Saints of Summer

Where do the summer days go?  It seems as though we blink and they're gone.  The busyness of summer has kept me away from the computer, but it hasn't kept God's saints and holy ones away from my heart.  Here's a few beautiful ways that I found God's grace this summer.

I was blessed to take every Wednesday off from work so that I could spend some quality girl time with my daughter, Mary, before she made the leap into high school.  We spent many a lovely day together riding a tandem bike (it's harder than we'd imagined), searching for sea glass, and rummaging through antique shops.

A bicycle built for two with a lovely Lake Michigan view.

We had a blast trying on vintage hats!

Sweet Mother Mary, I love you!

At one antique shop we found this beautiful statue of my Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe. She had a bunch of purses and junk piled up in her arms so I had to clear that away for her. Then I noticed that the picture propped in front of her was of a man flashing a work of art with the caption "Expose yourself to art." So I had to turn that around to face the wall. My Mother doesn't want to look at that! They were selling the statue for the ridiculously low price of $125. I should have paid it and brought her home with me so she wouldn't have to be treated with so much disrespect. After all, who else tells me "Am I not here, your Mother? Are you not under the shadow of my protection?"  I was so grateful that a friend of mine was able to go and rescue her and is now finding many blessings in her home with Our Mother's presence there.

Marquette Hall mirrored in the stained glass windows of The Church of the Gesu

The Holy Spirit will overshadow you.

I'm blessed to walk the Marquette College Campus every day on my lunch break. The bells at Marquette Hall ring out the Salve Regina and my heart sings along. I marvel at the sight of the Marquette Hall tower reflected in the Gesu windows and each time I see it I tell myself to bring my camera so I can capture the image forever. But when I leave my office I always forget to bring it...until one spectacularly sunny and beautiful day when I was able to capture the image above.  The bonus: I took a picture of the outside of the stained glass window of Our Lady and didn't notice the gull (that looks like a dove of the Holy Spirit) flying in the reflection until I got back to my office and looked over my pictures. A perfect overshadowing!

Source

Schoenstatt Shrine

One day as I was driving home from work, I saw the most beautiful sight and wish I could have pulled over to take a picture. (I found the picture above on pinterest and it looked very much like the scene I witnessed.) There, walking across the busy Wisconsin Avenue bridge, were 12 Schoenstatt sisters carrying the Rosary Campaign flag. Although I couldn't hear it, I imagine they were praying the rosary as they walked. Maybe they were on their way to their beautiful little shrine just further west on Wisconsin Ave! Sanctifying the city! Just what we need!

I'd been looking for a statue of the Infant of Prague ever since last Christmas when my pastor, Fr. Tim Kitzke, told me that everyone should have a statue of the Infant in their homes saying that He is a help with financial situations.  On one of our Wednesday outings my daughter and I paid a visit to a little antique mall and cheese shop (well, we do live in Wisconsin!) and there we hit the jackpot.  We found four statues of the Infant so I bought them all!

Not too long ago I met a woman who told me that she received a blessing from Pope John Paul II, and then later was able to shake his hand after praying a novena to the Infant of Prague.  When I told her that I will be going to see Pope Francis in Philadelphia this month, she recommended that I pray a novena to the Infant for whatever I might want from that experience, and when I found those four statues all in the same place, I took it as a sign that my prayer might be favorably received.

Now naturally I hope to receive spiritual blessings for myself and my family, but I would also want to meet Pope Francis personally.  So I have been praying a beautiful novena to the Infant of Prague with the intention that my traveling companions and I will be blessed to meet the Pope and  have a selfie taken with him.  Then my sister Cindy and I will be able to replace our paper pope picture with a real one!  I know that sounds awfully selfish to pray for a selfie, but Pope Francis is always reminding everyone to be joyful, and thinking about a selfie with the pope sure does make me joyful!  

Here's the prayer I'm saying.  It's so lovely!  Care to join me in prayer?

Novena Prayer to the Miraculous Infant of Prague

Dearest Jesus, Little Infant of Prague, how tenderly You love us! Your greatest joy is to dwell among us and to bestow Your blessing upon us. Though I am not worthy that You should help me, I feel drawn to You by love because You are kind and merciful. (say three times)

So many who turned to You with confidence have received graces and had their petitions granted. Behold me as I come before You to lay open my heart to You with its prayers and hopes. I present to You especially this request, which I enclose in Your loving Heart:

(Mention your request)

Rule over me, dear Infant Jesus, and do with me and mine according to Your Holy Will, for I know that in Your Divine Wisdom and Love You will arrange everything for the best. Do not withdraw Your hand from me, but protect and bless me forever. 

I pray You, all-powerful and gracious Infant Jesus, for the sake of Your Sacred Infancy, in the Name of Your Blessed Mother Mary who cared for You with such tenderness, and by the greatest reverence with which Saint Joseph carried You in his arms, help me in my needs. Make me truly happy with You, dearest Infant, in time and in eternity, and I shall thank You forever with all my heart.  Amen.

Parade of Emotions

There's just something about a summer parade that seems to make me very emotional. Maybe it's the combination of warm weather and relaxing with my family that brings down my defenses and lets my true feelings show.

Most parades start with the American flag and our veterans who so proudly served our country. Witnessing these brave men and women, and all of the people honoring their commitment to America by standing with their hands over their hearts always begins a flow of tears from my eyes as my heart tugs with a mix of pride and love.

The tears are soon wiped away as Santa appears in Bermuda shorts with a gaudy, artificial white Christmas tree and shouts out "I'm watching you!" He's followed by bubble blowing men wearing Hawaiian grass skirts who are joined by several silly clowns. How can I not smile at these delightful people?

Then the tears start again when a truck appears with several elderly men sitting in the back wearing white shirts and black ties enjoying some of their favorite polka tunes. I am reminded of my dad and his love for polkas. It was in this season of summer that his earthly life passed into eternity.

But tears easily turn to laughter when a fire truck drives by and squirts the sun-baked crowd with water hoses. Even more laughter erupts when the crowd begins to throw water balloons at the firemen! But the best gut-wrenching laugh comes when a water balloon misses its target and hits my brother-in-law right in the stomach!

Here come the tears again as a convertible car drives by transporting a beautiful girl in an evening gown with a sash and crown and I hear my daughter Mary call out "You're pretty!" Mary is so sweet and honest and I am so proud of her!

Back to the smiles as a float arrives with a young rock band wailing out an angst filled song. Their long hair that hides their faces cannot hide the fact that their heads bang back and forth to the music and I catch my teenage sons following the band with their eyes all the way down the street with looks of longing on their faces.

Something about the antique fire trucks with their sirens blaring sends a chill through my body in spite of the heat of the day and the tears fill my eyes once again. Laughter returns when the clerks from the local grocery store march past pushing grocery carts filled with (what else?) water balloons!

The tears of National Pride are turned back on again as the High School Marching Band passes by blasting out "America the Beautiful" on their horns and drums. It causes goose bumps to appear on my arms and I automatically rub them to bring some warmth back to my body even though I am standing in the blazing sun.

Delight resumes when the children cry "CANDY"! and scramble to collect the treats that are thrown at their feet. Mary has the spirit of sharing as she throws a few pieces back to me and my husband. And what kind of treat does the Natural Food Store give out? Why fresh daisies, of course!

The parade is complete with horses and cowboys, antique cars and historical costumes. My family packs up our chairs, blankets and candy (please don't forget the candy!) and drive home with satisfied smiles on our faces and warm feelings in our hearts.

I realize that the parade is like life, an absurd mix of joys and sorrows, side by side, one after the other. And somehow, it seems right that parades and life should be this blend of ups and downs. God created our lives to be connected with others, we are meant to share our joys and sorrow standing side by side in our community. We strengthen each other in our sorrow and laugh with each other in our joy. I thank God for summertime parades of emotion and lifelong journeys of emotion as well. Joy and sorrow belong together just as naturally as we all belong to God. I love and embrace this contradiction, this joy and sorrow intertwined. I am thankful for this lifelong mingling of emotion that draws us closer to one another and closer to God.