Friday, June 11, 2010

Heart of Glass

"And the soul, entering into the Wounds of Jesus, like ice thrown on a fire, is melted and absorbed in it's God." From Jeffrey Allan's The Secret Harbor, attributed to Carthusian, Dom Anton Volmar.

















What a blessing and joy it is to end this year of the Priest on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Heart that beats with mad love for those holy men who have committed their own hearts to that of our Precious Lord.

My life has been blessed to be touched by so many wonderful priests. Just within the past month my family and I were present at the first Mass of newly ordained Fr. Matthew Widder and on the same day, attended a 40th anniversary party for our pastor, Fr. David Cooper. Witnessing both a first Mass and the longevity of priesthood on the same day was a wondrous joy! And today, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee will honor all priests with a special rosary and Mass led by our beloved Archbishop Listecki, as our own wonderful Pope Benedict honors all priests in Rome. (And, congratulations to Bishop William Callahan, auxiliary Bishop of Milwaukee who was just named Bishop of LaCrosse, Wisconsin! We'll miss you, but I know that you will be a great blessing to the people of LaCrosse!)

I have been praying a Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus this month for the intentions of a special priest as well as for my own special intentions. I had barely begun the novena when a day of searching for sea glass at the beach produced a real treasure, a sign from God that He was pleased with my prayer. I found a red piece of glass which is extremely rare. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the glass was in the shape of a heart with a gash in one side which reminded me of the sword which pierced the side of our Lord. There are a few scratch marks on the front of the glass which look like they might have been caused by a thorny crown. God gave me a great gift in sending me one of my favorite treasures, sea glass, that resembles His Most Sacred Heart.

I will always treasure this sign of love from God as well as the wonderful priests that have blessed my life and the lives of so many others in a multitude of beautiful and loving ways.

"O my Most Loving and Gentle Jesus, I desire with all the affections of my heart, that all beings should praise Thee, honor Thee and glorify Thee eternally for that Sacred Wound wherewith Thy Divine Side was rent.

I deposit, enclose, conceal in that wound and in that opening in Thy Heart, my heart and all my feelings, thoughts, desires, intentions and all the faculties of my soul. I entreat Thee, by the Precious Blood and Water that flowed from Thy Most Loving Heart, to take entire possession of me, that Thou may guide me in all things.

Consume me in the burning fire of Thy Holy Love, so that I may be so absorbed and transformed into Thee that I may no longer be but one with Thee. Amen." -Lanspergius, the Carthusian

4 comments:

  1. A smile from God for sure! My niece collects sea glass so I know how tough they are to find. I had never seen a red one much less a red one in the shape of a heart before!

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  2. My life has been blessed with priests as well. I feel silly for not knowing, but when does the Year for Priests end? (I really should know; I was given the name of a priest to pray for all year and have been doing so -- well, occasionally I lapse -- feel guilty about that -- although I carry the card in my purse to remind me.)

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  3. Hi Elizabeth, the Year for Priests ended on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, June 11th. I'm anxious to find out what's next, if there will be anything that can follow a Year for Priests, that's a tough act to follow! I'm hoping for a Year for the Family!

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  4. Hi Anne, Thanks for the good wishes on my win at F&F. Truly unexpected.
    Thanks for visiting my blog. Sadly I've not kept it up to date this year. Homeschooling, my health and distracted by facebook have kept me away. I'm going to try and catch it up while we take the last 2 weeks of vacation!
    I'm envious of your sea glass RED heart!
    We don't have sea glass here in So Cal. It is just a metaphor and dream of mine to collect it. We are going to visit Florida, so I hope to find some there.
    The picture on my blog was found on the internet. It is not my piece of seaglass.
    So I don't have tips on making a hole for a necklace.
    You could wrap wire around it and create a jewelry cage for the heart. That could be pretty, functional and metaphorical.
    Good luck!
    God Bless! I look forward to browsing your blog.
    I love the picture of Mary on the Lake Shore, beautiful!
    Laurie www.seaglasshearts.blogspot.com

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