A few days ago I had a surprise visit from my sweet friend Susi with a very special gift-a bottle of Sea Glass Wine! I had no idea that such a wonderful treat existed! And how lovely to receive a combination of three of my favorite things-wine, sea glass and friendship! Cheers, Susi! Naturally, the wine was delicious, but now it's gone. How grateful I am that friendship and sea glass are gifts that endure.
Last week there was panic and mayhem in the blogosphere when Blogger went down for nearly 24 hours and posts and comments disappeared. It made me appreciate what a gift it is to be able to write my thoughts, prayers, and dreams in this little space called Imprisoned in my Bones and know that anyone in the world can be blessed by them. Please, God, let others be blessed by them and never hurt by my words. The blogging fiasco intensified my gratitude to be able to read and pray over so many other words burning within the hearts of my fellow Christians and tapped out on the silence of a keyboard for the benefit of many. How wonderful it is that the internet can be a blessing to our souls, bringing about deep and meaningful friendships in this often cold and impersonal world.
One such friendship that quickly comes to mind is that of Mary at The Beautiful Gate. For the past two years Mary has been faithfully reading my words and commenting on them as well as faithfully writing her own words of faith and love on her blog, and it is Mary who is the recipient of my recent book give-away, The Invisible World by Anthony Destefano, as well as a small collection of sea glass. Thanks for everything Mary!
One of my favorite uncles has passed away a few days ago. God blessed Izzy (Isadore) with 90 years on this earth, and my uncle used those years to spread love and joy using his gift of humor. I am particularly blessed because my employer allows paid time off to attend the funeral of aunts and uncles. So, my son Justin, who will be taking his driver's exam this Wednesday, will be attending the funeral with me, and will drive the 80 miles to and from our destination. Please keep us in your prayers for a safe journey and please pray for Justin to pass his exam successfully! But most of all, please pray for the soul of my beloved Uncle Izzy.
I found these words on the quote board at the YMCA earlier this week and they have been moving my heart ever since..."Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it." ~Mark Twain~
Don't they move your heart as well?
On this Good Shepherd Sunday and World Day of Prayer for Vocations, my heart is rejoicing over the upcoming ordination to the priesthood of five men for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee this coming Saturday, May 21st. So many hopes and prayers lie in the hands of these men, the hands that will be embedded with fragrant Chrism, the hands that will heal and soothe the souls of many, the hands that will hold the very Body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and feed him to a Church starving for His love, the hands that will now be holy hands. Please keep these brave and wonderful men in your prayers and click on their names to read their feature story in the Milwaukee Catholic Herald:
Christopher Klusman
Kevin McManaman
Kevin Barnekow
Javier Guativa
Hugo Londono
Went from reading my daily reading and saint of the day to reading this post. I was just thinking about St. Isidore and how he made his life so simple and wonderful with his biggest cares being hanging out a little too long in church and feeding the poor and taking care of the animals. Known for being late for his job on another man's farm because of staying after Mass and yet always getting help from his guardians to finish his jobs in the fields to great satisfaction. Nice post. May your Isadore rest in peace. God bless!
ReplyDeleteJulie, thanks for your prayers for my uncle and thanks for the background on St. Isadore! Knowing that St. Isadore was often late for work because he lingered at church gives me great comfort as I often struggle to give my full attention to my work because my mind is on issues of faith. I'll remember to pray to my guardian angel and to St. Isadore to help me do my best on the job!
ReplyDeleteAnne, what a lovely post about friendship. I too collect sea glass so I found the wine bottle so interesting! My sincerest condolences on the passing of your uncle, who shared the same name as my dear father in law. May he rest in peace. You can count on my prayers for seminarians and all called to the priesthood.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful post! Thank you for sharing and my prayers for your uncle.
ReplyDeleteAnne,
ReplyDeleteI am very sorry to hear about the loss of your uncle. I will pray for the repose of his soul.
Thank you so much for your kind words about me in your post, Anne. I am very blessed to have met you and I appreciate your friendship and the writing gift you share with all of us on your blog. I'm looking forward to the book and the sea glass. I know how much you treasure your sea glass and I am deeply touched by this gift.
I tagged you for a blog tag before realizing that your uncle passed away so please ignore the tag as I know you must be grieving. May God bless you, my friend. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
I will keep these 5 men in my prayers! We need priests so much these days!