Mary, Mother of God

January 1 is the Feast of Mary, Mother of God. Tonight at the Vigil Mass, Father reminded us that Mary's response to God was always positive and prayerful. When told by the Angel Gabriel that she would become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary said, "Let it be done to me as you have said". When she requested her Divine Son to provide wine for the wedding at Cana, she then instructed the servants to "Do just as He tells you".

It is not always easy to do just as the Lord tells us to do. For the Blessed Virgin Mary, it meant watching her only and beloved Son die a painful and bloody death on the Cross. That she knew this was the end from the beginning could only have made it more painful to anticipate and then endure.

The lesson of Mary to me, from the time I was able to "see" her with the eyes of faith, has been this: We must always do what the Lord wants us to do. Sometimes, that will be unbelievably painful, both for Him and for us. Because, you see, He loves us and He feels our pain as His own. And just as He was finally able to wrap His loving arms around His beloved mother and carry her home to be with him always, He will in the end come for us too.

Until then, we must strive to "Do just as He tells" us.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

It's been Christmas in Bethlehem for over an hour...

She's Home with Jesus for Christmas

Our dear baby granddaughter left us on Sunday morning, December 20, 2009. She died peacefully in her mother's arms with her Nana by her side. I baptized Chloe about five hours before her death with the blessing of my dear priest Father Noe who was two hours away.

Little Chloe was sent to us for a reason, of that I am very sure. We will say our last goodbyes on Thursday morning. This child who was born on her Nana's birthday and died on her great-grandparent's 62nd wedding anniversary will be buried on Christmas Eve.

Say hello to Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Board, dear Chloe. Give your brother Xavier a kiss for me, and Great-Grandpa Leone. And tell your Great-Uncle David that his mommy (your Great-Grandma Leone) still misses him every single day.

As we will all miss you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnVorT14i4I

Some Personal Notes

Dear Readers (if indeed I have any readers left):

I know I have sadly neglected this blog. Life has been moving at a breakneck pace, and I have not been able to collect my thoughts to post the remaining recollections that are important to my story of my faith journey.

In the midst of it all, though, I did manage to reconnect with a childhood friend who left the Watchtower several years before me. It was wonderful to get together and talk about our families. The JW organization manages to intrude on her life much more than it does on mine, and that realization made me thankful for my own current situation but also angry that many people have their families divided against one another by manmade "rules" and arrogant personal opinions.

On November 10, my newest granddaughter Chloe was born. Her mother, my daughter Michelle, was very ill and Chloe was delivered very prematurely and weighed a mere 18.5 oz. at birth. Chloe is now one month three days old. She is growing, allbeit with many challenges facing her. The picture above is Chloe holding her Mommy's hand. It was taken on December 9.

Please include Chloe in your prayers.

Thank you.