Jesus and His Blessed Mother

Dear Diary,

Today I thought about how Our Lord must have shown Himself first to His Blessed Mother after He rose from the dead. The Bible does not say it plain, but it feels so right. She loved Him more than anyone and stayed faithful even at the Cross, when everything was so sad and dark.

This morning when I went to the chicken house, I reached under dear Omelette and found a beautiful brown egg still warm beneath her feathers. I held it so carefully in my hand and thought how lovely it is when something quiet and hidden turns out to be full of life and sweetness. That made me think of Our Lady waiting in sorrow, still believing, even before the joy of seeing Jesus came.

Then I imagined the moment when Jesus came to her, not suffering anymore, but full of glory and life. All her tears must have turned into happiness. The same dear Son she had loved and held was now shining in heavenly beauty.

It makes me love Our Lady very much to think of her joy. She trusted Jesus through all the darkness, and then she saw His victory. I want to stay close to Him like that too, in happy times and sad ones both.

Evening Prayer:

Dear Blessed Mother, please teach me to trust Jesus always and stay close to Him, just as you did. Amen.

Love,

Kathy

Jesus Kept His Wounds

Dear Diary,

Today’s meditation made me think about how Jesus rose from the dead all full of glory, and still kept the holy wounds in His hands and feet. I kept picturing them not looking sad anymore, but shining like lovely signs of His love. It makes me feel that He never wants us to forget what He suffered for us, and how very much He loves us.

Sister Mary Claire said His wounds are like victory marks now. That thought stayed with me all day. If Jesus kept His wounds in Heaven, then they must be very precious to Him. They tell the whole story of His mercy.

Later on I made a quick trip to the cave with Mini to check on my beaver friend Shaggycoat and to make sure the cave was secure. All was well, thank goodness. The cave felt quiet and safe, and it seemed like a good place to think about brave things. I wondered if I am as brave as I ought to be in little hard things, like being patient, obeying quickly, or offering up small troubles without complaining.

The saints loved to think about the wounds of Jesus because they wanted to stay close to Him no matter what. I do too. I want to love Him not only when things are easy, but also when something costs me a little.

Evening Prayer:

Dear Jesus, let Your holy wounds remind me how much You love me. Help me be brave in little hard things, and teach me to love You back with all my heart. Amen.

Love,

Kathy

Kathy is very busy recording all of your Favorite Prayers

The Angelic Salutation

Dear Diary,

Today at school Sister Mary Claire taught me something lovely about the Hail Mary. She said it is such a little prayer, but it carries a whole great deal inside it. Part of it comes from the angel’s own words to Mary in the Bible, and then part of it is us asking Our Lady to pray for us.

Sister said the name of Jesus sits right in the very middle of the prayer, and that is just where He belongs—not only in the Hail Mary, but in everything. I liked that thought very much. She also said when we pray “now and at the hour of our death,” it means we can ask Mary to help us in our everyday life, and also at the very end, when we will need Heaven most.

It made me think the Hail Mary is small enough for a schoolgirl to learn by heart, but deep enough to keep teaching her all her life.

Evening Prayer:

Dear Blessed Mother, please help me pray the Hail Mary slowly and with love, and always bring me closer to Jesus. Amen.

Love, Kathy

What I Learned Today at St. Mary’s School

 

Dear Diary,

Today at St. Mary’s School, Sister Mary Claire taught me that the Our Father is not just a prayer to hurry through because we already know it by heart. She said it is really a way to help us live.

I liked that it begins with “Our Father,” because that means God is not just my Father all by myself. He is our Father, and that means we belong to Him together. It made me think how life is not supposed to be only about what I want.

Then Sister said when we pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are asking that heaven’s goodness might come even into our regular days. Into school days and church days and even chore days.

The part about daily bread stood out to me most. It made me think that God wants me to trust Him for today. Not to be so full of worry about every tomorrow. Just to ask Him for today’s help and today’s strength.

Sister also said that when we ask God to forgive us as we forgive others, it means we have to let go of our hard feelings too. That part is not always easy, but it is good and true.

And at the end, when we ask not to be led into temptation, it means we are admitting that we need God to help us stay good. We cannot do it all by ourselves.

So I think the Our Father is a prayer for the whole day, not just for church. It teaches us to love God, think of others, trust Him one day at a time, forgive, and ask for His help.

Love,

Kathy 

The Cornerstone of Faith

Dear Diary,

I knew I was in trouble when Sister Mary Claire said we ought to scrub the old schoolhouse behind St. Mary’s. It has been closed for years, so it was a mighty dusty job.

Mini kept us company while we worked, and at the end Sister gave me her very first school handout about the Resurrection. She said the lesson came from her old meditation book, the one she inherited from a nun sister in Ireland. I noticed Sister had written #1 in the corner, and that made me think this was not just one of Sister’s passing whims.

Dear Jesus, help me do hard jobs with a cheerful heart, and bless Sister Mary Claire and little Mini. Amen.

Love, Kathy.

Take a Deep Dive

At the Foot of the Tabernacle

Dear Diary,

After all the joy of Easter Sunday, today slipped in very softly.  Sister Mary Claire and I walked to St. Mary’s, and everything felt so still and quiet after the gladness of yesterday. The church was now empty and wrapped in a hush. The little red sanctuary lamp burned softly, and I knew that Jesus was just as truly there in the quiet of today as He was in all the joy of yesterday.

I thought how people are always glad to be near the ones they love, and that must be why Jesus made a way to stay near us in the Blessed Sacrament. He did not want to leave us all alone. That made me feel very small, but in a good way, because it means He thinks of us and cares for us even in all our littlest needs.

I told Him about the things in my heart and thinking of Sister's little German Prayer book, I wrote what I remembered of the ask and seek prayer.

Dear Jesus,

You told us to ask, to seek, and to knock—and that You would answer us. So here I am, asking You with my whole heart.

Please give me a real love for You—a love that is gentle and strong. Help me love You not just with my words, but with the way I live, and the little things I do all day long.

I want to keep loving You always, and never stop.

Amen.

And today, I offer You everything I do—joined with all the goodness of Jesus, Mary, and all the saints.

Amen.

Easter Sunday

Recorded at Littlemore