A Beautiful Palm Sunday to You

May you have a joyful Palm Sunday and a reverent and faithful Holy Week. God bless you all.

 

Mare & Molly

 

 

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

 

The Rich Man

¹⁷ As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. ¹⁹ But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’^[a]”

²⁰ “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

²¹ Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²² At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” ²⁴ This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard^[b] to enter the Kingdom of God. ²⁵ In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

²⁶ The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

²⁷ Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

²⁸ Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said.

²⁹ “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, ³⁰ will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. ³¹ But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.^[c]”

I do love this story in the Bible but recently it has become even more poignant. It makes me think of people that have lost everything that they own in a natural disaster or accident. It makes me think of homeless people that are believers in Christ. Think of how close they are to Him; the poorest of the poor as well from all over the world. The last will be first when entering into the gates of heaven.

We are in the process of renovating my home and business area and I have moved to my first floor, while the rest of the house is being finalized. Somehow, someway, in the chaos that was my old upper floors, every single thing that either meant something significant, or I needed,  was thrown out. (My towels and bed linens,  books, CD's, and kitchen things survived the move.) They literally moved down two floors, not across the world. But, I'm extremely upset that 5-6 contractor bags of my clothes (pants, shirts, undies, socks, jammies, sweaters), blankets, towels, comforters, table cloths, 3 cases of family pictures and memories, (most of Tom as a baby and as he grew), a mandolin, my original artwork going back 22 years, my original writings going back 50 years, letters and postcard from my parents and grandparents, friends and even ex-love interests, original documents in a safe (yes, they threw out an actual SAFE), a hefty scarf collection (fashion), winter coat, my mom's wedding dress, my son's/brother's/grandfather's Christening gown and outfit, my parent's wedding cake topper and album, and pieces of artwork my Mom had made as well as prints of artists that I love, my clothes rack for drying, my bureau mirror and collector dolls and antiques. Yes, it's all stuff. Yes, I am beyond upset and angry over it. These were the items I decided to keep after meticulously going through the house purging and boxing things up for donations.  49 boxes went to the Vietnam Veterans of America and another 3 contractor bags of clothing and shoes went to St. Mary's. Probably 100 bags of garbage were discarded as well.  I have to say that it was Incredibly exhilarating to unburden myself of all of those items. Even my discarded furniture, which were antiques, found good homes. 

Contemplating this story now, I see myself in the rich man AND in the disciples. My heart is like the disciples ~ full of love for Christ and wanting to be as near to him as possible. My life was more like the rich man though ~ filled with material stuff. Prior to my purge I would have given Him that horrified look too. You want me to do what?? Give away all my stuff??

The good news is that I've reached the point now, after living with the reality for a few months, where I'm ready to let go of more of my items that are currently sitting in the garage,  It's items that I wanted to keep initially. They no longer hold the importance that they once did, even just a few months ago.

I will miss seeing all my baby's milestones and the family and friends I have lost over the years in my albums, but maybe losing the rest is a good thing. If I'm sick over everything that I lost, maybe I put WAY too much emphasis on my material things and not enough on my spiritual growth. God has knocked me on the head in the past to get my attention. Maybe this is another knock to help me to let go and let God.  I think that I will do just that.

Here's hoping that you can do the same.🙏

Peace,

Mare

New Items for Spring 2023 and Other News

Hello and happy almost Spring! It will be here in a few short days and now that we have leapt ahead an hour that's a very good sign. 

And then there was one..... It's official. Tom is off on another adventure with the NYC Sanitation Dept, so he is no longer an employee of Glory Glory Gifts. I wish him every success, tho I know he will still pinch hit for me if I need help.

I will be getting in new Holy Land products!! I have very much missed not having them available for purchase so I'm very excited about that. We do still have olive wood products available. You can check out our stores to see what we have, but basically it is some crucifixes, crosses, small anointing set, and a few rosary beads. I will let you know when they are available.

I'm having way, way too much fun doing videos for our products and updates. All of them are available for public viewing on our Facebook page, though I think more are on my personal page. Here's the link to the biz page in case you want to browse them. https://www.facebook.com/GloryGloryGifts/

We are still on Shop Where I Live, Staten Island, and will be increasing the size to 100 products available. ONLY the products on there are available to be picked up by shoppers, though our shipping is fast and more convenient. Here's the link to that store: https://statenisland.shopwhereilive.com/vendor/gloryglorygifts/

Of course, most of our products are on the ebay store. If you don't see something that you need contact me!! I am SURE that we can find what you are looking for!! mare@gloryglorygifts.com is my contact info or you can message me through FB chat. The link to the big store is to the left of this post (LOGO) or you can use this: https://www.ebay.com/str/gloryglorygifts. We have well over a thousand products to see, so use the search option in the store to see what we have if you are looking for something specific. 

$11.50 USD

We are deep into the Lenten season now, so I hope that you are using this time to grow deeper in your prayer life and in your relationship with God. We have wonderful items available to help you in your prayer life, like scapulars and prayer cards sold in bulk. We can't seem to keep the Holy Face of Jesus chaplets and prayer in stock which is just WONDERFUL!!! Another fan favorite is our Sacred Heart prayers and badges, which just makes my heart soar. Of course, we will provide you all appropriate prayers.

Some of our new items are Holy Face of Jesus Litany, Stations of the Cross chaplet, prayer pocket keepsake, St. Michael car statue, St. Patrick auto rosary, Divine Mercy Jesus Palm cross and prayer card, Crown of Thorns bracelet and I will be adding new pewter statues to our already large collection! 

Stop by and visit us and as always, don't forget to say your daily prayers!

Peace,

Mare

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The Chaplet of Divine Mercy, Said Daily at 3:00 P.M. on a Standard Rosary

 

CHAPLET OF THE DIVINE MERCY

Optional Opening Prayers:

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls,
and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world.
O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy,
envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.

(Repeat 3 times) O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Our Father, Hail Mary and the Apostle's Creed

For each of the five decades (On each “Our Father” bead of the rosary, pray)

Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

(On each of the 10 “Hail Mary” beads, pray)
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Concluding prayer (Repeat 3 times)
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Optional Closing Prayer
Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

Happy New Year to You! Our January 2022 Updates

Welcome to a new year! May it be a fabulous one for all of us!  We have just a few updates to report this month.

We raised a little over $64 with your donations, and our matching contribution, to Feeding America during our 3 weeks in December that we were open. For that we are very grateful and thank you for not only shopping with us, but also for supporting a very worthy cause. You are appreciated!!!

Unfortunately we have been impacted by the supply issues and the post office is adding insult to injury by increasing some of their rates. Because of that, we have had to increase our postal rates to cover the additional cost of shipping on some of our items. We are also being charged, sometimes double, for many of our items that are being shipped for us from our Attleboro, and Plainville, MA location. We will try to keep our prices as low as we possibly can but please remember that we do have to cover our own expenses. We are all volunteers here, but do have overhead expenses just like every other legit business.  It is still our mission to promote prayer and devotion to Jesus, that has never changed, but it does cost money to do that.

The supply issues continue to plague all of us, even those of us in the Catholic supply industry. We will do our very best to make sure that the items listed on the store are in stock and available for purchase. 

We want to thank our good friend and valued business partner, Lena Mor, for all of her years of expertise, friendship, and taste in choosing her holy land products. Lena was the first distributor of holy land products that we worked with back in 2008. Our entire inventory was her amazing olive wood, Armenian, crystal, jewelry, incense and oils, back when we were doing fairs and flea markets.  It has been an absolute pleasure to work with her through all of our years and we wish her a well earned retirement. She will be missed. (It is because of her I have come to just love the smell and feel of olive wood and AMBER!!)

New to the store this month are these amazing items! You can find them all by clicking on the link to the right of this post. 

Jacob's Ladder Olive Wood Rosary with Burlap Pouch

Divine Mercy, Miraculous Medal & St Benedict Door Hanger

Olive Wood Rosary and Keepsake Box

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Leather Scapular

St. Benedict Adjustable Bracelet in Black and Red

Have an amazing month and year ahead! May God bless you all and keep you safe.

Peace,

Mare

New for the Holidays 2021

 We have quite a few new things to talk about for this holiday season.

First, and foremost, We are now on the Staten Island Marketplace, as a gift shop!! We have free delivery, via Amazon, through 12/31/21. You can find not only us but many Staten Island businesses on there. Use one cart for multiple vendors and have them delivered to your door the same, or the next day!! That's very exciting for us to be included in this. It is sponsored by our local Staten Island Chamber of Commerce. You can find the link here: https://statenisland.shopwhereilive.com/sell/.

We have some new items this year and the return of fan favorites! We have a ton of great stocking stuffers, Christmas cards, Christmas prayer card blessings, Advent ring, Advent candles, ornaments, new mini nativities, statues, medals, sterling silver jewelry, Christmas bracelets, scapulars, Bibles, prayer books, Frankincense, car magnets, key chains, visors and the St. Andrew novena prayer beads and prayer, which starts November 30th, just to name a few. There is so much more!

Here are just some of the items already getting peoples' attention!

Only 2 left as of 11/18!!! Very popular item!

Start your shopping early because we will not always be able to restock items quickly, so get a move on!

If you don't see something you want, contact us! We have literally thousands of products available to us. Reach out and let us help you!

Shop and have it shipped to your door or delivered if you are on Staten Island from our mini store on the Marketplace https://statenisland.shopwhereilive.com/. Of course you can find everything available for purchase at the main store too. Shop at: https://www.ebay.com/str/gloryglorygifts.

Peace and joy to you and many blessings. See you soon.

Mare

The Mystical in Me, Jim, and You

During the crucifixion scene of The Passion of the Christ, Jim Caviezel received an interior locution. Of this locution he said,

"God spoke to me... they don't love me. There are very few."

Jim responded,

"Well, I'm going to love You and I'm going to tell You that I love you."

In 2019, Jim, along with his friend Fr. Calloway and a large group of pilgrims traveled to the holy land. After walking the Stations of the Cross, they arrived at the tomb of Jesus just after 6 A.M. The doors were closed, and Fr. Calloway was standing near them, when another fellow pilgrim took a photo of the doors. The doors looked ordinary to the eye, but  the photo has an extraordinary event occurring, as there is a figure visible in them that was not present. It's a shrouded man.

In essence you have, at a minimum, two people that God directly communicated with. It happens and it seems to be happening more and more these days. It's like an incredible veil has been lifted and God is sending signs and wonders to more of those that are listening to Him.

Here is the tomb photo, which according to the youtube channel that published it, Mystic.com, it is enhanced so that you can see it:

Jim has said that he feels a deep spiritual connection to God. I get that. I feel the same connection and pretty much have for a few decades now.

My own most deep spiritual experience was when I was "told" to take a photo of the Host in the adoration chapel, Christmas day, 2011. Of course when the photos were downloaded onto the computer, I found it hard to breathe. Just as with the above photo, the Host looked ordinary to my eyes. The photo was beyond extraordinary. It's mystical, and a miracle and I was and still am awed that God shared Himself with me.I cannot say this loud enough or often enough, JESUS CHRIST IS PRESENT IN THE EUCHARIST..... Approach Him in grace and with reverence. I beg of you.

Glory Glory Gifts was created because of an interior locution. While in the adoration chapel, back in April 2008, I was told to, 

"Bring prayer to those that no longer come to my Father's house." 

I actually looked around to see where it came from and He repeated it because I was like, um... what? It was a direct commandment to me. 

That's why I'm always harping on you all to pray. Pray always. Thank God for everything that you have. Pray for everyone even your enemies. PRAY. PRAY. AND PRAY.

Also, in case you missed it before, JESUS CHRIST IS PRESENT IN THE EUCHARIST.

Another important, but short, locution that I received, while sitting in my living room, was:

"Do not sleep with your rosary in your hand, lest you drop them on the floor..." 

You should not sleep with any blessed item in your hand because of this. If you feel the need to sleep with a rosary, wrap it around your wrist so that it doesn't fall off. Put smaller blessed items in your pocket or next to your bed. Hang larger ones above your bed. I often sleep with a rosary around my wrist, particularly when I have felt attacked. That, and prayer, have helped me sleep many a night.

Who is attacking me you ask? Satan, that's who. The closer that you connect with God, the more that jerk is going to try and break up your relationship and break you down. On a daily basis, I deal with many health issues. Add to that machines breaking down for no reason, products disappearing and reappearing later,lost mail, irate customers, theft, scammers, spammers, trolls, and throw in a few stalkers for good measure. I'm having a major issue with our Word of God Bible Study page that FB hasn't been able to fix in a full two months now. I can't schedule posts. Now who do you think throws all those wrenches into our daily job of promoting prayer and spreading the Gospels? It's the darkness trying to seep into my life. The good news is, though, that God and light keeps all the darkness from taking over. It will try, but it will not win.

What's the point of this post? God speaks to those that listen. God speaks to those that speak to Him.God could be trying to get your attention right now. Are you open to Him? YOU will grow closer to him with every prayer that you utter. YOU grow closer to Him with every word in the Bible that you read. YOU grow closer to Him with every work of mercy that you do for someone. YOU grow closer to Him with every act of love that you give or show. Whatever you do for the least of your brethren, you do FOR Him. He KNOWS all about you. You need to know all about Him.

If you truly open up your heart to God you will hear Him. WE ALL have the power to be as close to God as is humanly possible. We all have a bit of mysticism in us when it comes to Him. We are all open to receive His messages and signs. You just have to look for them, and no, I'm not talking about through the new age crapola. I'm talking serious dialogue with God the Almighty, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. 

The mystical me wants to surrender totally and completely to God.

LOVE GOD, always. Say I love you God, every day. Be like Jim.

Pray and Listen, that is my message. By the grace and glory of God, you too will hear Him when he calls.

Mare 

Business News for 2019

We just wanted to address a few things impacting Glory Glory Gifts and our customers for 2019.

**First, the US Postal Service is increasing their rates this year, effective on January 27, 2019.

• USPS First Class packages are increasing an average of 11.9%*
  
  • Note that USPS First Class Package Service pricing will change from a flat rate per ounce to zone-based pricing per ounce
• USPS Priority Mail increases an average of 5.9%*.
• Changes in weight distribution of packages will affect pricing on USPS packages starting in June
• 
  

Don't shoot the messenger! We will be adjusting the flat rate that is charged at our eBay Store shipments for customers to pay. We do not provide free shipping on most of these low cost items and this is the reason why ~

Using our 4 oz. holy water bottles as an example ~ many customers buy multiples of the item. Our price is $1.80 each and we  have a flat shipping fee of $2.66 (soon to be raised), regardless if you buy 1 or 10. Our competitors have the same exact item and they charge, on average, $5.79 to $8.75 for 1 or 2 bottles max. Those prices are first off, ridiculous and secondly people looking for multiples of the same item are looking to save money and not be fleeced. Our items are no less in quality then the others. Our pricing is to benefit our customers. That's all.

What we charge for shipping is the exact cost to do so. The shipping cost can be found on the address label.

We also offer much lower pricing for bulk sale items. If you are interested contact us! We already provide churches, prayer groups and other ministries with our products.

**We will not be making any adjustments to the website postal charges. Those charges are already specific to each item's weight and postage will be automatically calculated based on the delivery address.

**ALL of the website purchases will be shipped from one of our other locations and not from our main office.  Holy land products will continue to be shipped Monday-Saturday. All other items will be shipped Monday-Friday. **Most of the items on the eBay store will continue to be shipped from here at our main office.

**We will continue to have less and less holy land products available for purchase. As they are discontinued we will not be replacing them.

**We WILL BE continuing to increase our Sterling Silver collections on the website. We are proud to be a new retailer of these beautiful items that are made in New England by silversmiths and we look forward to working with them for years to come.

**REMINDER ~ if you are looking for specific products that you do not see on either the eBay store or the website contact us!! We literally have thousands of items available to us with the click of a mouse. We find the perfect item for people all the time and all they  had to do was ask.

Also, we can get you quality, beautiful, products at close to wholesale prices for bulk gift giving, favors, etc. Just contact us if you are interested.

We thank you for being members of our Glory Glory Gifts family and look forward to a year full of changes and growth.

God bless,

Mare

Returning to Jesus, Through Mary

I don't know why people find that concept to be so confusing or even deny that it is even possible. Many people return to Jesus, or find Him, through His Mother.  Today, I couldn't imagine my life without Him. He is the reason why I get up each day and is the absolute center of my life. It hasn't always been this way. It has been a long and windy road for me but it was definitely His Mother that put me on the path to Him and I am most grateful to her for doing so.

Many years ago, going back to the mid-90's in fact, I was struggling with and juggling so many things. My Dad had died in '89 and my Mom had gotten sick shortly after that. Tom was young and we were running to evening and weekend things like basketball and Boy Scouts. I had a full-time, stressful, job was going to school at night, chauffeuring  him around, was a Scout leader and had a significant other. On top of that, I was caring for my gravely ill Mom. The same year that she was sick my best friend also became gravely ill. They passed away within months of each other, in 1994.

Way back then I was not a practicing Christian, let alone Catholic, but I did make it to church every Sunday. I was also heavily into spiritual stuff like psychic readings, tarot, crystals, healing and read everything I could get my hands on from people like Sylvia Brown and John Edward. I also dabbled with the Ouija when I was younger (BIG, BIG mistake).  I read the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Gnostic Gospels, the Infancy Gospels and all of the texts from the Nag Hammadi scrolls. I was definitely heading into more of a Gnostic bent than anything else. That is, until my Mom was in her last days with us.

I remember hospice telling us what to look for. People that are dying seem to be walking that fine line between our reality and the next. By the time my Mom was at that point I had already had the experience with two other close relatives but nothing prepared me for what happened with her. Quite a lot of things happened in the house when she was in her final week, but I will only acknowledge one of them that had a direct influence on my spiritual life. I have to first say that when people are dying, (those that are NOT medicated but going through the natural process), they can see and talk to us, but they also kind of disconnect from us and can see and hear things that we can't. They see those that have passed, they can see angels and other entities and they can hear and converse with them as well. Sometimes they are cognizant of both realities, other times they are in one or the other. I know this all sounds strange, but ask any hospice worker and they will tell you some amazing tales of their own. I saw it with my own eyes, as did anyone else that was in the room with her. I will call the periods of when she was not in our reality as "in the zone."

On that one occasion, I walked into the room, she was in the zone. She had a small, clear crystal, one-decade rosary on her bureau top that I had actually bought for her for Christmas one year. I hadn't picked one up in years, but I did pick up that one and started to pray on it. When I was done, I put it back on the bureau and sat with her, waiting for her to come back. When she did, she took my hand and said, "They said you are doing good with that." I asked, with what? She nodded toward the rosary beads and said, "with them." Well, knock my socks off, why don't you, Mom? She went on to tell me that "they" were praying with me. She was fully aware of them doing just that.

After she passed, I took the rosary. I started to pray on it once in a while. I learned how to say it correctly, reciting the mysteries of Jesus and contemplating them while the beads moved through my hands and the prayers through my heart. In 1998 I started going to the Monday night Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal novena at my church. I wasn't actually wearing one at the time but it was a beautiful service with prayers said to Mary, imploring her to protect us and lead us to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. During the novena, there was a short sermon by the priest and then a benediction, where songs were sung in Latin and the Eucharist was exposed for adoration. It is a beautiful service and I soon found that prayers asked for during the novena were being answered. My reciting of the rosary grew from one decade a day to all five. I can tell you, you cannot say a rosary without growing closer to Jesus as you meditate on so many of his experiences ~ the birth, the agony in the garden, the carrying of the cross, the crucifixion. THIS is how Mary brings people to Jesus through her.  By 1997, I was not only going to Mass on Sunday, I was listening to the readings and hearing them, I was singing the hymns, I was listening to the homily given by the priest, and I was not only saying the prayers but understanding the meanings. With that, something wonderful happened. The Mass became a time of community and joy and a celebration of Christ with us, instead of a place I had to be on Sundays because that is the way it always was with my family. I am going to make a suggestion here. Put the book down and LISTEN during the readings and the homily. Flipping pages and reading along is distracting.  Just listen.

Instead of just having a Bible in the house, I cracked it open and read it from cover to cover. I went to Bible study groups, read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, started to go to the perpetual adoration chapel at a local church and eventually at my own church when it was created. By leaps and bounds, by prayer and contemplation, by opening myself up to my faith and closing myself off to many of the temptations of the world I found Christ Jesus waiting for me.

Now, my days are filled with prayer and my love of the Lord. I say prayers, I share them, I write them and I teach them. In the world's eyes I am not wealthy but in my eyes I am rich and enriched beyond belief.  I am so blessed that I picked up a small rosary so many years ago and answered Mary's call to return to her Son. It has been an incredible ride and an amazing journey. Thank you Mother Mary for loving me that much.

Have a beautiful week, despite the weather.

Peace,
Mare

Daily Prayer

"Grace" by Eric Enstrom

Statistics show that Christian women pray daily more often then men at a difference of 61% to 51%. That is taking 53 countries into consideration. On average, Jewish men of Israel pray more than women at 34% vs 20%. In the U.S. and other countries, Jewish men and women daily prayer schedules are about the same at 71% and 72%. In the vast majority of countries surveyed, 34 out of 40, Muslim men and women prayed about the same amount of time, however, the men are more likely to attend weekly or daily service.

On average, the Jewish people pray 3 times a day. Shacharit (Morning service) varies by day:
Monday and Thursday mornings around 45 minutes
Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday around 30 minutes
Minchah (Afternoon service) about 15 minutes
Ma'ariv (Evening service) about 20 minutes 

Muslims pray 5 times a day for about 7 minutes each time, but prepare for each appointed time as well.

Catholics are called to pray several times throughout a day.  Some of the prayers they may say are morning Lauds, prayer before and after meals, The Rosary and Chaplet of the Divine Mercy at 3:00 P.M. daily, Act of Contrition and evening prayer. If one was to say all of these prayers the average amount of time spent in prayer, daily, would be a little over an hour. The average amount of time spent in prayer, for the majority of people that associate themselves as Catholics, is 5 minutes a day. That's just heartbreaking.

55% of Americans say they pray every day. 21% said they pray weekly or monthly. 23% said they do not pray at all or rarely do. People over 65 are more likely to pray than those under 30 with a whopping difference of 65% to 41%.

Fascinating isn't it? Statistics also show that people are more likely to pray in a crisis, then when things are going smoothly. 

As Lent is fast approaching for the Christians around the world, I think it is time for all of us to take an inventory of our daily prayer life. The world is in a sad state of affairs and, quite frankly, I am really sick from the hatred. I am sure that you are too. Prayer brings an inner peace and a centering to people, or at least I find it does with me. If you think that you do not have time in your daily life to pray, think again. I used to pray to and from work. You can do it while exercising (take your earbuds out or get an app with the rosary.) You can do it while doing your dishes or cleaning up after the kids. You can pray standing in line at the supermarket, riding in a cab, bus, subway, during your lunch break. Be creative in finding ways you can incorporate it into your own life. 

At 3:00 P.M. Every day, stop and take 3 seconds to close your eyes and say, "Jesus, I trust in you." (I mean that 3 seconds in the literal sense). I might add that if radical groups are spending more time in prayer than you are, you really may want to reconnect with God and increase your time spent with Him every day. You cannot fight evil intent without the presence of God in your life.

We have some beautiful Catholic and Christian prayers on our Prayer Page if you need some assistance in getting started and learning the prayers. The link is:  https://gloryglorygifts.com/the-prayer-page

Have a beautiful week.

Peace,
Mare

**Statistics are from various Pew Research Center articles.

New for the Christmas Season, 2015

I cannot believe it has been a month since I updated this blog. Shame on me! It has been an insanely busy month here at GloryGloryGifts.com. Holiday shoppers are visiting us in droves, which is a beautiful thing. That means that people do still celebrate Jesus, and his birth, by giving gifts of faith. Today we sold out of our floral Advent wreaths which just tickles me pink!! I love, love, love that people are still preparing for his birth with the Advent season. Beautiful!

Okay, so are you ready for some of the new additions to the website over the last few weeks? Of course, we think they are all just gorgeous. Here are just some of the items.

We have 7 new ornaments this year. We are sharing only 3 of them here (in the interest of space) so you can get an idea. Just visit http://www.gloryglorygifts.com/ornaments.html to see them all. Scroll down the page.

One of 4 depictions in a gift set. Packaged together at $12.00 USD

Hand-painted wood. Set includes 6 of the same ornament.. $21.00 USD

Laser-etched wood with ribbon top. Set of 6 includes 3 of this design and 3 of another. Individually boxed. $12.00 USD

Our new rosary bracelets are 5-strand and make a nice gift for Christmas or anytime! Clear and Sapphire colored are crystal; the pink is faux pearl. All are $9.00 a piece and come boxed. The link for them is http://www.gloryglorygifts.com/rosary---prayer-bracelets.html. Here is a sneak peek at the clear crystal!

For the home, we have the Millenium, red-lined, KJV Bible and we now also have the praying hands Bible holder. Purchase them together or separately. They make an impressive gift for Christmas! The link is: http://www.gloryglorygifts.com/olive-wood-products---statues--wall-hangings--st.-joseph-home-kit.html. (wow that is a long link). We also have an olive wood keepsake box, perfect for a rosary or to give as a gift. That can be found on the same page.

We also have new Sterling silver and Gold-filled medals for the Sacred Heart, Jesus, Miraculous Medal, St. Jude and St. Christopher. They come in both 1 3/4" and 5/8" sizes. Here is a sneak of the Sacred Heart large medal. Get on over to http://www.gloryglorygifts.com/necklaces---charms--sterling-crosses--swarovski-.html and get one for yourself or a loved one! They come on an 18" chain and are boxed. Details are on the page.

Browse the website! We have great stocking stuffers and quality products that you can afford. Keep Christ in Christmas this year and give a gift from the Holy Land. http://www.GloryGloryGifts.com.

God bless and have a wonderful weekend.

Peace,
Mare

New Pocket Rosaries for Autumn 2014

We have some new additions to our pocket rosary/chaplet family. They are all priced just right and perfect to carry with you at any time. They will be added to the website shortly but in the meantime you can find them on ebay. You can find our items at: http://www.ebay.com/usr/gloryglorygifts?_trksid=p2047675.l2559.

While you are there make sure to check out some of our other items, such as our cross ornaments and Hip Hop jewelry. We have a few items on there that you can bid on, which starts at a wholesale price so scoot on over there! We also have a teeny tiny nativity ornament that is not on the website, which has limited supplies as well.

Here are photos of our new items to look for on there and you just cannot beat the prices. OH! We also have the Keep Christ in Christmas magnets both on there and the website. Display it proudly and pass the word!

I look forward to seeing you on the website or ebay!

Peace,
Mare

Just $4.00! Our competitors on there are charging over $7.50 for this!

Divine Mercy Ring, Just $2.25

Just $5.00 and makes a great stocking stuffer!

Shout it out and wear it proud!!

Ponder

To ponder what is peace of mind
A concept lost on some
The ebb and flow when thoughts unwind
A stress moratorium

A concept lost on some
too jaded by materialistic goals
A stress moratorium
still fleeting to these driven souls

Too jaded by materialistic goals
Propelled by typhoons, not a breeze
Still fleeting to these driven souls
A life of peace, a mind at ease

Propelled by typhoons, not a breeze
The drive to succeed outweighs the cost
A life of peace, a mind at ease
Succumbing to greed while Eden's lost

The drive to succeed outweighs the cost
Swimming with the sharks in kind
Succumbing to greed while Eden's lost
To ponder what is peace of mind

A pantoum by Marianne E. Hare, copyright 2003
(published - though I'm too lazy to get up and look for the book the poem was printed in)
THE PLATE DEPICTED IS NOT FOR SALE!