the beatitudes and try to live by it throughout the year. 

Over the past ten years of the same assignment, I have enjoyed this challenge. Note that I didn't say that I mastered this challenge.

Some beatitudes like, "Blessed are the merciful and blessed are the peacemakers," are ones I've chosen to try over and over again. 

In the book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, I learned that 

Peacemaking does not mean ignoring difficult issues and problems. I also learned that peacemaking is not avoiding conflict. 

"True peace will never come through pretending what is wrong is right! True peacemakers love God,  others, and themselves enough to disrupt false peace." Emotionally Healthy Spirituality  

Well this morning at Mass the beatitude that stood out to me was, 

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. 

It's a beatitude I haven't paid much attention to before. 

I looked up the definition and found this answer,

"Those who are meek are patient, gentle and merciful, drawing people together and salvaging relationships." Pope Francis 

I am noticing that the beatitudes are all very different yet, similar. They compliment each other well. 

They are all worth striving for! 

Don't hide your light!