REJOICE! GOD LOVES US EVEN WHEN OTHERS CAN'T...OR...WON'T!

Isaiah 49:15-16:

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast

and have no compassion on the child she has born?

Though she may forget,

I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.

A MOTHER'S PRAYER

My husband and I, and even a good family friend, are worried about my older son. He has been through a great deal this past year and a half.

His world...as he knew it...was blown apart...as if by a dirty bomb.

The scales have been ripped from his eyes, and two women, whom he had adored, have shown him a different...darker...more hurtful...side of their personalities...the side, I had managed to protect him from...for much of his meager twenty-three years.

He has lost all respect for these elders, and he is questioning...everything...at the moment...his heritage...his genealogy...and yes, even...or more precisely...especially...God.

It breaks my heart.

This is a young man to whom I would go to discuss philosophy and faith...a young man who talked about the priesthood...went on vocation retreats...and even pilgrimage to Medjugorje for discernment.

That is no more.

The harshness that can sometimes be found in extended familial relationships...is weighing him down at twenty-three.

Each day, I place him...as I place my entire family...in God's Hands.

I pray, that God's justice and righteousness will cut through the insanity of the situation that is wearing my son down, and show him that God IS real...IS listening...and...IS able...to soften even the most hardened of hearts.

And, even as I pray for solace for my son, still I say:

"Thy will...NOT my will...be done!"

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

As a little girl in Catholic School (Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Bayside, Queens...YEA OLBS!) I won a raffle. The raffle tickets were 10 cents each (oops is my age showing?). The prize was an 18 inch cream colored plastic statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary donated by one of the other children's dad.

It became my prized possession!

Every year, after I won that statue, I would set up a May Altar in my bedroom with fresh lilacs from the bush in the backyard of the garden apartment we lived in at the time. I prayed to Mary every single day...still do.

The Blessed Mother is perfect! She is the shining example of what women and especially mothers should be. Her "yes" to God saved us all!

The Blessed Virgin Mary is Mother of us all!

For those of us, whose mothers can't or won't be present to us at times or always, due to death, mental illness, drug abuse, family drama, or other circumstances beyond their or our control, I assure you The Blessed Mother is present for you ALWAYS!

And, what better mother could you ask for?

Several years ago, the Knights of Columbus in our parish erected a beautiful grotto for the Blessed Mother. I love this statue even more than my 18 inch prize.

This Blessed Mother is life size. I can stand before her and pray and imagine myself talking face to face with my holy mother. It is incredible.

As I drive by the statue each morning, I say this quick prayer: "Blessed Mother, please intercede for me this day, with your beloved Son."

If you cannot be with your biological mother today, for whatever reason, and this day is difficult for you because of that...Pray To The Blessed Mother.

Tell Mary, your cares, your woes, your concerns, your goals, whatever it is that is on your heart.

She will listen.

You will find peace.

And, best of all she has an "IN" with our beloved Lord, Jesus Christ!

What more could you ask for in a mother??

Do it, I guarantee you'll feel better about yourself and your world!

God Bless You!