A Miracle

After Mass today, the Lord showed me the power of His Love and revealed how well He uses us, even when we have no idea.

One of the elderly, who sits near me at Mass, sometimes has trouble swallowing Our Precious Lord's Body during communion time. In order to help her to receive Him, I will bring her a small cup of water after she has received if needed. Today was one of those days and I brought her water, which enabled her to easily partake in this Heavenly Feast.

After Mass, she turned to me and whispered, "thank you". I smiled and replied, "you're welcome", but felt that I really didn't do much, just a little water. She must have known this as she repeated, "Thank you for the miracle". Now she had my attention. Miracle? All I did was give her water. But again I figured that well receiving the Lord is a miracle and I enabled her to receive so... I gave her a slightly puzzled smile and went to finish my prayers, but she persisted once more, knowing I had not yet understood her. She whispered, "I didn't have an accident", and I was even further confused. And accident? We are in church, what could have happened. Again patiently watching my baffled expression she spelled it out clearly for me, "I did not wet myself!" This time it was proclaimed proudly and with awe. There is was, her miracle, making it through mass dry.

What continues to baffle me as I chuckle at Our Lord's little miracles is how this elderly woman gave me the credit for her dryness. Why thank me? I still do not know, but here I leave it to the power of the Lord using His vessels to do things they do not know they are even involved in.

Thank you Lord for using me and for keeping her dry! Amen.

Visiting the Vistandians

I have long been familiar with St. Francis de Sales (or Frankie D as we referred to him in college) and his order of nuns, the Visitation Nuns of Holy Mary. Having spent time with them in Massachusetts and going to Mass weekly at their convent here in Philadelphia, I finally called to arrange to meet these dear sisters.

The main purpose was just to solidify this connection I felt with them, to know a few of their names as we peer through the sanctuary at each other on our respective sides. I spent almost two hours just simply talking with them and being alive! How glorious it is to be alive. They were eager to hear of my adventures as well as to hear my knowledge of the internet and its many uses. The ease with which the conversation tended from the history of the monastery to the sisters up in Tyringham, MA to eating insects and using technology left me feeling fulfilled and peaceful. They understood me and were like me, and I was like them! Praise God!

The Faith of the Elderly

I was amazed today by a story shared with me, and so I decided to share it with you.

One woman in our home in Philadelphia has been having a rough time and been a bit down. She mentioned to one of the sisters that she didn't know why she was destined for such sufferings! This sister turned to her and shook her finger, "Don;t ever use that word!" Confused, she questioned why. It seemed to her a fine word to use and of no significant harm. The sister replied, "You are, right now, sharing the cross of Christ. Sharing in His sufferings".

As this dear resident shared this story, a light came into her eyes at this line. She looked at me and said, "Do you know how great that made me feel? I just about felt that I was soaring! Me?! Share the cross with Christ?! Isn't that wonderful!?" It struck me how something which the world may generally see as bad, can be so uplifting for us if we truly love Our Lord. If we love Him, do we not wish to share in everything with Him? Including His cross? What a wonderful example this resident has shown me with her faith and her love for the Lord. Let us not be afraid to share with Him... but rather, let us REJOICE to share in His cross.