St. Dunstan

lighthouse mosaic made under the patronage of St. Dunstan

Lately I've been feeling a little guilty about the extent to which my sea glass obsession has taken over my life.  At the end of 2017 more often than not I would begin the day driving into the sunrise to daily Mass when the beauty of the morning would turn my thoughts to the beauty of nature and of Lake Michigan and I would steer my car in the opposite direction from the church and instead head to the beach.  Now I know that private prayer on the beach is something that can lift my soul and please the Lord, but to give up the Eucharist for it, that I'm not so sure is an even trade.  Could it be that sea glass has become a false God to me, I wondered?  And how much sea glass does a person even need?  I have become a borderline hoarder, I'm sure, as jars of sea glass and sea glass mosaics line every windowsill and nook and cranny in my home and are even starting to clutter up my office at work.  Sea glass collecting is more than an obsession, I'm afraid.  It's an addiction.  

Recently, in addition to sea glass mosaics, I've begun to create sea glass jewelry from my better pieces and have opened an Etsy shop, Sea of Glass by Annie.  The name of my shop is based upon Revelation 15:2  "And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name."  

Last January I played along with Jennifer Fulwiler's Saint's Name Generator.   The saint who had chosen to companion me was St. Mark, patron saint of stained glass window makers, which is what started my new hobby of creating sea glass mosaics under his patronage.  This year it's St. Dunstan whose name appeared to me.  St. Dunstan, born in England in 924, became a Benedictine monk and later the Archbishop of Canterbury.  He revived monastacism in England and reformed the church.  He was a skilled musician and metalworker and had used his metalsmith tongs to attack the devil during a temptation, according to legend.

St. Dunstan, whose feast day is May 19th,  is the patron saint of jewelers and lighthouse keepers.  When I learned that fact I knew that God must not mind my sea glass addiction too much because he blessed me with a patron for the year who would surely understand and approve of my hobby.

St. Dunstan of Canterbury, pray for us!

Hear, O Lord, the supplications your people make under the patronage of your bishop St Dunstan,
and grant that they may rejoice in peace in this present life and find help for life eternal. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (prayer source)

St. Dunstan

lighthouse mosaic at night with porch light behind it

Lake Michigan in January:  a sea of glass

Blessed Solanus Casey

Blessed Solanus Casey emoji

How rare and difficult it is to be holy!  How wonderful when we discover someone who really stands out in a crowd of faithful and is so well known for their spiritual strength that we all long to model our lives after them.  Sanctity is so rare, in fact, that America can only boast of 15 saints and blesseds from our country.

On Saturday, November 18th, 2017, Fr. Solanus Casey, OFM, was beatified in Detroit, Michigan.  Well known by many for his gifts of healing and prophesy, this man who was the sixth child in a family of sixteen, born in Prescott, Wisconsin and was not particularly gifted in educational skills, a man who was very humble and obedient, has become the latest American example of sanctity recognized by the Church.

I had first learned of Solanus Casey about 30 years ago.  Fr. Jeff VandenHeuvel, a priest who had been assigned at my hometown parish of Holy Innocents in Manitowoc was so gifted in singing his homilies that he recorded several of them on tape as a fundraiser.  I had purchased his tapes and listened to them over and over again until they completely wore out.  One of his homily stories featured Fr. Solanus Casey whom Fr. Jeff described as the lowliest of the Capuchins who became the greatest of the Capuchins.  Fr. Jeff's story so captivated me that I never forgot it and have been intrigued by Fr. Solanus ever since and have turned to him in prayer on many occasions.

Born on November 25th, 1870, Fr. Solanus' vocational call came while witnessing a brutal murder of a woman in Superior, Wisconsin.  Struggling through the academic rigors of seminary which was taught in German and Latin, Fr. Solanus was ordained a "simplex priest."  He could not hear confessions or preach.  His assignment was to become the porter at St. Bonaventure Friary in Detroit and several places in New York and Indiana.  It was through this humble job that Fr. Solanus began to gain notoriety as an excellent listener and wonder-worker.  People would come and share their trials with Fr. Solanus and, with his encouragement toward prayer, people would leave him healed of burdens and suffering.  For those for whom healing would not be possible, Fr. Solanus would encourage them with a reminder that the "Good God" knows what is best.  

Fr. Solanus was known to spend entire evenings in prayer in the church.  He was so closely connected to God and in tune with his faith that he was an inspiration to his brother priests.  He also loved to play the violin, although it's said that he played very poorly.  Nobody could stand to listen to him play so he took his violin to the church to play in front of the tabernacle for Jesus and at Christmas would offer a gift of music to the Infant Christ.

Above all, Fr. Solanus stressed the need for gratitude in all things.  He would say "Thank God ahead of time."  That way you put him on the spot and he will be more inclined to your desires.

There are thousands of stories of miracles and answered prayers through Fr. Casey's help while he was alive.  He would always be sure to remind everyone that it was God who brought the healing and answered prayers, not him.  When he died on July 31st, 1957, he was said to have sat straight up in bed with his arms out like a cross and said, "I give my soul to Jesus Christ."  Nearly 2000 people came for his funeral.  He truly was the least Capuchin who had become the greatest.

Upon exhuming his body in 1987 to be moved from the cemetery to the Solanus Center, he was found to be incorrupt, an occurrence that is extremely rare among the saints.

I was so blessed to personally attend Fr. Solanus' beatification Mass in Detroit.  Making our way through a crowd of 70,000 in the cold, pouring rain only made the occasion more meaningful and memorable.  The following day we paid a visit to the Casey Center to pray at his tomb.  The experience was deeply moving and more than once I had tears in my eyes as I pondered the grace that I had been given.

One of those teary-eyed moments came when Ms. Paula Medina Zarate, a teacher from Panama whose miraculous healing of her skin disease brought about the beatification, carried in Fr. Solanus' relics to be placed at the altar during Mass.  The following description from the Solanus Center in Detroit offers a great explanation about both the relics and the reliquary in which they were contained.

Relics of Fr. Solanus Casey's arm

A closer view of the relics

"Relics are an important part of our Catholic faith. They provide us with a physical, tangible connection to the Communion of Saints, and help us draw closer to God. A relic of Father Solanus Casey was presented during the Beatification Mass this past Saturday. This relic, a portion of bone removed from the arm of the Blessed Porter who reached out to so many people, was carried to the altar by Ms. Paula Medina Zarate of Panamá. Paula received a miraculous healing of a skin disease after praying for the intercession of Blessed Solanus. Brother Michael Sullivan, our Provincial Minister, and Brother Jozev Timmers, who has ministered in Panamá for many years, escorted Paula to the altar. Cardinal Amato later incensed the relic in a humble act of veneration.

The reliquary, or the vessel in which the relic is housed, was designed by Brother Mark Joseph Costello. It is a simple wooden cross that incorporates into its design a wooden dinner plate, which would have been used to feed both the Friars and the poor alike during the lifetime of Blessed Solanus. This provides yet another link to the Blessed Friar who served the poor and who was instrumental in the foundation of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. This relic will eventually come to reside at the St. Bonaventure Chapel at the Solanus Casey Center, where it can be venerated by the many pilgrims who visit the center." http://www.solanuscenter.org/home

Please join me in praying for one more miracle so that our Blessed Solanus may soon become Saint Solanus.

CANONIZATION PRAYER

O God, I adore You. I give myself to You.

May I be the person You want me to be,

and May Your will be done in my life today.

I thank You for the gifts You gave Father Solanus.

If it is Your Will, bless us with the Canonization of

Father Solanus so that others may imitate

and carry on his love for all the poor and

suffering of our world.

As he joyfully accepted Your divine plans,

I ask You, according to Your Will,

to hear my prayer for… (your intention)

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

“Blessed be God in all His Designs.”

Imprimatur:

The Most Reverend Allen H. Vigneron

Archbishop of Detroit

May 2017

To learn more about Blessed Solanus including many fascinating stories of healings and other miraculous events of his life, visit Michigan Catholic.

Pictures from my visit to the Solanus Casey Center in Detroit:

Prayer items of Blessed Solanus

His sandals

Habit and Violin

Blessed Solanus' Prayer Intention Book

The covering for his tomb before the beatification.

Blessed Be God!

Blessed Solanus Casey, pray for us!

Year of St. Mark the Evangelist

source

Each January for the past few years I have enjoyed participating in Jennifer Fulwiler's Saint Name Generator where, after saying a short prayer I click a button and a saint comes forward to accompany me for the coming year. This year St. Mark the Evangelist is my prayerful companion.  I find it especially providential that the Gospel readings at daily Mass just happen to be from Mark so I have been paying extra close attention to them.  I've also spent the past month reading and reflecting upon the Gospel of Mark, the shortest of the four Gospels to be written, in my daily prayer time.  What a great way this has been to immerse myself in learning about my friendly saint and the Lord as well!

In researching St. Mark I found so many different stories and they all seemed to contradict each other. In the end I'm not sure what is really the truth of his life but will share what I found to be the most fascinating aspects about the saint.

St. Mark had traveled with Paul and Barnabas and was possibly a source of contention dividing the two in their evangelic travels.  In the end, all made peace and Mark was known to be a great help in spreading the good news of Christ.

St. Mark was a close friend and possibly a relative of St. Peter during the early years of Christianity, and it was from Peter that St. Mark learned about the life of Jesus.  St. Mark payed close attention to Peter's preaching and recorded everything that he learned from our first Pope, and that's where I feel that I just may have something in common with my 2017 patron.  Most of the blog posts that I share here are taken from my notes written while listening to moving homilies or talks given by great priests.  In addition, St. Mark is a patron of imprisoned people, so there's a connection with the title of this blog, too.

In St. Mark's Gospel he mentions a man with a water jug at whose house the disciples were to prepare the passover.  That house may have belonged to Mark's mother, Mary.  His Gospel also mentions a man who ran away naked from the Garden of Gethsemane. There is speculation that St. Mark may have been the man with the water jug and the man fleeing from the Garden.  He is also mentioned as having been present at the wedding at Cana where water was changed to wine.

St. Mark is identified with a lion because he begins his Gospel with St. John the Baptist described as a "voice crying out in the wilderness." St. Mark was martyred in 68 AD when he was dragged through the city of Alexandria for two days until he died.  His relics can be found in Alexandria and at St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice.  St. Mark's Feast Day is April 25th.

St. Mark is the patron saint of stained glass window makers, although I haven't been able to make a connection as to why that might be so other than the fact that he painted pictures with his words.  But with that patronage I've decided that this will be the year that I will work on making more sea glass mosaics under his guidance.  From the time I started collecting sea glass ten years ago I had always thought that I'd like to make a mosaic of the Virgin Mary but never thought I would be up to the task and had no idea about how to begin on my own.  So it must have been St. Mark's influence that caused me to discover a lovely mosaic of Mary and Jesus made by a woman from Helsinki that was shared in a sea glass group on facebook, and upon seeing it I knew that I, too, could piece together the same image.

My friend Christi of Lumen Christi Art who designed and helped me to make a Sea Glass Tree of Life mosaic two years ago had sent her Milwaukee Journal Sentinel entry for Christmas Artwork, the icon of "Mother of God of Tenderness," as a Christmas card this past year. Of the icon she wrote:  "Christ draws our attention to His mother and there is an additional detail of love where we see that Jesus' arm is around His mother's neck.  The little face tenderly pressed against His mother's face is Christ Immanuel, the Glory of God and Creator of all."  

Using Christi's icon and my new friend from Helsinki's art as examples I have begun the work under the patronage of St. Mark.  Our Lady's face was certainly the most difficult part so far and I'm nervous about bringing Jesus' face to life after the difficulty I had with His mother's face.  I'm sure that if I would try to replicate this mosaic I would make lots of changes the second time around to improve it, but for a first effort on my own I'd say it's going pretty well and I am learning a lot.  I only have so much glass available to me so using limited supplies poses a challenge, as well.  My mosaic definitely has more of a folk art feel than classic art but I am enjoying the work and the deep prayer that accompanies the task.  The image below is my humble beginning.  I'll be sure to share the finished project in a future post.

Prayer (source)

“O glorious St Mark, through the grace of God our Father, you became a great Evangelist, preaching the Good News of Christ. Obtain for me I pray you, lively faith, firm hope and burning love; patience in adversity, humility in prosperity, recollection in prayer, purity of heart, a right intention in all my works, diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life, constancy in my resolutions, resignation to the will of God and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death. Through the same Christ Our Lord, Amen.”

Here's a nice reflection on St. Mark by my friend, Fr. James Kubicki, SJ from the Apostleship of Prayer.

St. Maria Goretti

This relic of St. Maria Goretti was a gift to me from a Sister of St. Benedict Center.
I have since given it to one of my sisters but was so blessed to have her in my home for a short time.

The relics of St. Maria Goretti, the eleven year old Italian girl who lost her life to save her purity and the purity of her attacker, and then forgave her murderer before she died, have been on a tour in the United States while the church where they are normally kept is being restored.  The tour has been called "The Pilgrimage of Mercy."  The remarkable story of the conversion of Alessandro Serenelli, St. Maria Goretti's murderer, was highlighted during the tour as well.

I was anxiously anticipating this visit from St. Maria Goretti as the reports coming from her visit in Chicago were amazing. She was escorted by Homeland Security and many of Chicago's finest police officers.  Her story was covered by several secular news outlets and we were told that people would leave her presence with tears in their eyes and a sense of deep love and respect for the saint even if they didn't know anything about her before coming to venerate her relics.

My family was blessed to visit the relics of the youngest saint while she was at St. Mary's Visitation Parish in Elm Grove, Wisconsin.  I had never before witnessed such a long line to enter a church!  It was a beautiful sight!

The line waiting to venerate the relics of St. Maria Goretti at St. Mary's Visitation Parish
in Elm Grove, Wisconsin while we were visiting.  We were told that the lines were long and constant
during the entire time that St. Maria's relics were there.

Each visitor was allowed 15 seconds to venerate St. Maria's relics in the glass case before moving on for silent, private prayer for as long as desired within the church.  While it appears that Maria's body is incorrupt, this is not so.  Maria's skeleton is encased within a wax body.

We were fortunate to find a place in the front row of the church to pray
following our 15-second veneration of the relics.
This photo was taken from that vantage point.

It was deeply moving for my family to pray before the relics of this mighty young girl, perhaps mostly so for my daughter who is very near to the same age as Maria was at the time of her death. Even more moving was the report of a Wisconsin woman who was healed from the degeneration of a ball joint in her arm upon touching the case that contained St. Maria Goretti's relics.

In this upcoming Year of Mercy beginning on December 8th, I pray that I will learn to forgive like the beautiful and remarkable St. Maria Goretti.

If you don't already know her fascinating story, you will want to read about St. Maria Goretti and the Pilgrimage of Mercy and will learn a great deal when you visit this link.

These are the items that I brought to touch to St. Maria Goretti's coffin.
The artwork was purchased at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
The charms and the small, second-class relic were gifts to my daughter from a
 Handmaid of the Precious Blood.

The National Shrine of St. John Neumann in Philadelphia

St. John Neumann's incorrupt body (his face is made of wax)

"How much I love You, O my Jesus.  I wish to love You with my whole heart; yet I do not love You enough.  My lack of devotion and my sloth make me anxious.  I have one desire, that of being near You in the Blessed Sacrament.  You are the sweet bridegroom of my soul.  My Jesus, my love, my all, gladly would I endure hunger, thirst, heat and cold to remain always with You in the Blessed Sacrament.  Would that in Your Eucharistic presence I might unceasingly weep over my sins.  Take entire possession of me.  To You I consecrate all the powers of my soul and body, my whole being.  Would that I could infuse into all hearts a burning love for You.  What great glory would be given to You here on earth, if every heart were an altar on which every human will were laid in perfect conformity with Your will to be consumed by the fire of Your love." 

 ~Adapted from the diary of St. John Neumann

St. Peter's Church

Beneath the altar of the lower church of St. Peter's Church in Philadelphia lies the incorrupt body of St. John Neumann at what has now come to be known as the National Shrine of St. John Neumann. St. John Neumann, a Redemptorist priest and bishop of Philadelphia, died of a stroke on the city streets at the age of 48 while running errands.  It had been his wish to be buried in the crypt at St. Peter's Church which was managed by the Redemptorist order.  Following his death, many faithful people came to pray at his tomb and many miracles have been attributed to his intercession.  After being declared "Blessed" in 1963, his remains were exhumed and found to be incorrupt.  They were placed in a glass encasement in the newly built lower church, the building of which was necessitated by the throngs of pilgrims who came to pray at his gravesite.   He was canonized a saint in 1977 by Pope Paul VI. 

While on pilgrimage in Philadelphia to see Pope Francis, we were blessed to visit the National Shrine of St. John Neumann.  We had an opportunity to be blessed with the relics of St. John Neumann, to pray before his incorrupt body and to tour the breathtaking upper church.  Bishop Hying, who told us that visiting the shrine had been on his bucket list, shared a bit of St. John Neumann's life story with us.

St. John Neumann was born in 1811 in what is now the Czech Republic and studied for the priesthood but was denied ordination due to a glut of priests.  He came to America in 1836 and was ordained in New York.  Lonely in his travels, he joined the Redemptorists in 1842 to become part of a community.  He was appointed Bishop of Philadelphia in 1852.  

He is well-known for his tireless efforts in service of the faithful immigrants of America.  He knew six languages, started the first Diocesan Catholic School System, founded several religious orders of sisters,  built new churches at the rate of one each month, and tirelessly traveled throughout Northeast America.   He was often teased about his short stature.  He was so short, in fact, that his feet didn't reach the stirrups of his horse which must have made all of the traveling that he did all the more difficult.

Of all of the places that we visited and all of the sights we witnessed in Philadelphia, I was most deeply moved here at the National Shrine of St. John Neumann.  To kneel before the incorrupt body of a saint who shares my Czech ancestry, to be blessed with his relics, to view his disciplinary measures, to hear his life story-all of this made St. John Neumann come to life for me and I will forever after consider him to be one of my favorite saints.

mosaic of St. John Neumann

the altar in the upper church

Bishop Hying telling the story of St. John Neumann's life-in the background is a statue of
St. John Neumann next to the Marian altar.

ceiling art

The First Station of the Cross:  Jesus is condemned to death

The stained glass windows told the story of his life:

"Our Mother daily heard Mass to which she took one of us."

"What emotions were mine when I set foot on American soil"

"Dearest God give me holiness."

A reliquary holding a few of the saint's personal items.

A close-up of the reliquary box reveal St. John Neumann's vestments, some wood from his coffin and disciplinary items

St. John Neumann "discipline"

"discipline and ellicium of SJN"-Bishop Hying explained that St. John Neumann
 would have worn this around his thigh as an act of penance.

Blessed with the relics of St. John Neumann

Learn more about the National Shrine of St. John Neumann here.

Prayer for the intercession of St. John Neumann

O Saint John Neumann, your ardent desire of bringing all souls to Christ impelled you to leave home and country; teach us to live worthily in the spirit of our Baptism which makes us all children of the one Heavenly Father and brothers of Jesus Christ, the first-born of the family of God.

Obtain for us that complete dedication in the service of the needy, the weak, the afflicted and the abandoned which so characterized your life. Help us to walk perseveringly in the difficult and, at times, painful paths of duty, strengthened by the Body and Blood of our Redeemer and under the watchful protection of Mary our Mother.

May death still find us on the sure road to our Father's house with the light of living Faith in our hearts. Amen.

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.