Limbo by Sr. Mary Ada, OSJ

The ancient grayness shifted
Suddenly and thinned
Like mist upon the moors
Before a wind.
An old, old prophet lifted
A shining face and said:
"He will be coming soon.
The Son of God is dead; 
He died this afternoon."

A murmurous excitement stirred
All souls.
They wondered if they dreamed -
Save one old man who seemed
Not even to have heard.

And Moses standing 
Hushed them all to ask
If any had a welcome song prepared.
If not, would David take the task?
And if they cared
Could not the three young children sing
The Benedicite, the canticle of praise
They made when God kept them from perishing
In the fiery blaze?

A breath of spring surprised them,
Stilling Moses's words.
No one could speak remembering
The first fresh flowers,
The little singing birds.
Still others thought of fields new ploughed
Or apple trees
All blossom-boughed.
Or some, the way a dried bed fills
With water
Laughing down green hills.
The fisherfolk dreamed of the foam
On bright blue seas.
The one old man who had not stirred
Remembered home.


And there He was 
Splendid as the morning sun and fair
As only God is fair.
And they, confused with joy,
Knelt to adore
Seeing that He wore
Five crimson stars
He never had before.

No canticle at all was sung.
None 'toned a psalm, or raised a greeting song.
A silent man alone
Of all that throng
Found tongue -
Not any other.
Close to His heart
When the embrace was done,
Old Joseph said,
"How is Your Mother,
How is Your Mother, Son?"

*  *  *

Draw me, we will run!

Just when it feels like St. Joseph's Day has sped by and left us for at least another month and a half, a Carmelite friar of my acquaintance sends me a marvelous first-thing-in-the-morning text wishing a Blessed Octave of St. Joseph!!!

Those 3 exclamation points are his, which means he's a true son of our holy mother Teresa and a true little brother of St. Therese. I haven't mentioned it lately, but when I first went to the Basilica of St. Therese in Lisieux (and yes, I owe a lifetime and an eternity of gratitude for being able to say "when I first went" because this last Christmas was a second trip there!!!), I fell in love with the Crypt. I know, it's a strange thing to say. Who falls in love with a Crypt? Apparently I do, because I did, and one of the many reasons why was that behind the main altar there is a mosaic of angels with buckets of roses and a statue of St. Therese in front of them with her arms upraised to toss those heavenly roses on us . . . and above this mosaic are (in mosaic tile too - the most beautiful Byzantine-Vegas sparkly pastel tiles) our Sister's last words (in French, but we'll translate), "Oh I love Him + My God, I love You!!!"

Yes, these 3 exclamation points are hers - and how could one not LOVE that? You see, when a person speaks aloud, it is unusual to know how many exclamation points are being used - unless the person is herself unusual and her translators (in this case her sisters Pauline/Mother Agnes and Celine/Sister Genevieve) very astute. She was and they were, and hence, the 3 exclamation points.

But I feel myself drifting away from the main joy of this post which is our patron, our benefactor, our dearest earthly Father (like Jesus') - good St. Joseph!

I wasn't able to post for St. Joseph's Day yesterday, and along comes today with my early text from The Friar, and viola, it is never too late! Here we are only beginning the Octave, and if anyone ever needed an octave it is us! I was going to say it's St. Joseph (who needs an octave) because he has so much to give us, and to his sweet and mild disappointment we never ask him enough - you can see what a reflection of our Heavenly Father he is in this way - but in fact, this means we're the ones who need the octave so we can have more time to reflect on his goodness, his kindness, his paternal care for us and the whole Church and the whole world - and then, bolstered in our confidence, we need this octave to ask him for much more!!!

There are 3 things, in honor of our 3 exclamation points, that I want to do here today.

First, I want to give you the words of holy mother St. Teresa on St. Joseph. She praised and promoted him so well that she launched a movement still going strong and recently renewed by the spectacularly lowly wonder-worker (though just a kind of laser pointer to St. Joseph who obtained the miracles) St. Andre Bessette, and much more recently by the spate of St. Joseph consecrations following Fr. Calloway's thorough and thoroughly charming book on Consecration to St. Joseph.

Second, I want to tell you about this year's novena prayer and the miracles we're seeing already.

And third, I can't help but re-post my St. Joseph day blog from 2022 because not only did it start with the gorgeous Murillo atop today's offering (showing St. Joseph and little Jesus in a veritable photograph!!!), but it also came on the heels of the Year of St. Joseph which contained such eternal blessings for my family that I love to re-visit them and share them to help your hope. We all have our miracles to share, and I'm so happy I have this place in which to share them. 

Oh, and who can resist another photo of the Saints? We'll conclude with our usual favorite little prayers and then a pic of St. Joseph with St. Therese and their True Loves, our Blessed Mother and adorable little Jesus . . .

First then, in Chapter 6 of the Book of Her Life, we find the great Doctor and Mother, St. Teresa of Jesus, writing in the 1500's these words which practically say it all (though it turns out there is always more to say, because who can glorify God in Himself, in His angels and in His saints, and then simply be done with it?). This is not my usual preferred ICS (Institute of Carmelite Studies) version of her words, but I live in a two-story house and my fave translation is upstairs near the sleeping husband, while I am downstairs with my friends the google elves, so here we are . . .

Without further ado, St. Teresa of Jesus of Avila, from the Book of Her LIfe, Chapter 6:

*     *     *

I took for my patron and lord the glorious St. Joseph, and recommended myself earnestly to him. I saw clearly that both out of this my present trouble, and out of others of greater importance, relating to my honour and the loss of my soul, this my father and lord delivered me, and rendered me greater services than I knew how to ask for. I cannot call to mind that I have ever asked him at any time for anything which he has not granted; and I am filled with amazement when I consider the great favours which God hath given me through this blessed Saint; the dangers from which he hath delivered me, both of body and of soul. To other Saints, our Lord seems to have given grace to succour men in some special necessity; but to this glorious Saint, I know by experience, to help us in all: and our Lord would have us understand that as He was Himself subject to him upon earth—for St. Joseph having the title of father, and being His guardian, could command Him—so now in heaven He performs all his petitions. I have asked others to recommend themselves to St. Joseph, and they too know this by experience; and there are many who are now of late devout to him, having had experience of this truth.

I used to keep his feast with all the solemnity I could . . . 

Would that I could persuade all men to be devout to this glorious Saint; for I know by long experience what blessings he can obtain for us from God. I have never known any one who was really devout to him, and who honoured him by particular services, who did not visibly grow more and more in virtue; for he helps in a special way those souls who commend themselves to him. It is now some years since I have always on his feast asked him for something, and I always have it. If the petition be in any way amiss, he directs it aright for my greater good.

If I were a person who had authority to write, it would be a pleasure to me to be diffusive in speaking most minutely of the graces which this glorious Saint has obtained for me and for others. But that I may not go beyond the commandment that is laid upon me, I must in many things be more brief than I could wish, and more diffusive than is necessary in others; for, in short, I am a person who, in all that is good, has but little discretion. But I ask, for the love of God, that he who does not believe me will make the trial for himself—when he will see by experience the great good that results from commending oneself to this glorious patriarch, and being devout to him. Those who give themselves to prayer should in a special manner have always a devotion to St. Joseph; for I know not how any man can think of the Queen of the angels, during the time that she suffered so much with the Infant Jesus, without giving thanks to St. Joseph for the services he rendered them then. He who cannot find any one to teach him how to pray, let him take this glorious Saint for his master, and he will not wander out of the way.

May it please our Lord that I have not done amiss in venturing to speak about St. Joseph; for, though I publicly profess my devotion to him, I have always failed in my service to him and imitation of him. He was like himself when he made me able to rise and walk, no longer a paralytic; and I, too, am like myself when I make so bad a use of this grace.

+   +    +

My husband always advises students to comment after they use a block quote in a paper. Well, we're not on paper, and if I don't hurry, said sleeping husband (now awake upstairs from the sound of feet above my head) will be ready for breakfast before this post is half baked!

Thus we move on to my second (and brief) foray into St. Joseph's glories.
Suffice it to say that this year we had 3 main intentions for our father and patron, following St. Teresa's encouraging words:

It is now some years since I have always on his feast asked him for something, and I always have it. If the petition be in any way amiss, he directs it aright for my greater good.

We said our usual novena prayer (which you'll find below along with my reasons for loving it) and this time my husband was all in. Often I say novenas without him because I have all of you to join me, but this time, as I say, he was right there with me - quite comically, come to think of it, because we've both had laryngitis this week, but luckily in turns. So I think at the start we may have said the novena aloud together, but then as the 9 days progressed, I had to take over the "aloud" portion, and then he did! There are all kinds of unexpected benefits of novenas, and one of them is that so much can happen over nine days (or nine months, or nine minutes, depending on how you like to time your novenas).

Well! Now we get to the very fun part!

Yesterday on St. Joseph's Feast and the day before, on his Vigil, we realized that 2 out of our 3 main intentions had been answered - or at least he had begun to make things right as rain! (A sore subject around here actually, so let me try that again!) That is, good St. Joseph had given us the most marvelous signs and indications that he was truly obtaining for us from little Jesus these tremendous particular miracles for which we've been beseeching him lately. Hooray! I may have more glorious details as these miracles develop - you can see they won't be the instantaneous kind of cures we could submit to Rome, but oh, as you know from your own experience, there are miracles less visible and less instant which take your breath away just as effectively once your angel has knocked you on the head to make you see what's happened.

Speaking of which, let's move on to that old post from 2022. In it I recount two of the greatest graces of our lives (my dear husband's and mine) - the blessed deaths, or rather entrances into eternal life, of our dads, Henry and Paul (in that order, God rest their souls), which, considering we're all "terminal," took 86 years and 85 years, respectively.

So here goes, and then at the end you'll find our second photo for today, this one a great snapshot of our dear St. Joseph in glory, in the company of his family and our sister.

*  *  *
​
March 19, 2022

Are you ready for the feast of St. Joseph? 

You may have been praying away, preparing by a traditional novena, or you may have made it a little novena, forgetting some days, or you may be saying "oops!" right now. That last especially would make you ready to dive into our novena, but you're more than welcome to pray it in addition to yours even if you've been very together! Here at MIss Marcel's Musings, we like to end novenas on the actual feast day, and we LOVE St. Joseph. Consequently we've been praying to him for days and days and it's unlikely we'll stop after today  - and all your intentions are included! We find it easy as pie because God our Heavenly Father wants to give us so many things, and He loves to give them through the request of dear St. Joseph who was His stand-in on earth.

So come on down! Let's importune St. Joseph and get those graces showering upon all our near and dear ones, all who have commended themselves to our prayers, all who are in need of our prayers (whether we're aware of their needs or not) and all for whom we've promised to pray. Whew, that's quite a list! Good thing our guardian angels are with us to keep track - we don't need to name every name (in fact we couldn't, come to think of it), but just trust. And as always, we can fortify our small supply of trust by drawing on the HUGE confidence of our sister St. Therese. Now that she sees Our Lord face to Face, she has no need of her trust and is happy to give it to us!

I'm not aware of our dear Marcel Van having written on St. Joseph, but I do love what Jesus told him in Conversations about the Heavenly Father's love for us, and I'm certain these words apply to good St. Joseph in his capacity as our father too. Jesus said:

"Come, come, little brother, the goodness of your true Father is without measure, as I have told you many times already. Even if, in His Love, He indulged you in everything, filling all your desires, He would never find it enough for His Love; He would only be afraid that you might not have the strength to receive all His treats." (492)

St. Joseph must have felt exactly this way regarding the Treasures the Heavenly Father confided into his care: Jesus, and Mary, his spouse, when they lived on earth, and the whole universal Church now. I'm sure St. Joseph wants to indulge us just as he would have wanted to indulge Mary and little Jesus in everything! And I've been thinking about how Mary and Jesus must have felt about him too. I imagine that St. Joseph was such a tremendous comfort to Our Lady and Jesus. He was both strong and gentle, prudent and loving, faithful, devoted, always near and ever ready to help in any task that arose in their little household. And when trials came - the first intimations of the cross in the flight to Egypt, their exile, and later the three day loss of the boy Jesus when He remained in the temple - St. Joseph was no doubt a refuge for Our Lady and a reminder of the faithfulness of the Father who would never abandon them.

I have a favorite St. Joseph novena prayer that I've been saying a lot recently, and you'll be glad to hear it works! In his kindness and knowing my timorous heart, St. Joseph answered one of my lead-off petitions before I finished the novena, and I'm so grateful. What a way to show us that our confidence is well placed! He would never neglect us, his children, and he is even now working out the answers to as many needs as we present to him.

One reason I love this particular prayer - okay, besides that it has been the means of obtaining many favors and graces over the years - is that it's replete with hope and childlike dependence, plus a lot of great reminders about how reliable St. Joseph is, how responsive, how quick to hear and answer.

Full disclosure: Some of my petitions have been trotted out again and again, and I know that doesn't sound like "quick to hear and answer" on St. Joseph's part. Rest assured that many others were answered by him pronto, and I know he would take care of every intention that way except that he wants to be as obedient to God as God always was to him! Are some of your petitions like some of mine, and you find yourself commending to him the same needs that have been with you for more than one or two of his feasts? I suspect I'm not alone in this, but I have a story to boost your perseverance.

In the beautiful Year of St. Joseph which unfortunately ended last December (I would have liked a decade of St. Joseph or maybe a century!), I was able to assist my two earthly fathers, that is my dad and my father-in-law, in their passages Home to God. They both were blessed with holy deaths, and for my father-in-law this was particularly marvelous because we had been praying for his return to the sacraments for decades! God knew and waited. St. Joseph heard and persisted in reminding the Father. We just kept praying and trusting and trusting and praying - and voila! Wonderfully, two weeks before he left this life for Eternal Life, my father-in-law cheerfully consented to receive the sacraments and did! The prayers of his parents from long ago, of his wife of 62 years, of his children from their childhoods, of his grandchildren and eventually great grandchildren, these were answered at last in one fell swoop of grace and mercy at the perfect moment God had in mind from all eternity.

Don't worry, then, if some of your prayers are still unanswered. God's timing is always perfect, and He loves that you continue to turn to Him with these persistent requests. And when you go to Him through St. Joseph, you are bringing in one who has great power over God's heart! We have much power over His Heart too, He loves us so much, but with St. Joseph there is that added business of obedience, since the Heavenly Father made St. Joseph the earthly father for Jesus Who was perfect in obedience as in everything else. As Marcel's father in the Redemptorists, St. Alphonsus, explains: "Just as Jesus Christ wanted to be subject to Joseph on earth, so He does everything the saint asks of Him in Heaven."

So what do you say? Shall we pray together? Let's honor St. Joseph with our filial confidence and take refuge in him as our Blessed Mother and little Jesus did. And the bigger your needs, the more challenging your requests, the better! This will give Jesus a chance to thank St. Joseph for the years of tender care he provided, and since God will never be outdone in generosity, He is delighted to have the opportunity to provide the tender care St. Joseph now asks on our behalf. May St. Joseph win the day and obtain God's answer to your petitions as swiftly as he obeyed the angels' messages when he was caring for Our Lord and Our Lady!

Marcel and Therese and I (and St. Andre Bessette) wish you the happiest of feasts. May St. Joseph spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain for you an abundance of heavenly graces to more than answer all your deepest desires and petitions. And we pray he throws in a cupcake, or something equally sweet and fun, just to seal the deal!

As for that prayer I can never get enough of, here it is. I gladly pray it again, with you and for you, asking our angels fill in the blanks:

With childlike confidence I present myself before you, O holy Joseph, faithful foster father of Jesus! I beg your compassionate intercession and support in this, my present necessity. . .(and I pray too for all those who have asked my prayers, all those who need my prayers, and all those for whom I have promised to pray).

I firmly believe that you are most powerful near the throne of God, who chose you for the foster father of His well-beloved son, Jesus Christ. O blessed Saint, who saved that treasure of heaven, with His virginal mother, from the fury of His enemies, who with untiring industry supplied His earthly wants and with paternal care accompanied and protected Him in all the journeys of His childhood, take me also, for the love of Jesus, as your child. Assist me in my present difficulty . . .  with your prayers before God. The infinite goodness of Our Savior, who loved and honored you as His father upon earth, cannot refuse you any request now in heaven.

How many pious souls have sought help from you in their needs and have experienced, to their joy, how good, how ready you are to assist. How quickly you turn to those who call upon you with confidence! How powerful you are in bringing help and restoring joy to anxious and dejected hearts! Therefore, do I fly to you, O most worthy father of Jesus, most chaste spouse of Mary! Good St. Joseph, I pray you by the burning love you had for Jesus and Mary upon earth, console me in my distress and present my petitions . . .  through Jesus and Mary, before the throne of God! One word from you will move Him to assist my afflicted soul. Then most joyfully shall I praise Him and you, and most earnest shall be my thanksgiving!
Amen.
​

Little Flower, in this hour, show your power!
Little Jesus, draw me, we will run!

I think I may have won the prize today for most awkward title, but I wanted to say it all at the outset lest I forget the purpose of this post, which is three-fold, at least.

First (if we take the last first, following Jesus' preference), my husband gave a spectacular talk at Christendom College in January for their St. Thomas Day lecture. My other name (when I'm not Miss Marcel) is Mrs. Tony Andres, and it was with great joy - really, joy beyond description - that I listened, wrapped in awe, to my better, taller, smarter half as he spoke on my confirmation saint, our patron, the man of the hour, St. Thomas Aquinas as Angelic Teacher. Tony asks why St. Thomas is called the Angelic Doctor and explores the question of how St. Thomas might be said to teach like the angels. This means he (Tony) has to say a lot about the angels, just like St. Thomas did! I promise, you'll learn so much, and without even trying! Here is the link, with thanks to so many at Christendom who made this talk and our visit not only possible, but beautiful.

Dr. Tony Andres on St. Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Teacher

My second purpose in writing today is to thank and honor St. Thomas for being such a dear friend and father. Wow! He's changed my life, and not so much because of his teaching (though finally I suppose that's at the heart of it), but because of his friendship. When I was a young girl looking for a confirmation sponsor, he reached down from Heaven and took my hand. I was delighted and took, in return, his "last name" - or so I thought, more or less - as my confirmation name. Later, a dear friend (God rest his funny soul) teased me that I had a city for my confirmation name, but we both knew it was a good thing I had it, because it brought me to Thomas Aquinas College. How wonderful, I thought (and still think), that there is a college named after my confirmation saint!

Just for the record, I now looked up how many colleges are named after St. Thomas, who is, after all, the patron saint of universities and scholars. I can't even recount them all, there are so many! Suffice it to say that the Philippines has 3, Australia has 6 (tying with the U.S.A., unless you count my alma mater's two campuses as two colleges), and our beloved Nigeria has one too!

Okay, so this was overkill for St. Thomas to get me to go to his school, because clearly you can't look for a college without stumbling over him, but nonetheless, THANK YOU, dear friend and big brother! Where would I be, if I hadn't found this one? Well, I could be in Sri Lanka, or New Brunswick, or in Lisbon, just to name a few places, but it would have taken longer to meet Tony Andres, and civilize him (the job God gives all women regarding their men, I think), and then who would have told us about Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Teacher? Or if we take the bright and cheery view and figure we would have found each other eventually, for true love conquers all, we might still ask when would we have heard about Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Teacher? It could have taken forever!

But I'm getting a little sidetracked, as Miss Marcel (and Mrs. Tony Andres) tend to do . . .

So my third purpose in writing today is to alert the media, or at least you, dear reader, that it is not only the 750th anniversary of St. Thomas' going home to Jesus - where does the time go, we might ask! - but this means we are in the middle of his jubilee, proclaimed by our Holy Father in benificent response to the prayers and petitions of the Dominican Order. And this is no little, tiny jubilee, but like that of St. Therese, it's in triplicate!

For St. Therese we had, last year in 2023, a jubilee for the 150th anniversary of her birth and the 100th anniversary of her beatification, while next year in 2025 we'll celebrate the 100th year of her canonization.

For St. Thomas, his dates fall nicely into three calendar years, and so we are happy to announce that his jubilee spans all three years! It began last year on January 28, 2023 and the first big date celebrated was July 18, the 700th anniversary of his canonization. Today, March 7, 2024, is the 750th anniversary of his entrance into eternal life, and next year the Jubilee will conclude on January 28, the 800th anniversary of his birth.

Pope Francis released a letter (in Latin!) to celebrate the Jubilee, but even more thrilling, he granted a plenary indulgence available to all the faithful! I was going to describe the terms and conditions (price is absolutely free!), but I suddenly realized that one of the perks of being Miss Marcel is that I can redeem the internet (with the help of the angels) and copy and paste whatever we need so you get all the facts straight without my helpful obfuscation. Here, then, is the decree on the plenary indulgence available for St. Thomas' jubilee:

*  *  *

The Apostolic Penitentiary, with the intention of heightening the devotion of the faithful and for the salvation of their souls, by virtue of the powers conferred upon it in a very special way by Francis, Pope by divine providence from our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, considering the prayers recently addressed to it by the Reverend Gerard Timoner III, Master General of the Order of Friars Preachers, on the occasion of the solemn celebrations in honor of Saint Thomas Aquinas, which will take place between 28 January 2023 and 28 January 2025, the Apostolic Penitentiary, therefore, drawing on the heavenly treasures of the Church, willingly grants a plenary indulgence, which the truly penitent and charitable faithful can enjoy under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff), and which can be applied by way of suffrage also to the souls of the faithful departed still in purgatory, wherever they make a pilgrimage to a holy place connected with the Order of Friars Preachers, and there devoutly take part in the jubilee ceremonies, or at least devote a suitable time to pious recollection, concluding with the Lord’s Prayer, the symbol of faith and invocations of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of Saint Thomas Aquinas.
The elderly, the sick and those who are unable to leave their homes for any serious reason will also be able to obtain a plenary indulgence. If, despising all their sins and with the intention of fulfilling the three usual conditions as soon as possible, they spiritually join in the Jubilee celebrations in front of an image of St Thomas Aquinas, offering to the merciful God their prayers as well as the sorrows and ills of their lives.
To facilitate access to God’s forgiveness through the power of the keys in pastoral charity, the Penitentiary urges priests of the Order of Friars Preachers to offer themselves with prompt and generous hearts to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to administer Holy Communion often to the sick.
This Decree is valid only for this commemoration of St. Thomas Aquinas, notwithstanding any circumstances to the contrary. Given at Rome, from the Palace of the Apostolic Penitentiary, on 20 January 2023.

*  *  *

And I think my job is done, so now I get to celebrate with a solemnity! 
God's mercies are infinite, like His love, and among them He has eternally ordained that the chapels of both campuses of my particular Thomas Aquinas College were consecrated on March 7. That makes today a solemnity for us, and although my power is not quite as extensive as the Holy Father's, I'd like to extend to you the invitation to feast with the angels in whatever way you can today, in honor of our friend and patron's jubilee and the joy of all God plans to teach us through his writings.

How about we end (and begin) with this:

"For joy is caused by love, either through the presence of the thing loved, or because the proper good of the thing loved exists and endures in it; and the latter is the case chiefly in the love of benevolence, whereby a man rejoices in the well-being of his friend, though he be absent."

That's from the Summa Theologiae, Question 28, Article 1. 
Isn't it marvelous?

This is what it brings to my mind and heart, especially on this day when, nineteen years ago, I said the Rosary with lots of friends for my best friend who'd gone to Heaven a bit early (in our humble opinion, but just at the perfect time, according to God's wisdom):

When we get to be with those we love, it is so wonderful! JOY! I love it! I have said before and I'll keep saying it, I really wish that instead of the cross, God had chosen JOY as the path to Heaven!

But I guess St. Thomas is telling me that joy and the cross don't have to be at odds, because he says joy is also caused by love when the one loved is absent, but experiencing good. Since by love and in love I want, most of all, the good of the beloved - not just for me, but for the beloved - then even if we are apart, if my dearly beloved has The Good, then I feel joy, even while I may be wiping my own tears away surreptitiously until Jesus finally fulfills His promise and wipes those tears Himself.

So hey! Grab someone you love who is present and give 'em a big hug, a kiss, or a friendly punch in the arm - we've got lots of people around us who are HUGE blessings if the angels will only help us recognize our good fortune. And as for those you love who have gone, along with St. Thomas, to their eternal LIFE and left you stuck in exile, well, let's rejoice that they've made us! Just like St. Thomas did so many years ago for me, they are ready to take us by the hand and lead us on to the amazing miracles that await us, if not at a college named after them, somewhere or other that God has prepared just as lovingly!

Happy Feast, dear St. Thomas! I see St. Therese over there in the mansion right beside yours, and she's struggling with all those roses she's got to shower down. In honor of your eternal joy and in thanks to the Blessed Trinity overflowing with tenderness for us, please give her a hand! 

As to Jesus, the source of all our joy, we can only repeat:

​Draw me, we will run!