Catholics

squidwitch42

Have a Blessed Day All!

Paula, 3.....2.....1! on Wednesday Thank you for archiving the beautiful verse on the card. I plan on printing it and putting it where I can see it at work.

Sheila,

Miss you, and praying you are doing alright.

Special Prayers for our Sister Jeannine. I pray you are being attended to by Raphael, and that you are surrounded by a host of Angels. God Bless You, we miss you here.

lovemyfamilysomuch

Prayers--so happy about the job!!  That is wonderful news!  Sending you love and support as you start the chemo process.  You know, sister, we will be with you every step of the way! Apple, the pic was great--nothing better than family!  Squid--great that you are getting the port out!  God bless all my bc sisters--you have been like a port in the storm for me and I appreciate you all so much! xo

DiamondGirl

Good morning,

We have Tori starting Round #4 of her chemo today and she needs our prayers and positive thoughts.  Her DH is going out of town for business and I will giving her check up calls.

Estepp

Wonderful stories you have all shared.....

Tori... Bless you... you can do this....

lovemyfamilysomuch

The Blessed Mother is always here to offer us a mother’s healing touch, a loving caress that we yearn for so deeply when we are ill or hurting.

theresap60

Ellie --- dare I ask?  How did the date go on Sunday? :-)  And you're so right about our Blessed Mother!

Tori -- good luck with chemo and let us know how we can help.  Always praying!

Paula -- do you have anyone who could help you organize and make a big Christmas dinner?  It is a lot of work.  Becky and I teamed up, while one made something, the other washed dishes, and we used paper and plastic.  Plus our family members brought a dish or beverage.

Prayersareanswered -- hooray!!!!!  Thank you St. Jude!  Are you getting chemo from Dr. Denduluri?  If so, my niece is "Laura".  She brought spicy collard greens and a really yummy corn casserole for our dinner.

Sheila -- are you there?  I'm thinking about you.

Squid -- I'm ready for Friday night prayers already! :-)

theresap60

November 29, 2010
Monday of the First Week of Advent

Today's Readings: Is 4:2-6; Mt 8:5-11

For over all, the LORD's glory will be shelter and protection:
shade from the parching heat of day,
refuge and cover from storm and rain. Is 4:6

The hope expressed is that each one may be made holy by God and preserved irreproachable in his entire person-"spirit, soul and body"-for the final coming of the Lord Jesus; the guarantee that this can happen is offered by the faithfulness of God himself, who will not fail to bring to completion the work he has begun in believers.

Homily in Celebration of the First Vespers of the
First Sunday of Advent
November 26, 2005

___________________________

It's funny how I came away with something different than Pope Benedict for that scripture reading. To me, the words from Isaiah bring me comfort... God protects me, shelters me.  It doesn't say that the heat and rain and storm will stop, but that God will give me the protection and shelter I need from it.  It's like driving my car in a bad rain storm... I'm still having to experience the storm around me, but I'm protected in my shelter and forging ahead as best I can.  God is good.

Peace and all good, sisters.

lovemyfamilysomuch

Thanks for asking Tori--date went well, a walk along the river and some pizza--slow and steady. . .

I am also looking forward to friday night prayers with my sisters xo

squidwitch42

Awww, I was just thinking the same thing Theresa! I have missed the last two, and yes, I too am ready. Would you, and anyone else here, like to look at these next prayer sessions as Advent weeks (can we do this on a Friday?) or bring to our prayers some significance in regards to the meaning of Christmas, posting stories of the season? I would love this, and will be thinking on it. I'd love everyone's input. I also need to sort out why I cannot get into chat, Paula? hhhheeeeelllllpppppp...

Paula,

I am going to call you our den mother someone used that term in another thread, and so you will wear the crown as you look after our Dear Tori. This makes me very happy to know Tori will have a Sister to check in on her. Again, thank you for walking the walk. We all do here, and so I want it to be known I see how you ALL do this.

Nice to see you Laura and Ellie, true true. I practiced my Hail Mary earlier, and I don't hesitate too much anymore. I actually did pray 1/2 a Rosary thanks to Theresa's wonderful guide. I can't remember where I got stopped up, but now that Theresa is back in town for questions....LOL.

Prayers,

I pray pray that you will have minimal side effects as you go through your chemo. It is getting further from me now, and my energy is better. I was humbled by the experience, and more so because I know I had a lot more resources than our Sisters and Brothers that have gone before us, even a decade ago. So I am humbled at their warrior spirits, and I am never less than amazed at the resiliency of the human spirit, and love as a motivator. Be it family, children, desire to do more good works. You will get through this, and you will prosper. We will hold you up.

and Sheila, I wish you were here.

Dear God, please take care of our Sister Jeannine, and all those who are struggling. Please give her a sign of your love and presence. Please look in on Sheila and make sure she is alright.

theresap60

Aww - that sounds really nice Ellie.... I hope you have more in your future! xxoo

JanetinVirginia

Ellie - he sounds like the RIGHT kind of guy!!!

Prayersanswered - so happy that your husband got the job!  I know that's one big worry off your shoulders!

Theresa - I should know this - but will St. Matthew be the new testament readings all during this advent?  I think it's different each year.  St. Luke's is my favorite for Christmas.    And I like your interpretation better than the Pope's!

Michelle - feast of St. Mary of Guadelupe is coming up!    I was just reading about it.  It's hard to believe that her image first appeared on the peasant's coat in 1531 on the feast of the Immaculate Conception.  Feast of Immaculate Conception is Dec 8 and our parish has a Mary/Guadelupe mass on the 10th that I want to go to (so I'm not sure of the official feast day).  I keep hoping that sometime during my lifetime that Mary will appear again somewhere in the world. 

God bless all of us and shelter us from the storms in our lives.  Amen.

theresap60

Ask away Traci!  If I don't know the answer, I really enjoy doing the research!

Now, I have to force myself out of my comfy chair and go bicycle some of this weight off... it doesn't help having all these holiday goodies still laying around the kitchen and dining room.

theresap60

Just saw your question Janet.  I had to look it up too.  Apparently, we'll be getting gospel readings from Matthew and Luke, but mostly Matthew:

http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/inspiration_12dec2010.htm

LOL - thanks re: my interpretation.  Maybe the pope hasn't driven in a bad storm lately! ;-)

Ok, *now* I'm going to the bike!

mmm5

Hi ALL

Janet thanks for sharing about the feast, I really want to celebrate that day so please remind us and I will try to post some prayers as well.

I am offering my prayers for Tori tonight, it is so hard to go through treatment and during the holidays too. Tori May our Blessed Mother watch over you tonight and keep you safe and peaceful and bring great light and love to your healing. 

Estepp

MMM, Michelle... how is the organization going with you and your friend?

lovemyfamilysomuch

You don't need to be a hero to serve our Lord well.  You just have to approach Him with a loving, humble and trusting heart. 

St Therese of the Child Jesus

Erin23

i don't mean to be the odd one out but i just found this board. it is so nice to read about women who are so confident in their beleifs and religion. i started chemo in january 2010 when i was 16. i used to always ask why...sometimes i still do. i go to church on sundays by myself but alot of my friends dont understand how important it is to me. not to sound cliche but i like to think that God made me sick for a reason.  i cant wait to find out what that reason is.
erin.

thrmine

Hi all,

Nice to find this thread.   I have been reading St. Louis deMonfort's litanies to Our Lady daily since my dx. in May.  I use them to offer up the sufferings of the day on behalf of all those who are praying for and supporting my and my family.   Around our house we call this list of intentions "the Cause" when time doesn't permit us to list all the prayer requests we have. 

Offering up this days trails for those here. 

God Bless all,

Alice in Ohio, 5 days out from 7mo of chemo yea!

apple

(I am not in that pic btw)... the irony of no leftover turkey is bothering me.  Jesus would have let it go.

squidwitch42

Erin23 and thrmine,

Welcome welcome!!

Erin,

You don't sound cliche to me You are honoring your truth and following your heart. In my quiet times, I know clearly my mission here. I remember my thoughts and beliefs about God when I was your age like it was yesterday. They came from a deep place of "knowing." I too understand what you said about being sick for a reason. Sickness is never a punishment, or God leaving us. (I don't think for one minute you feel that way,) it is a time for us to draw closer to God, in a way that we may not have if we were sailing through life. These are my humble feelings, but I applaud you for following your truth. You are going through something that I would imagine is very difficult for your friends to relate to.  and I started chemo at the same time last year...do you feel like you are coming out to the other side?

thrmine,

Who are all of those wonderful children there? I love calling your list of intentions "The Cause." I hope you both stay and pray with us on our journeys.

traci

JanetinVirginia

Erin - so glad you found us.  I'm sure God has some special angels around you.  I can relate to how your friends may not understand what you're going through and the peace found in God.  I had thyroid cancer at about your age (19) and it really changed my outlook and what's important in life - makes you grow up pretty fast and become wise beyond your years.   It also instilled a compassion for others and many things that are hard to explain. (I'm in my late 50s now).  At your age I wish all you had to worry about were boys and the next high school football game!  So, despite the cancer, don't forget to let yourself "be" a teenager.

Alice - I'm glad you found us too!  Congrats on finishing up chemo.  That's a big milestone!  We try to "meet" here at 10pm on Fridays for prayers together - would love to hear one of the litanies!

Stop in often sisters - this thread is truly a shelter in the storm!  Dear Lord,  bless our new sisters, protect us during treatments and against recurrences, and send the world a breakthrough to conquer cancer. Amen.  

squidwitch42

((((Apple))))

JanetinVirginia

Mary - You're not missing much.  The leftovers were nice for a day or so but I'm  sick of them now:) Just froze the last remnants the other night.

Traci - how's the doggie?

squidwitch42

Janet,

Thanks so much for asking. More troubles today. I just called the Vet..we are trying to get a hold of the distributor for Iams to see what we can do. I told the Vet tech I would sign a waiver to get this food before the food trials. I feel so helpless. I am praying to God, St. Francis and to my mom to please give me info on what to do. I know I received a Divine Message 3 years ago, when 4 times in one day, people came up to me and told me their dog had terrible allergies. That's how I knew to test her for allergies, and up until that point, several Vets had not suggested this to me. I need to hear from God now.

I'll let you all know, and thanks so much for caring.

Traci

mmm5

Welcome Alice and ERIN, Erin you are so young I can not believe what you must be facing. Please feel safe here to talk with us, many of us our Mother's and all of us have big hearts so we would love to help you in any way. I pray for you and your journey today, you are very BRAVE!

Alice I love the idea of the CAUSE

 Laura thanks for asking you must be an angel with a lot of intuition as I was debating coming on here to tell you about the big event and asking for prayers as I don't want to take away from other more serious intentions.

Anyway Ladies the BIG EVENT is in 2 days. Mother's Grace will make it's formal debut at 9am at Silverleaf Country Club. We invited 110 ladies and 95 have accepted and we feel blessed. Our speaker is flying in from New Orleans to speak about her spiritual journey after Katrina and what she went through and how she overcame in faith and now what she is doing on behalf of her city. You can read about her when you google ST Pauls Homecoming. 

Anyway I need you ladies praying for me that day, that I speak well, that I have God's grace and I follow what he wants me to do and say and that I can touch lives in a very gracious way.I hope you will think of me that morning at 10am Mountain time as I take the podium to discuss Mother's Grace Foundation. 

I will look for our ultimate Mother to shine her light on me that day and give me the words to speak.

I AM SO NERVOUS 

apple

aw Erin... you are sooo young.  I'm sorry you have to deal with cancer in high school... that's totally not fair.  May you sail through your treatments, and find a healthy life beyond with that hair on your pillow a distant memory. 

After a while I got used to being bald and just wore baseball caps.  They were cute and not itchy.  Everyone knew i was bald underneath, but i didn't care after a while.

prayers for you.

apple

good luck mmm5 up at the podium.  I hate public speaking.  Give me a piano and I'm ok, but I cannot open my mouth without having an almost heart attack.  Peace be with you.

theresap60

Two new sisters!! Welcome!!  Erin & Alice!

I have a friend (in NJ) who has 4 beautiful daughters and the oldest had to deal with thyroid cancer, too, as a teenager.  Now she's going to Drexel to become a pediatrician!  Drexel/Hahnemann is where I had my surgery and radiation and they're so wonderful.  Makes me wonder if she didn't get cancer, would she be studying to be a doctor?  It took me a long time to figure out that our hardships have some beautiful blessings.  I'm a firm believer in it.

Alice - That's a beautiful concept ... offer up for The Cause.  Excellent.

Michelle - Yes, I will be praying for you... 2 days?  Thursday morning?  Just look out at your audience and pretend that they're all your best friends... I know they'll love what you have to say.

Traci - my brain is mush, what is your pooch allergic to?  Delilah, right?  And what does Iams have that no one else has?  We have an organic/health food store in town and they sell all kinds of healthy doggie food.  I can look if you send me what you're looking for.  The woman who owns the store used to raise shelties and show them, so I'm sure she'd have some good advice.  You can PM me if it's lengthy.

Ellie - that's a nice St. Therese quote.  She's my patron saint and I need to learn more about her. My father was a convert and loved The Little Flower, so that's how I got my name.  They were going to name me Cheryl, but Dad had a change of heart at the last minute. :-)

Mary - no turkey for us either.  We had the turkey dinner in Washington and ham for our family gathering here.  Oh well.

My bones are ACHING today!  I wonder if it has to do with the rain and cold front coming through.

One of my co-workers was laid off yesterday - her name is Ellen - please keep her in your prayers.  It came out of the blue, and her wedding day is this Saturday!  She has a little boy in Kindergarten.  One of her good friends told me today that she has 3 good prospects for jobs (she's an accountant), so I pray she lands a BETTER job, even.  Because we're a secure facility, she had to be escorted out - so cold - and she gave me a big hug before she left and told me to stay healthy.  Just a sweet person.  Breaks my heart.

theresap60

November 30, 2010
Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle
Readings: Rom 10:9-18; Mt 4:18-22

[Jesus] said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you
fishers of men."  Mt 4:19

What does the Lord want of me? Of course, this is always a great adventure, but life can be successful only if we have the courage to be adventurous, trusting that the Lord will never leave me alone, that the Lord will go with me and help me.
Meeting with Youth in Rome Before the
Twenty-first World Youth Day
April 6, 2006

____________________________________________

Happy St. Andrew Day!  My son is named Andrew... called him Andy but when he got to HS, he wanted to be called Andrew... we still slip in an Andy now and then. :-)  As Pope B asks "What does the Lord want of me?"  Very appropriate reading and mediation relating to our discussions today and in the past.  God's way is never boring.  What really grabbed me was "life can be successful only if we have the courage to be adventurous".  I've been contemplating my "calling" to the little church in Colonial Beach, St. Elizabeth (an SFO), and Our Lady of Guadelupe it all just seems like a big YES but I'm still mustering up the courage to be adventurous and walking outside of my comfort zone.  I'm accustomed to being a walking zombie -- wake up, get dressed, drive to work, work, drive home, eat dinner, type at my sisters, talk with family, exercise, go to bed.  God doesn't want me to be tepid and afraid.  I'm such a coward, though!!  St. Andrew was courageous.  He led his brother, our first pope, Peter, to Christ!  St. Andrew, take me by the hand, help me to shed my zombie robe and lead me to Christ too!

Peace and all good, my sisters.

JanetinVirginia

Theresa - I can so relate to getting stuck in a routine and how the heck to get out of it.  BC is a life-changing event & I've been praying for a new direction.  So far I'm coming up empty.  I guess I should be more patient - has only been two months since surgery and just getting back to 'normal.'  But now the holiday season is taking on its own momentum and is distracting to focus on a new purpose.  So I'm hoping the new year will bring some time for introspection & inspiration.

Michelle - you will do great - all you need is passion to relate to your audience & it's obvious you have that for your new initiative.  Very exciting!