This weekend, we see Jesus healing the blind man. What a joyous miracle! For me, when I look back over the last year, it is filled to the brim with miracles. It began in January when God saved my sister from a massive stroke and then healed her of the things the doctors were sure were permanent. Then my dad was able to find his birth family after 60-something years. And of course, my husband found his new job just before his unemployment benefits were to run out. These are all substantial, but the little things are just as important. What a miracle it was the day our son figured out that if he studied enough, he could make an A on his vocabulary tests! And I can't forget those times when our daughter says just the right thing to brighten our days. And I wake up each and every morning thanking God for the miracle of my husband's love for me, even when I'm not very loveable.
What are the miracles in your life?
What a grace to be aware of all the miracles in your life...both big & (seemingly) small!
ReplyDeleteIn the Eastern Catholic Churches, this 4th Sunday of Lent is the Sunday of St. John Climacus (+649), also known as St. John of the Ladder (author of The Ladder of Divine Ascent). This Sunday’s theme is St. John’s witness to the real spiritual struggle needed for entrance into God's Kingdom. It is an encouragement for us to keep the goal of our Lenten efforts, for according to the Lord, only "he who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:13).
The reading we hear is Mark 9:17-31, the healing of the boy with a demon. As our Lord instructed Moses, as our Lord instructed His disciples, & as our Lord instructs us today, we must battle the evils of the spirit of the age by beseeching God through prayer & fasting. We must regain a sense of the power & necessity of prayer & fasting, which are not ascetical practices reserved for monastics. By cooperating with God's grace & participating in the life of the Blessed Trinity, may we all be witnesses to the many miracles God works in our live & the lives of those around us.
Please pray for the precious soul of my student, Alexandra Thimesch. She passed away this afternoon after yesterday's tragic accident. Please lift her family in prayer, as well as our school family.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear this tragic news. My heart goes out to her family, and to you as well.
DeleteBlessed repose & eternal memory for he handmaid of God, Alexandra! May our Lord welcome her to a place of light, joy & peace where all the Saints repose. May God grant His consolation & peace to her grieving family & friends. How precious & fragile life is. I pray that the coming celebration of our Lord's radiant Resurrection would be a source of hope & refuge for her family.
DeleteThank you for the reminder to notice the miracles that we are blessed with frequently, which are so easy to overlook. In light of the Alexandra's tragic deaths, the miracles I want to focus on this weekend are those of my son. Children are such a blessing and a miracle. It is miraculous how their minds develop, how they move from one stage to another and develop numerous insights along the way. The thing I find most miraculous is their zest for life and how they appreciate things that we often take for granted. And as an adoptive mother, I am awed by the miracle of being able to love so deeply a child who does not share my genes and who I did not give birth to.
ReplyDeleteclaire: Thanks for sharing those beautiful thoughts. I had the opportunity to spend time this past week with a friend who recently adopted 2 brothers (6 & 3) who were born with fetal alcohol syndrome. What a joy those 2 little guys are to her family! I always thought the poem below from an adoptive mom was so beautiful:
ReplyDeleteNot flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart,
But in it.
I have always loved that poem. And Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a condition that is near and dear to my heart.
ReplyDelete