A Novena To Saint Andrew

I awoke early this morning with a burning desire to spend the morning with Jesus. So, I dressed quickly and set off for the 6:30 mass, knowing that I would find the peaceful quite time I needed to be with the Lord.

As I knelt in the pew, looking up at the crucifix and the first advent candle burning brightly, a dear friend of my mother entered the pew behind me and tapped me on the shoulder.” I have a Novena for you to St. Andrew”, she said. “It starts today and you say it everyday during Advent”. I thanked her, and then she added “Give a copy to your mother”. I smiled, continued my prayer and waited for mass to begin.

Later that afternoon, I was also invited to listen to today’s homily on EWTN, given by Fr. Joseph Mary, MFVA. Interestingly enough, it was about a miraculous healing that happen to this priest’s great, great Uncle Andy, after saying this novena to St. Andrew.

Apparently, Uncle Andy, who was 90 years old at the time, was completely blind in his right eye, and legally blind in his left. He said the novena prayer to St. Andrew fifteen times a day throughout Advent and at the end of the novena; he regained the sight in his right eye. He continued the novena prayer, repeating it fifteen times a day or more, everyday after that, and he has now regained the sight in his left eye as well.

Uncle Andy continues to say this novena everyday for the end of abortion.

This novena prayer is so beautiful and so centered on the birth of our Savoir and our Blessed Mother, that I wanted to share it with you.



Novena to Saint Andrew:


Hail and blessed be the hour and moment


in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary,


at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold.


In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God!


to hear my prayer and grant my desires,


through the merits of Our Savoir Jesus Christ,


and of His Blessed Mother.

Amen



"If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." –Rm 10:9

One

One candle,

One light,

To lead us, to guide us.

One angel,

One message,

One mother of great love.

One manger,

One child,


One hope for all nations.

One gift from Our Father,

From heaven above.


Loving Father, you have sent a great light into our darkness, to show us the way.
As we journey closer to your light during this first week of advent,
May our hearts be warmed by the fire of its brilliance, and may our souls take delight in this eternal flame.
May we grow in kindness and generosity towards others. And, may we be filled with expectant joy as we await the coming of our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank Him

Being in a small construction business with my husband and partner for almost thirty years, we have ridden the waves of economic change many times. For the most part, we have always fared well. Nevertheless, there have been times of great struggle, not only to bring in new work, but also to collect from certain clients on work already done.

It was one of those times when collecting had been difficult, that the call came in from a general contractor who stated to me that our draw checks had arrived and I need to drive out, pick them up, and sign necessary releases, which is a common industry request.


Never having been to this contractor’s office before, I typed the address into MapQuest, printed my direction sheet, and out the door I went. It was about a 35 miles trip out into a rural area of Riverside County, which wouldn’t have been a problem if it weren’t for the road construction and detour signs, which of course, weren’t included in the directions I had printed! In no time at all I was lost. There were no service stations or roadside businesses to stop into and ask directions, so I keep driving, determined to find my way. After about 20 more minutes of hopeless searching, frustration had set in and I looked up and said “Dear Jesus, please send me someone who can show me the way”. It was just that simple of a prayer.

As I made my next turn around the bend, to my pleasant surprise, there was a small group of Caltrans workers. They were working on the road ahead. I pulled over and rolled down my driver side window. “Excuse me", I said." I seem to be lost; could you show me how to find this address?” One of the men walked over to my car and smiled, “sure lady, let me see where you want to go.” As I handed him my direction sheet, I looked at the stitched name tag on his shirt. His name was Jesus! He told me where to take my next turn and that it was only about 5 minutes away. I thanked him, looked up to heaven, and thanked Him.

 God is an awesome God! He is always there for us, and I am forever grateful!

Reflection:  As we gather around our Thanksgiving tables tomorrow, let’s not forget to thank Him for all our many blessing. And please, remember to add an extra prayer for all the people that are unemployed, struggling to put food on their tables, and wondering how they going to pay their bills.


God Bless

Oh My King

As the visions during the night continued,

I saw one like a Son of man coming,on the clouds of heaven;when he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away,his kingship shall not be destroyed.

Daniel 7:13-14



Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King; the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.


Oh my King, what gift could I possibly give you;

You, who have given me life itself?

Everything my eyes fall on has been given to me by your love;

Every breath I take is a gift of your grace.


What gift could I give you my King?

All I possess has been given to me from You.

So I give back to you my life, in all its unworthiness,

Please take it and use me as you will, if you will.

May I forever testify to the truth,

That Jesus Christ is King, now and forever.




Amen

Calling on Angels

Adoration of the Shepherds, c.1638

It was a rough afternoon at the clinic. Within the short shift that I worked, two different young women came in for pregnancy testing and ultra sounds.

The first young woman, married with a 4 month old, had taken a pregnancy test at home. Her results had been positive, but she wanted to double check and talk with a nurse. After taking another urine test, the results concurred, she was definitely pregnant. She left the clinic surprised, but happy, and went home to share her news with her husband and family members.


The second young woman was unmarried .She had only been with her boyfriend for 3 months and they had just broke up. She was there with one thought in mind, and it wasn’t to parent. She took a pregnancy test, and while we waited for the nurse to come in, we began to talk.


Being a pro-life clinic, we talked to her about her options for parenting and adoption, but it was easy to see her mind was closed to this. As the client advocate I was working with spoke to her further, I began to pray, begging our Blessed Mother to intercede on this baby’s behalf. Surprisingly, I began to tell her about a crisis pregnancy that I had had when I was only 16, a story I have told few people. I told her that even though it was a very difficult time for me at the beginning; it turned out to be such a wonderful blessing because that beautiful son of mine is now a father of two himself, and they are all  joys of my heart. I also told her about my son in law, a big loveable guy, who had recently joined our family. He had been adopted and now, not only did my daughter get to experience the joy and love that his life offers, but  my entire family and I get to share the joy of his life too!


The staff nurse came in and greeted the young woman warmly, and she began to talk to her about her pregnancy, her family, and her thoughts on keeping her baby. After the young girl’s responses, the nurse answered all her questions in detail. Things did not look promising; but, she did agree to an ultra sound.


As she reclined on the table, the nurse began the procedure. The image on the screen was very clear and the precious little heart was beating away. The nurse asked her if she would like to take a look and with wide eyed curiosity she said,"Yes". As she looked at her child’s image on the screen she smiled and when she left, she took the picture with her, along with some prenatal vitamins.


I don’t know how this will turn out, but I'm calling on angels to pray for them both. Pray hard, please.

A Man That Walks With God

As I sit here tonight, counting my blessings and looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday ahead, I want to share with you a little bit about my dad, a man that walks with God.

Born in 1930, he was one of five brothers. Rugged and quick tempered, he was known to love a good fist fight in his younger days. I find the thought of that amusing because the only thing I have ever seen him fight over was the last piece of strawberry pie!

But as I look back now, I would have to say that dad is a fighter. He is a great fighter that has weathered through tremendous personal loss, including the loss of his only son. He is a fighter that continued each day in the face of his brokenness to provide for his wife and his daughters. Our home was always warm and filled with love.

A man of deep prayer and devotion to Our Lady, dad opens his home to those in need. He works the soup kitchens, drives the elderly to church on Sunday (and he’s no spring chicken), brings the Holy Eucharist to the sick and promotes the rosary at every opportunity.

Over the past 19 years, dad has been fighting repeat bouts of both prostate and colon cancer. There have been times that the doctors have told us that he would not be with us for more than a year. What the doctors don’t know is that dad is a fighter and a man that walks with God.

Dad has started another round of chemotherapy, and as usual, his attitude is good. Please keep him in your prayers.

Be Still

burst

It’s 3:00 in the morning and sleep has abandoned me,
The sounds of the night are all that I hear.
Lying beside me, my husband breathes deeply;
In a little more than an hour he'll start his day.


In this quite moment, I call out for Your spirit;
“Please lead me, please guide me, please show me the way”.
"Be still  my daughter and know that I love you”,
Is all that I seem to hear your voice say.


Then my body relaxes and my mind starts to settle;
I’m content  just to lay here in the darkness with you.
Then the next thing I hear are the birds singing sweetly,
With joy in my heart, I start a day new.


Psalm 46

God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.
Thus we do not fear, though earth be shaken and mountains quake to the depths of the sea,
Though its waters rage and foam and mountains totter at its surging.  The LORD of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. Selah
 Streams of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be shaken; God will help it at break of day.
Though nations rage and kingdoms totter, God's voice thunders and the earth trembles.
The LORD of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. Selah
Come and see the works of the LORD, who has done fearsome deeds on earth;
Who stops wars to the ends of the earth, breaks the bow, splinters the spear, and burns the shields with fire;
Who says: "Be still and confess that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth."
The LORD of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. Selah

Mirror of the Soul

If I were to gaze into the mirror of my soul,

What reflection would I see?

Would I see the smiling eyes of love gazing back at me?

Would I see a heart that radiates a burning love so true?

Would I see a hand of mercy outstretched to hold onto?

As I end this day O Lord, I ask you to purify my soul, that it may be a reflection of Your love. And, for all the many blessings you have bestowed upon me and my family, I give you thanks

Beloved Soldier

Young and full of life’s promise, you chose to serve the country you loved.

You left all that was familiar and comfortable to you behind,
And with a heart full of courage you looked ahead; your mission was to serve.
You wanted to give back to those other brave heroes that had given to you;
It was your way to say thank you.
Who would have thought that here, on your own soil, amongst the people you trusted the most,
You would meet such a horrific fate.

The tragedy that transpired yesterday at Fort Hood, Texas, leaving 13 dead and 30 others injured,
has left their families shattered and our country both shocked and dismayed.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.


Promote the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you; pray for it to the Lord, for upon its welfare depends your own. (Jer 29,7)

Inseparable

A soft blanket surrounds me;

My mother’s arms embrace me.
Softly, she whispers of your love for me.

Stars twinkle brightly; moon high above,
Peace is my pillow;
I reflect on your love.

Sleep has now found me;
You are beside me,
Together we will share these hours of the night.

Until the morning light wakes me,
Safe I will be in the arms of my mothers,
As she whispers to me.


Devotion to Mary means Devotion to Jesus.

Cleanse Me, Oh Lord

We are all children of our age. It is said that you cannot leave clothes in a smoky room, without them taking on the smell of smoke. Similarly, by living in an age whose spirit is radically opposed to Christ, it is only to be expected that most of us will become tainted by the spirit in one way or another, to a greater or lesser degree. 1


Like the smoky clothing, we must be washed clean in order to grow closer to Christ.



Lord, my desire is to seek you in all things.


Open my eyes that I may see what it is that keeps me from you;

Open my ears that I may hear your call.


Open my heart that your love may pour in;


And create a spirit of generosity within me so great,


That I may desire nothing for myself, except your love.



1 Fr. Helmuts Libietis, St. Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion Consecration to Mary