…for Mary Ellen Barrett and her whole family, who mourn the loss of 14-year-old Ryan, oldest of 8 children.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace, and may those who mourn his loss be comforted.
Yesterday when I got the mail I found a fairly heavy padded envelope, addressed to me, with my own return address on it as well. The postmark gave away its origin, though–the Virginia town where Patti, one of my Family Corner forum buddies lives. At first I thought she might have sent me a book–we’re both readers. But the package was a little lumpy for that.
What a surprise to open it up and find this beautiful rosary, handmade by her daughter. The Miraculous medal is also a locket–a combination I’d never seen before.
My first prayer on that rosary was a Divine Mercy chaplet, since the mail came at 3 PM. The chaplet was dedicated to my friend Patti, as she had hip replacement surgery yesterday. (Word last night was, she’s doing well but is in some pain.) Please add her to your prayers.
One of my fellow Franciscans is keeping me updated on the 40 Days for Life project in our area. I do want to make it a point to get there during this Lent. But please keep the following in your prayers. This was forwarded from the local leader of the 40 Days for Life.
A pregnant lady just called me to schedule an abortion. She thought my website was the abortion clinic. She doesn’t know how far along she is but hasn’t had a menstration since Nov. I told her she can go get a free ultrasound at options. She said, well I already know I’m pregnant, I just want an abortion. I told her that her baby’s heart is beating and that her baby feels pain immense pain during an abortion. She said, I know all that, I just want an abortion. So, I had to tell her we are not an abortion clinic. She asked what are you? I told her we can offer free pregnancy help or adoption. She slammed the phone down. Maybe God wanted her to call me to ask everyone to pray for her. The clinic will be closed until Tuesday. Please include her in your Rosary or Divine Mercy.
I’m making a batch of “game day” chili for dinner today. And I’m missing a young friend of our family. She hasn’t been around lately to help me make the chili–a task she always enjoyed and volunteered to do.
She’s been held in my Pocket Rosary for months now–the “young family friend who could use as many prayers as possible.” I’m not in touch with her and have not been since I saw her last in October, so I have no reason to believe that she doesn’t still need those prayers.
So as I chopped the celery and onions, rinsed the beans, browned the meat, and added the spices, I prayed for my chili buddy. I’ll do so again every time I stir the chili.
May she find her way. And may God keep her safe.
My dad underwent surgery this morning to remove a tumor on the kidney. My brother just called to say that it went well; it was laparoscopic which will aid in recovery and they removed under 10% of the kidney. We have to wait to find out if it is cancer but there is a 90% chance of that.
We would all appreciate prayers for Dad during his recovery, and for Mom, whose job it will be to keep him tied down. He is not one for resting. This morning he was jogging at 4:30 AM in the sleet, since he knew he wouldn’t be jogging for a while. My brother is considering removing all the front tires of all my dad’s bicycles and taking them to an undisclosed location until the doctor clears him to ride.
Dad will be in the hospital probably for 3 more days.
I hope he will be OK. Thanks so much for prayers!
Thanks for the prayers; I got home early this afternoon, had some lunch (and coffee!), slept a while (and this coffee is probably NOT decaf; I doubt TheDad asked for decaf for me) and that’s that.
Keep the prayers coming for our Franciscan Deacon. Yesterday he was storing some stuff to be used at our Greccio (coming up a week from Sunday) and he tripped, landing on his knee and tearing the quadricep. He will likely need surgery.
And I thank you for the prayers on my behalf. I should be A-OK in a day or so.
In keeping with the theme of “you never know what’s going to happen during Advent, so don’t plan the perfect one” I am off for a minor outpatient procedure.
This means I haven’t had any coffee today.
I’ll make up for that later. You can depend on it.
The kindness of your prayers would be appreciated!
I had a ton on my agenda today, but it’s not looking like a lot of it is gonna happen.
I just got some bad news. My dad got the results of a cat scan yesterday, and there is a 90% chance that he has kidney cancer.
It’s not putting my mind at ease any that he has decided to defer the needed surgery until mid-December because he insists on completing the semester at the business college where he teaches.
I want him to have the surgery tomorrow.
Needless to say I am very upset. So I have given myself permission to clear the agenda today. I’m leaving now, to go to Mass. Anything else may go by the wayside.
Thank you for your prayers. Pop’s surgery went well, although it was 5 hours behind schedule. TheDad said that they will get to see him a little later, but he will be kept asleep until tomorrow morning. The doctor said that everything looks good, so we are thankful for that!
Your prayers are appreciated. Please keep them coming during his recovery.
TheDad has headed up to “Refineryville” where my in-laws live. Tomorrow morning, early, he will take Pop to the hospital for an aortic valve replacement.
Everyone is nervous. This is a Big Deal. And recovery will be a Big Deal.
I’m holding down the fort here at home, and I’ll be making and freezing some individual servings of healthy meals for him to bring up on subsequent trips. Today he took along 2 portions of Chicken Parmesan with pasta. This way, there will be something available for his mom and cousin when they get home from visiting Pop in the hospital.
During Pop’s recovery, TheDad plans to spend a couple of nights a week with his parents so he can help with the heavy chores. I’m glad that he is able to do this for his parents. Little Brother will not be so understanding.
Please keep Pop in your prayers in the coming weeks–but especially tomorrow. And don’t forget a spare prayer for the rest of us who worry about him!