A Revelation

It never ceases to amaze me just how much is revealed to me when I'm sitting in the adoration chapel. Like yesterday, while sitting in chapel, three truths came to me that actually surprised me in a way that I didn't expect. Remarkably, I pulled out a tiny slip of paper and a pen and jotted them down lest I forget (like I would forget this?)

I NEED Jesus.

I CLING to Jesus.

Jesus SUSTAINS me.

Unless you know me well  you are probably saying to yourself yeah, I already know that about you. You splash your love for the guy all over social media. I can't get away from it! But, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I don't ask people for help. I'm incredibly private and stubborn and don't have the patience to wait for someone to do something for me; I'll just do it myself and get it done, or don't do it at all. I... DO... NOT... ASK... ANYONE.... FOR... ANYTHING. (If I do, trust me, it is killing me to ask.) Capeesh? Are you getting just how much of a mule I am? Look up stubborn in the dictionary; I'm pretty sure my face is there.


That's why I was so blown away when this realization hit me today. That paragraph I just wrote? Yeah, I'm private and stubborn and all that however, I'm kidding myself. Nobody is an island unto themselves. I could try to sell myself as this tough no-nonsense chick but the reality is that I bring EVERYTHING to Jesus, (Poor Jesus, I've become a stage-5 clinger), the good, the bad and the ugly. He knows me intrinsically and understands the why of things I do and don't do and he loves me anyway. I need that in my life. Everyone needs Him in their life. He IS that awesome. Just as Peter needed to hold His hand during the storm so he didn't drown, so do the rest of us need to hold onto Him in not only the storm but the smooth sailing as well. Jesus isn't some mythical being that was created purely for entertainment. He IS God and historical Jesus is the very much alive man that walked the earth centuries ago. He is with us now and all you need to do is reach out to Him. I assure you, He is always there for us. He told us so, "... I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Matthew 28:20 ASB

Yesterday's reading was the Sermon on the mount and the beautiful beatitudes.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Gospel of St. Matthew 5:3-10

When I was younger, that first Beatitude always confused me. I'm guessing it was either a difficult concept to grasp or maybe a comma could have helped.  I always took it to mean lacking in belief where it means the complete opposite. It is a humbling of yourself to God and placing yourself totally and completely into His hands. How exquisite.

Seek God. Seek Jesus. Seek the Holy Spirit. Immerse yourself in the saving power of their love. Find a quiet place, close your eyes, and just breath and listen. Better yet, find a perpetual adoration chapel in your area and just sit there for 15 minutes, half an hour, an hour. Bring a Bible, a rosary or any other prayer aid and turn off the cellphone and put it out of reach. God deserves your full attention. Give Him your worries, your fears, your illness, your sorrows, your joys, your thanks and open your heart. May we all be poor in spirit and rely totally and completely on God to lead us through this valley of tears. Can't find an adoration chapel? Go to a church, a park bench, your bedroom. God is everywhere.

Someone once said to me, "I wish I had your faith." Well, it's just like any other relationship. It has to be open, honest, nurtured, have mutual respect and has to include love and growth. If this old mule could learn to give it all up to God, well then so could anyone else who is truly searching for Him.

It's an incredible revelation to me that I'm not as tough as I think I am and I thank my best bud, Jesus, for always having my back. He's your best bud too, just ask Him for help.

Peace, Joy and love to you,

Mare

"You fill up my senses, like a night in the forest
like the mountain in spring time
like a walk in the rain
like a storm in the desert
like a sleepy blue ocean
You fill up my senses, come fill me again."
~ Annie's Song by John Denver

Some Perfect Places to Pray on Staten Island

Last week, I was talking to a good friend of mine, Camille, and I told her that I loved to say my daily prayers in my yard. She lit up like a dazzling Christmas tree and said, oh, I never thought to do that!

Our conversation got me to thinking about all the beautiful places that are, on Staten Island, that are peaceful and perfect for prayer. Of course, one of my favorites is my yard, since I usually stop working either late in the morning or early afternoon for my mid-day dailies. Though I do have to put up with the constant banging and hum of the a/c units in everyone's backyards, the mosquitoes and flies, I can't beat the commute. But, aside from my yard, there are quite a few quiet, lovely, places to go. The quickest way to get to all of them is by car.

Since my yard isn't available for everyone here are some suggestions. We have beautiful places like our shorelines ~ Wolffs Pond Park, Great Kills Park, South Beach, and Conference House Park ~ which are great for walking and meditating. We also have our more interior parks i.e. Bloomingdale, High Rock, Silver Lake, Clove Lakes, to name a few, and they all have walking trails available (just bring your bug spray to keep the biting vermin, like ticks, away.) There is probably a small park in your area that is within walking distance too. I have spent quiet time with God in my local park in Annadale, which is lovely.

Here are some of my suggestions for peaceful places for prayer and meditation.

The Grotto of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 256 St. Mary's Avenue, Rosebank, SI 10305 Vito Grosso was the driving force that, along with the society he founded, created this beautiful shrine to our Blessed Mother. It is open 24-7. You can check out their FB page for more details or click this link: https://www.ourladyofmountcarmelshrineofrosebank.com/.

One of my favorite places to go is to the chapel at Resurrection Cemetery, on the south end of Hylan Boulevard. The main entrance is 361 Sharrott Avenue. If you are going South on Hylan, make a right onto Sharrott and another right onto the grounds. Okay, some people may be a little creeped out by the chapel as it is a repository for people, but just look at this amazing stain glass window at the back of it! You can see it has an amazing depiction of Jesus on the cross in front of the window too. The cemetery is open from 9:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. Monday through Sunday. Catholic Mass is held there every Saturday at 9:30 A.M. BONUS! Blessed Dorothy Day is buried in Resurrection Cemetery. She is buried in Section 10, East parcel, which is diagonally across from the office.

Of course, my absolute favorite place to go is to the Perpetual Adoration Chapel at my church. The church is located at 4747 Amboy Road, but the entrance to the parking lot is on Arden Avenue. The chapel is always open (unless there is inclement weather). On off hours, when the building is locked, you can get into the chapel, by going to the door on the right hand side (from the parking lot). There is a doorbell that is on your right that you need to ring in order to gain entrance into the building. The chapel is inside, immediately to your right and has a big, beautiful, stained glass image of Jesus. Rosary beads are available to take in the ante-room of the chapel and you can also write a prayer intention on the small desk in there and leave it in the white basket in front of the Blessed Sacrament. All members that do hours of perpetual adoration pray for the intentions in the basket, but, please remember to pray for those intentions as well.

Easter Sunday at the chapel

Mid-island we have the incredible Alba House places of prayer. It is located at 2187 Victory Boulevard. Alba House has a beautiful small, stone, chapel, in which you can light candles, a lovely little garden you can sit in, a grotto of saints and of Our Lady of Fatima, as well as a small walk of the Stations of the Cross. All of these are on the right hand side of the grounds, behind the bookstore. To the left, in the back, there is a Perpetual Adoration Chapel. The entrance to this chapel is located up a small flight of stairs right next to a huge picture of the Last Supper. This place is amazing, if you have never been there, especially the small chapel that has a poignant Pieta in its center. I can promise you that you will feel the presence of God in both chapels. It is truly a place of peace. Both chapels are open 24/7. You may need to ring a bell to get into the Perpetual Adoration chapel though. There is adequate parking there btw, and the adoration chapel is adjacent to additional parking.

Last, but not least, is the wonderful grounds of Snug Harbor. Snug Harbor, once the home of retired sailors, is chock full of beautiful gardens and lush green lawns as well as old buildings. It is on acres of land! It is located at 1000 Richmond Terrace, which is in the north part of the island. It is generally open daily, but the grounds close at dusk. You may want to check their site as well, as they have numerous activities and events there! The website is: http://snug-harbor.org/.

Of course, any place that you can find some peace and quiet, even if it is a designated room or area in your house, is the perfect place to pray. After all, it is all about spending quiet time with God and leaving the distractions at the door. I find it is refreshing to set aside time during the day to just sit outside, breathe deep, feel the warmth of the sun and smell the soft scent of my olive wood beads as they slide through my fingers. It doesn't matter that I'm in my yard. It matters that I am talking to God.

I hope that you can do that as well and that you find the perfect place to enhance your prayers. If you have the perfect place to suggest to the readers of this blog, feel free to leave them in the comments below. I would appreciate your suggestions!

Have an awesome day and remember to pray for our brothers and sisters in Texas and Louisiana!

Mare

Affirmations and My Daddy

This morning, just as I do every morning (praise the Lord), I swung my feet over the side of my bed, took my c-pap mask off, turned off the machine, and reached for my little prayer book that used to be my Dad's. I don't know how old it is, but, it has yellowed and the binding is reaching the point where I will have to add a piece of tape to it so that it doesn't fall apart in my hands. When I'm done with my prayers I kiss the remnants of a scapular that was once his. The two weathered leather pieces are kept safely between the pages of the prayer book. I remember him wearing it all those years ago. He used to wear the scapular and a Miraculous medal on a ball chain and truth be told he never, ever, took them off.  In that regard, I'm not like him. I have tried to wear a scapular. Because of my buffalo hump and thick neck (thanks to my Cushing's syndrome) the scapular doesn't hang right around my neck. It curls and sticks out both in the front and back and it generally looks awful and out of place (I know, I'm being vain). I tried wearing the plastic ones, which I really like, but they always get twisted up into the chain, that has my Miraculous Medal and crucifix on it, and that just keeps getting tighter and tighter as the days go by. After years of failed attempts at wearing the scapular I gave up and stopped wearing it.

While sitting there this morning I thought to myself, self, why don't you look for a Sacred Heart badge to carry with you at all times? I could easily get one from the people that we buy our scapulars from. I tried to carry my scapulars with me, but they always ended up in the wash in a pants pocket or I forgot to take them out before putting them away in a drawer. Sadly, I don't even know where my cloth one is anymore; the plastic ones are safely in my jewelry box though. 

Anyway, getting back to this morning a split second after thinking about buying the badge I heard the little voice in my head tell me to look into my Dad's wallet. I have had it since he died in 1989 and it is now tucked into a drawer in my bureau. Looking at it, I don't know how he ever sat down with that bulging beauty in his back pocket. It is chock full with pictures of every one of his kids, grandkids, my Mom, his parents, and just a few prayer cards. He actually has two pictures of me in there; one is of the two of us at my high school Father~Daughter dance and the other is one with me and a 3-year old Tom. Included in the sleeve, in front of both pictures, was a Sacred Heart badge. Of course I wasn't surprised, but I was elated! One of them is now in my pocket. May it always be with me and never see the inside of a washing machine.

The experience of looking through the wallet for the first time in many, many, years not only brought back memories of the days gone by but also of a pretty amazing man. I know my Dad loved me and prayed that Jesus would protect me just as I pray for my own son. My Dad's wallet is testament to the incredible love that a parent has for his child, wife, parents and grandchildren. It's also an affirmation of the devout faith that he had in the protective love of Jesus. My Dad knew that he couldn't be with me at all times, so he put my safety into Jesus' hands. Thank you Daddy. I'm in good hands. It was such an awesome way to start a day, knowing that I was loved beyond belief and that I still am...

So are you; by Jesus. God bless and have a beautiful day.

Mare

If You Choose......

"If you choose, you can keep the commandments
and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice.^{" ~ Sirach 15:15}

"Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees,
    that I may follow it to the end. <sup>" ~ Psalm 119:33


He did exactly that, in the sermon on the mount:

17</sup> “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 

¹⁹ Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,^[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister^[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’^[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

²³ “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

²⁵ “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’^{[e] 28} But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

³¹ “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’^{[f] 32} But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

³³ “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ ³⁴ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. ³⁶ And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ³⁷ All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.<sup>[g]"

To be continued.....

Have a good week.
Peace,
Mare</sup>