Litany of the Saints

On this vigil of the Ascension, and the last of the 3 Rogation Days, I am sharing a video I found featuring one of the most beautiful versions of the "Litany of the Saints" that I have come across (many thanks to the uploader) which the Church traditionally prayed in preparation for the great Feastday of Ascension.

Enjoy!

Tribute to Mothers, World's Great Cathedral Builders

I came across this beautiful piece some years ago, via an email. I read it again today, and it still made my eyes well up. To all the mothers in the world, enjoy the beautiful gift of motherhood. Really, we do not need acknowledgement or validation, but the mere assurance that GOD SEES ALL is encouragement enough to help us forge ahead in spite of our perceived "invisibility" sometimes.

INVISIBLE MOMS

I'm invisible.

It all began to make sense - the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I am on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Kids' Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please." I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.

She's going - she's going - she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.

I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.

These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.

They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

The passion of their building was fuelled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees."

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for Me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend to add, "You're going to love it there."

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

That special power of loving that belongs to a woman is seen most clearly when she becomes a mother. Motherhood is the gift of God to women. How grateful we must be to God for this wonderful gift that brings such joy to the whole world, women and men alike! Yet we can destroy this gift of motherhood, especially by the evil of abortion, but also by thinking that other things like jobs or positions are more important than loving, than giving oneself to others. No job, no plans, no possessions, no idea of "freedom" can take the place of love. So anything that destroys God's gift of motherhood destroys His most precious gift to women -- the ability to love as a woman. - Mother Teresa of Calcutta

On this occasion, let us pray for the victims of abortion: the unborn babies and their mothers; and also for abortionists.

FOR THE MOTHERS:

"In Ramah is heard the sound of moaning, of bitter weeping! Rachel mourns her children, she refuses to be consoled because her children are no more." JER 31:15

Dear Lord, I ask for your mercy on those mothers who, for whatever reason, feel that they are unable to raise their babies. Please grant them the grace to cherish the life which You have given them and not to destroy it before birth.

I especially ask for your mercy on all mothers who have denied their children life in this world. Please grant them the grace of repentance and reconciliation with You. Help them to trust in Your forgiveness and to learn how to forgive themselves.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you. Please wipe away the tears of all mothers who have lost their children through abortion. Amen.

FOR THE UNBORN CHILDREN:

"Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.. and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen."

Dear Jesus, please grant these unborn children the happiness to which they are entitled.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you. Please baptize all the unborn babies now and when they pass into your eternal keeping. Amen.

FOR THE ABORTIONISTS:

"Just as you know not how the breath of life fashions the human frame in the mother's womb, so you know not the work of God which He is accomplishing in the universe." ECCL 11:5

"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." LK 23:34

Dear Jesus, please help those who perform abortions and those who assist them to truly see the evil they are doing. Please help them to repent, to quit performing abortions and to be reconciled with You.

Most of all, dear Jesus, please help them to trust in Your forgiveness and mercy and to learn how to forgive themselves.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you. Please send an angel, O Lord, to stay the hand of the abortionists as once you stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac. Amen.

The Grace of Abandonment

Okay, so I'm struggling through this particular chapter of my life.

Shortly after coming home from our trip I discovered I was expecting our 5th child. Yes, it came as a surprise because we never plan these things, but more specifically because we were not counting on me getting pregnant this soon. Besides, we were just starting to get into the rhythm of things, and really enjoying life as a family. Brighteyes turned 2 this year and she is so much more "fun" to be around - interacting with us more, and the rest of the children enjoy her so much more, as well. Schooling has been more manageable because we got into a routine which we had been able to adhere to quite well. Yes, things were all fine and dandy. Until recently.

Actually, I hope nobody mistakenly thinks I am not open to life at this stage. I love babies and I would love to have more, but it's the whole pregnancy thing that I struggle so much with, and it has always been the case with all my pregnancies. Nine months is such a long time and I find it all quite limiting - what with the morning sickness, the emotional roller coaster secondary to the upsurge of hormones, etc! Put it this way: I wouldn't like to be around me when I'm pregnant! (Ugh! My poor family indeed.) And what's more, I really don't look forward to not being able to do normal things at the level that I am usually able to. (Don't get me wrong, though - I'm not a control freak (Or am I??), but I like to be able to determine my own actions to a certain extent.)

The big question, however, is this: are these concerns justified? Probably not. I have already proven - numerous times - that when God calls, God equips; and I'd like to think that eventually, with God's grace, I'll be able to reach a certain level of abandonment requisite for me to get through all this. Further, I know that however long it may seem, it always comes to pass. Besides, at the end of it all, we will have another adorable, beautiful-smelling angel from Heaven! That alone makes it all worth it, as every mother would agree. So what am I still complaining about? I really don't know.

These days it's so funny when the kids, especially the younger ones, would ask me how big the baby is, a few times each day, as if it grows much bigger by the minute!! Also, as if hubby doesn't do enough around the house already (cleaning, laundry, ironing, washing, etc.), he has also taken on the task of doing the grocery shopping after work, especially because I cannot stand the different smells in the supermarket. It makes me run to the bathroom to vomit, and worse, it will give me a lingering headache for most of the day! Before hubby comes home he will usually call to find out if there is anything in particular I'd like to eat that he can get for me. Whenever I run to the bathroom to chuck, Roadrunner and little Brighteyes would usually follow me and I'd feel them massaging my back, while repeatedly asking me if I'm okay. Last night I felt a pinch in my heart when I heard Webster saying to his dad, "Dad, if Mom needs anything through the night, can you please wake me so I can get it for her?" Curlytop is always rubbing my tummy and talking to the baby. Once she asked me, "Mom, if I had a key to insert into your belly button, can I turn it to open your tummy so we can see the baby?" Haha! Isn't it just priceless? I can't wait to have this baby to give the family this gift of another little person to care for and love. At this early stage none of us can wait to meet this baby, God's 5th smile on our family.

Actually, come to think of it, these little things are starting to make this pregnancy a whole lot more bearable, not to mention enjoyable. In fact, I'm feeling rather spoiled by everybody around me! I realize now that in spite of all my worries, all unjustifiable at that, I am starting to open my eyes to the reality that this is going to be a journey that we will ALL be in - together, as a family. And what a gift, indeed.

On this occasion of Mother's Day, I just can't help thinking: I am clearly not worthy of these wonderful blessings, but they have been given to me freely, and purely from God's goodness. I will therefore choose to accept them all with a grateful and abandoned heart.

Intercessory prayer to Our Lady, Help of Mothers:

Powerful is your intercession with God, Mary, for you are his mother.

Tender , too, is your love for us, for you are our mother.

Confidently , then, I come to you as a child, poor and needy,

to seek your aid and protection.

In every trial of motherhood, I beg your aid.

For the grace of a happy delivery, I come to you.

For your holy assistance in guarding and directing

each tiny soul with which God entrusts me, I call to you.

In every sorrow that comes to me in my motherhood, I confide in you.

That I may have strength to bear cheerfully

all the pains and hardships of motherhood, I lean on you.

That the sweetness of motherhood

may not, through my neglect, be embittered in later years

by pains of regret, I trust in you.

That the will of God may always be fulfilled in me

through each act of my motherhood, little and great, I beg your aid.

Never forsake me dear Mother, my hope, my consolation,

my confidence, and my trust,

but ever be at my side to aid and protect me, your needy child.

Amen.

Mother of Love, of Sorrow, and of Mercy, Pray for us!