hope – Page 109 – hugsnblessings

the Whole Wide World!

Published on September 26, 2015September 26, 2015 by Dawn Marie8 Comments

I’ve known about the World Meeting of Families for months. I’ve prepared to go for the past couple of weeks. But it wasn’t until today that it hit me…the Whole Wide World had been invited!!

Not just our bus of pilgrims, not just our diocese, not just Pennsylvanian’s but they really meant…the Whole Wide World was invited!

AND THEY CAME!

Not just me, not just our bus, not just the faithful in Pennsylvania but literally tens of thousands of others from…the Whole Wide World! (And they are predicting the city of Philadelphia will have approximately 1.5 million people on its streets beginning tomorrow.)

This great epiphany came as I stood amongst a sea of other Catholics during the final Mass this morning for the World Meeting of Families held in the Grand Hall of the Philadelphia Convention Center. Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, presided; as well as, being joined on the altar by a plethara of other fellow Bishops and priests. It was magical and breathtaking and you could feel the commitment of faith from those around you!

Then at the moment Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia said,

“At the Savior’s command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say…”

It hit me! That’s when I looked to my left to grab the hand of a Vietnamese woman and then to my right to have my hand held firmly by a Mexican man. Here I was in the middle of two different Countries and the three of us were reciting Our Father’s Prayer, as a part of…the Whole Wide World.

The tears that fell from that holy moment only helped to brighten my view now on all the others who were in the room. A cuban couple in front of me. Koreans behind & to the left. Nigerians to my far right. And fellow Americans directly behind. I believe we all felt this immense connection of being a part of something much bigger than us all. We were family, familia, One Catholic and Apolstolic faith! We were but a small part of a faith that is entrenched in…the Whole Wide World.

How fitting it was that this clarity came under the recitation of Our Father’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer the entire Church says every single day at every Mass and it is part of the Communion Rite. Jesus taught The Lord’s Prayer to his disciples when they asked how to pray (cf. Mt 6:9-13, Lk 11:2-4) and it signifies our communion with God and the fellowship we share with one another. In this prayer, the people join their voices to pray for the coming of God’s kingdom and to ask God to provide for our needs, forgive our sins, and bring us to the joy of heaven.

And peope in the Whole Wide World are invited to profess this!

Won’t you join us too?

these hugs n’ blessings are sent to the far corners of the world today!

ps- Papa Francis arrives tomorrow in Philadelphia and…the Whole Wide World can hardly wait!

“Let them come to me…”

Published on September 23, 2015September 23, 2015 by Dawn Marie12 Comments

Held every three years and sponsored by the Holy See’s Pontifical Council for the Family, the World Meeting of Families is the world’s largest Catholic gathering of families. Each World Meeting of Families has a theme that energizes and enlivens the event while adding great depth of meaning to our understanding of families. The theme of the World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015 is “Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive,” emphasizing the impact of the love and life of families on our society. Since its inception by Saint John Paul II in 1994, the World Meeting of Families has strengthened the sacred bonds of families across the globe.

On June 30th, 2015, the Vatican released the comprehensive itinerary for Pope Francis’ journey to the United States, including his schedule for Philadelphia on September 26-27, which will close the 6-day Apostolic Journey. And ever-since that day I, (along with millions of others) have anticipated his arrival. I am still pinchity-pinching myself that I will be there!

Call me a fanatic, Jesus-freak, (did you know this is described in the urban dictionary???) Pope-stalker, or the likes; but really…it’s not that dramatic nor romantic! I’m just in awe of my God. I’m in awe of His love for me. His love for others. And the deep-desire He has to reign down his grace and His mercy upon us. God can never be outdone in His generosity & as I have opened my heart to Him more & more I have seen this great love FOR US…Every. Single. Day.

My enthusiasm for Our Holy Father is rooted in his “YES” to God to lead us in this endeavor. Pope Francis’ trust in God, strengthens my trust in him and in my Church. He leads me, guides me, & reminds me what the Gospels teach. I am grateful for the courage he embraces to be challenged, mocked, judged, and ridiculed for this trust in a God he knows intimately. And I am inspired that Pope Francis encourages, invites, and WELCOMES everyone to partake in this same unconditional love our Heavenly Father offers, as we place our trust in Him. The Pope reminds each of us: we are ALL sinners, himself included, BUT that Jesus stands AT the door of our hearts & knocks. However, WE must open the door!! The door-handle is ours to hold, to turn, to open. And I pray, if it hasn’t already been done, countless people, through the blessings of the Holy Father’s visit, find themselves pulling open the door which separates them from receiving God’s great love for them. This is what Christs’ vicar is showing us how to do in his papacy and I am so grateful…I cannot wait to be in Philly so I may tell him so!

KnotsIMG_5240 — Mary, Undoer of Knots Grotto Philadelphia, Pa

knots1 — Mary, Undoer of Knots Grotto Philadelphia, Pa

Exactly how will I tell him??? (I promise not to break any security-breeches in my endeavor.) Through my prayers, of course! My participation in this pilgrimage will be encased in prayers. All forms of prayer! Prayers of sacrifice & fasting. Prayers of gratitude, intentions & petitions. (To discover the difference between the two click on the link.) And I am collecting all forms from anyone who desires me to include theirs with mine. I will offer them at the final Papal Mass or if I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit the Mary, Undoer of Knots Grotto in Philly I promise to “tie” your prayers to this special location.

My first prayer, after delivering all the others brought from each of you, will be as I said earlier, my gratitude. However, my biggest prayer is inspired by the tender-little-one shown below. Her message tugs at my heart for personal reasons. And her message is so very poignant to what the theme for The World Meetings of Families is all about…LOVE IS OUR MISSION. May it remain a theme in our lives forever…for the sake of our families…for the sake of one another.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

hugs n’ blessings to all the little-ones who: “try to do my best in my heart.”

So that everyone can smile…

Cool Kids

Published on September 15, 2015 by Dawn Marie4 Comments

romans_001 — Photo courtesy of Brent Hamilton on google.

“Romans One. First of all, the letter is written by the apostle Paul and is addressed to “God’s beloved in Rome.” (Romans 1:7) It’s to my understanding that Paul wrote the book of Romans when he was in the Greek City of Corinth during the winter of 57-58 A.D. Paul starts off his letter by first saying how he thanks God through Jesus Christ for all of them, because their faith is begin reported all over the world. He says he wishes that he could visit them so they can encourage each other in the faith and he hopes one day that will be made possible. Then comes my favorite section of scripture: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.”” (Romans 1:16-17) I love that verse, because it is pretty point blank…Paul is saying “I am NOT ashamed of the Gospel!” This is exactly how I feel and that is exactly why I share the gospel & the Lords love with people every day. I feel that too many Christians live their day to day lives being secretive about their love for Jesus and their faith in Him. They tend to hide the fact that they even go to church as if they are afraid or think they will be judged or looked at as uncool. It’s time to STOP being afraid and STOP worrying about what people think. Reality is, the eternal salvation in Christ Jesus is the greatest gift you could ever receive.” ~ James Ellis

I’ve decided…

I’m hangin’ with the cool kids;

maybe not of this world,

but most certainly the next!

Here’s just a few of those cool Ironmen (Proverbs 27:17) below! Each helping to raise funds for our Church, St. Joseph Bread of Life Community, at our annual Oktoberfest this year!