This is the Little Jesus of Therese, also known as the "Rose Child Jesus" on account of his rose colored tunic. Our adorable Savior is in the Lisieux Carmel, but no, I didn't take this picture - He's in the cloister, where we weren't allowed!
Today we get back to our monthly book club reading, our little paradise project, our one chapter-a-month of St. Therese's Story of a Soul, and with her, since it's July and we're on Chapter 7, we finally get into that coveted Carmelite cloister! Marcel and I thought it fitting, then, to begin with this darling Little Jesus cameo - and do you know that I'm wearing practically a replica of Him on my wrist as we speak? A dear Miss Marcel couldn't resist His loving demeanor on a faux silver charm, and so now He goes with me everywhere. God is so good! If you wonder what place this particular Little Jesus had in Therese's life, you'll find out in our July reading that He was the first to greet her in the cloister after she received the Carmelite habit - and He was surrounded by snow, which He, her divine bridegroom, had provided per Therese's desire! But there's another lovely part this statue played in Therese's Carmelite life. I just read in a Lisieuxian book (i.e. one I got in Lisieux) that our sister loved to "fleurir" - to adorn with flowers - this Little Jesus. How do you like that? French is such a wonderful and romantic language that it has a verb for "adorning with flowers!" I like that very much and it encourages me to keep learning the language, even if my progress is simply one beautiful word at a time! But now, let's see what else we can find in Chapter 7 of Story of a Soul. Several things struck Marcel and me as we did our reading, and we have to start first with an acknowledgment of our gratitude to Mother Agnes, Therese's sister Pauline, to whom Therese gave the task of editing her writings. Mother Agnes did a marvelous job - so marvelous that even after much laborious work by others in the 1950's, work restoring Therese's original manuscripts for Story of a Soul (taking out all Mother Agnes' changes and additions), later scholars, editors, and publishers have felt the need to add copious footnotes in order to restore all of the anecdotes Mother Agnes had originally inserted! If you're reading the ICS edition, you'll see what I mean; if not, you're most likely reading the Mother Agnes-ified version, so you've got it all in the text. Hooray for Mother Agnes! Secondly, we want to thank our Heavenly Father and my husband Tony for providing such a happy visit to Lisieux earlier this summer. Thanks too to the Holy Spirit's inspiration, our pilgrimage there has made so much of this chapter come alive for me. I love to encourage readers of Miss Marcel's Musings to get a copy of Marcel's Conversations (or a second copy if you possess only one so far!), but I'd like to add the suggestion that you also go on a trip to Lisieux! Until you do, please believe me that Les Buissonnets, to which Therese says good-bye in the opening paragraphs of Chapter 7, and the Carmel, to which she says hello in the subsequent action of our Story, and the main altar of St. Pierre's, which she notes her father donated - all of these are there still in Lisieux, testifying to the existence of St. Therese and validating the particulars of her memoir. And they are all so exquisite! Then there's the crazy secret which Marcel and I feel privileged to know, and which we'll gladly share with you. In Chapter 7, Therese receives her Carmelite habit, as we mentioned above. She writes, "At the termination of the ceremony the Bishop intoned the Te Deum. One of the priests remarked to him that this hymn of thanksgiving was usually sung only at Professions, but, once begun, it was continued to the end. And indeed it was fitting that the feast be thus completed since in it were united all the others." Well Marcel and I read that and scratched our respective heads. (Please rid your interior landscape of the image of Marcel and I scratching each other's heads, like two little monkeys!) It rang a bell; we'd heard something like it somewhere before . . . Aha! It was in that favorite tome, Fr. Thomas Taylor's "Green Book" - the early English language edition of Story of a Soul that includes the story of her beatification and canonization, and so much more. Opening it up, we found a description of Therese's beatification by Pope Pius XI (April 29, 1923), and this fun fact: "No one who took part in the ceremony could forget the enthusiasm of the multitude, or the great Te Deum, reserved solely for a Canonization, and intoned on this occasion by a happy mistake." Yes, God is good indeed! And He loves to pour out His goodness on little us! How delightful that there's something about our sister Therese that evokes not only our gratitude, but His glory, even when not scripted or expected. We shouldn't be surprised, it's her very refrain, sung boldly and taught to Marcel to teach us: How littleness sets in relief Infinite Greatness, how weakness is a foil for unlimited Strength, how utmost poverty provides the perfect setting for Limitless Mercy and Love! But beyond our feelings of gratitude, Marcel and I felt great interest in the comments St. Therese makes in this chapter about peace and about suffering. Regarding peace, she tells us that after her desires were accomplished (of entering Carmel and giving her life to God), "My soul experienced a PEACE so sweet, so deep, it would be impossible to express it. For seven years and a half [from her entrance to her writing these pages] that inner peace has remained my lot, and has not abandoned me in the midst of the greatest trials." One might regret that even amid the peace, Therese had trials. And yet we prefer to consider, as Therese put it, that even amid the trials, she had peace. Just this morning I read Jesus explaining to us in His Conversations with Marcel, "As you still remain on this transient earth, you will still have to suffer many times; but do not worry: I remain always with you, yes, always, always. It is impossible for me to leave you, even for half a second" (404). But what shall we say about these trials that Therese experienced? Marcel and I loved that when Therese speaks of suffering in this chapter, she always connects it with desire. This seems strange - Marcel didn't desire suffering in his little life, and neither do we! But at least it reassures us that Jesus wasn't pulling a fast one on our spiritual sister. She had no complaints, as we shall see. Therese tells us that when she entered Carmel, she could already articulate her purpose: she had come to save souls, and especially to pray for priests. This is right in line with the Carmelite vocation, the reason St. Teresa of Jesus of Avila had reformed Carmel three hundred years earlier: to save souls, and especially to pray for priests, as well as being a good friend to Jesus who is too often abandoned by His erstwhile friends. But little Therese continues, "When one wishes to attain a goal, one must use the means: Jesus made me understand that it was through suffering that He wanted to give me souls, and my attraction to suffering grew in proportion to its increase." A few pages later, speaking of her love for Jesus' adorable Face, she writes, "Ah! I desired that, like the Face of Jesus, 'my face be truly hidden, that to no one on earth would know me.' I thirsted after suffering and I longed to be forgotten." And then she adds, "How merciful is the way God has guided me. Never has He given me the desire for anything which He has not given me, and even His bitter chalice seemed delightful to me." A little later, when Therese is recounting the great suffering she and her sisters experienced at the illness of their beloved father, she explains, "My desire for suffering was answered, and yet my attraction for it did not diminish." This last statement ought to have been enough to frighten the daylights out of me and Marcel, but thankfully, we kept reading. For then, Therese hands us the key to understanding her seemingly odd appreciation for suffering: "I was still the happiest of creatures since all my desires had been satisfied." We apologize if we've scared the living daylights out of you! Before we go any further, Marcel and I must admit - we aren't suggesting that every Mr. and Miss Marcel should hanker after suffering! Au contraire! We aren't hankering after suffering - at least I'm not! - but we were somehow reassured because we noted the connection for Therese between suffering and the desire Jesus gave her for it. Let's be honest, suffering is in itself an evil (and no fun!), so it wouldn't be natural to desire it or love it. Rather, Jesus must give the soul a desire and gratitude for it - which gift is not natural but supernatural - if He wants the soul to love suffering. Speaking for myself, as I think I mentioned about a paragraph ago, I still have absolutely no desire or love - natural or supernatural! - for suffering. And I take great consolation from Marcel's similar attitude, as recorded in every other page (if not every single page) of Conversations. I can't say I know his attitude has stayed the same - presumably the Beatific Vision does things to a soul, and I don't begrudge our dear brother the insights and increased charity the Vision of our Beloved has given him. No, but I do cherish his constant and reassuring disgust and aversion to suffering as expressed in his Conversations with Jesus, Mary, and St. Therese. "Me too!" I often scribble in the margins. Down with suffering! Down with bitter chocolate! Up with happiness! Up with treats and sugared sweets! What Marcel and I both love, though, about Therese's comments on suffering in this chapter is that she repeatedly insists that God is doing no more nor less than granting her desires. He was the One who, mysteriously, gave her a desire to suffer in order to save souls, and He was the one who satisfied her desire by then giving her the suffering she desired. As for those of us who have not this desire for suffering, I offer the good news that Jesus constantly insists on to Marcel - and thus to us through him - that JOY is what He asks, what pleases Him in us, whether amidst consolation (YAY!) or suffering (boo and boo hoo, but still, that He wants us to be joyful even here is something I love). And now that we've mentioned consolation (it's right up there before the parenthetical "YAY!"), Marcel and I would like to note another part of Chapter 7 that we loved beyond measure: Therese says the coolest thing ever about our consolations in this life! I've often had the feeling that our attitude toward consolation ought to be: "Thank You Jesus, but I know this won't last. I'm going to cling to it while I can, but wow, I'm not looking forward to what comes next." Far from being such a Debby Downer, our sister Therese has the opposite to say: she can't wait for what comes next, because after this life comes Heaven, and our consolations here are just a tiny taste of the Feast our Heavenly Father has prepared for us there. She writes: "The Bishop came into the cloister after the ceremony [of her clothing with the Carmelite habit] and was very kind to me. I believe he was very proud I had succeeded and told everyone I was 'his little girl.' He was always kind to me on his return trips to the Carmel. I remember especially his visit on the occasion of our Father St. John of the Cross's Centenary. He took my head in his hands and gave me a thousand caresses; never was I so honored! At the same time, God reminded me of the caresses He will bestow on me in the presence of the angels and saints, and now He was giving me only a faint image of this. The consolation I experienced at this thought was very great indeed!" Isn't that wonderful? I've never had a Bishop make much of me, but I do remember way, way back into my almost pre-history when a loving Great Uncle Paul held my young face in his hands and stroked my hair, repeating in sweet accents, "Leenda, leenda!" - that is, "Linda, linda!" which in Spanish means, "Beautiful, beautiful!" I felt so loved - I was so loved - and according to Therese's understanding, those caresses I felt, the love they expressed and the way I felt so loved - all of it was just the tiniest reflection and anticipation of the love the Father will bestow on each of us, His beloved children, in Heaven. Isn't that awesome? And the same is true of all our experiences of love on this earth - just shadows of the Luminous Love to come! Finally, there's one last thing Marcel and I would like to mention from this dear Chapter 7 (which we hope you'll read soon if you haven't yet). Therese mentions in a parenthetical aside: "(At the beginning of my spiritual life when I was thirteen or fourteen, I used to ask myself what I would have to strive for later on because I believed it was quite impossible for me to understand perfection better. I learned very quickly since then that the more one advances, the more one sees the goal is still far off. And now I am simply resigned to see myself always imperfect and in this I find my joy.)" That last line slays us! "I am simply resigned to see myself always imperfect and in this I find my joy." Isn't this the essence of Therese's Little Way? We think so! And, too, the essence of Jesus' message in Conversations, where He forever reminds Marcel (and us) that it's our very weakness and imperfection that calls to Him, and obtains for us His merciful Love in abundance. As Jesus said to our brother (and us) on April 7, 1946: "Your weaknesses, Marcel, far from reducing my value of you, only make it increase further, since they are, for you, grounds for much greater confidence in me, which makes our union firmer still . . . " (386). And knowing this very weakness includes a hefty dose of forgetfulness, Our Lord kindly repeats Himself on May 10, 1946 (as in the gospels He never tires of reminding us not to be afraid): "Nevertheless, little brother, your weakness has not disappeared for all that; it will remain in you until the time when you receive from me the first kiss of your life . . . Little brother, always remember that you are a truly poor and destitute soul. Do not worry about your weaknesses, as your sister Therese has told you, and as I, myself, have told you many times. It is in knowing your nothingness that your confidence in me will be truly firm" (652). I don't think we could take away anything more valuable than this from our reading of St. Therese! And yet, our post cannot finish without a random invocation of the Te Deum - it's just too sweet that the Holy Spirit and our angels helped us make the connection between Therese's clothing and her beatification - the one preparatory to her profession, the other to her canonization, and yet both first steps proving perfect occasions for singing this glorious hymn of the Church. In my Divine Office, before the Te Deum itself, there is a small note: "For Sundays, solemnities, and feasts . . . " Exactly! Oh, and also days on which we meet with Marcel and Therese - for these become feasts de facto, in virtue of the great grace of our being together! Ready, then? Here goes, our hymn of gratitude and praise: You are God: we praise You. You are the Lord: we acclaim You; You are the eternal Father: all creation worships You. To You all angels, all the powers of heaven, Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of Your glory. The glorious company of apostles praise You. The noble fellowship of prophets praise You. The white-robed army of martyrs praise You. Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims You: Father of majesty unbounded, Your true and only Son, worthy of all worship, and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide. You, Christ, are the King of glory, the Eternal Son of the Father. When You became man to set us free You did not spurn the Virgin's womb. You overcame the sting of death, and opened the kingdom of Heaven to all believers. You are seated at God's right hand in glory, We believe that You will come, and be our judge. Come, then, Lord, and help Your people, bought with the price of Your own blood, and bring us with Your saints to glory everlasting. Save Your people, Lord, and bless Your inheritance. - Govern and uphold them now and always. Day by day we bless You. - We praise Your name forever. Keep us today, Lord, from all sin. - Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. Lord, show us Your love and mercy; - For we put our trust in You. In You, Lord, is our hope: - And we shall never hope in vain. + + + Marcel and I may not be little monkeys exactly, but I do feel like a monkey's uncle (as in, "Well I'll be . . . ")! I'm not so great with long prayers, since my mind fades around the third line, but here I've been revived at the ending - so Theresian that one can see how God had to invoke this hymn every time He could, not only for her to honor Him, but as if to honor her Little Way to Him. The only thing possibly missing is an exclamation point, or three, so we'll add those, and voila, the essence of the Good News: "In You, Lord, is our hope: and we shall never hope in vain!!!" And now, to close before the month does, let's say together with confidence unbounded: Draw me, Little Jesus; we will run!!! "It is right to provide some diversion for the one to whom you owe so much." - St. Teresa of Jesus of Avila, "La Madre"
I hope you haven't been worried about me! It's been nearly two weeks since our last post, and that feels (at least to me) like a very long time. But if you have been worried - about anything at all! - I'm here again to reassure you there's no need for that pesky anxious feeling. All is well and all will be well! Our Heavenly Father is still in charge of the lovely universe He created, and although He never takes my advice ("How 'bout we get rid of suffering? And free will? Don't you think so, Papa?"), He has been full of compassionate Love and His trademark solicitous tenderness these past 13 days. If you haven't seen the signs, I'll redouble my efforts in prayer so that soon you too will be surrounded by roses. I just came across that quote above - "It is right to provide some diversion for the one to whom you owe so much" - in the Pious Recreations (also called Plays) of St. Therese. Well not in the plays themselves, but in the Intro, to be more precise. Although the quote is from our holy mother, St. Teresa of Jesus of Avila, the Intro (and thus the offering of the quote) is from the hand and heart of the late and sweet auxiliary bishop of Lisieux, Bishop Guy Gaucher. I'm now only one step away from knowing him, since we met those who knew him in Lisieux, and then we got to visit his grave there. Thanks, Bishop Gaucher, for all you've done for little Therese and for us! And thank you especially for this great quote! The diversion the big St. Teresa had in mind was some verses (poetry) and songs written by one of her Carmelite daughters; verses and songs which delighted her immensely. But oh how true it is that any wholesome and fun-filled diversion is such a gift! I know because I'm coming home after partaking in a family reunion, and it was full of diversion and delight, whether it was watching my grown nieces and nephews play "Reverse Charades" (everyone does the charade for the guessing of one, rather than one acting it out for everyone to guess) or teaching and learning snippets of Theresian French songs with my great nieces (!!!!) or shopping at Costco for the swarm of locusts we all collectively were! And I haven't even mentioned the ultimate joy of being able to share our little brother Marcel with a darling niece who laughed with me at his antics and now has his book in her hands! Wouldn't you know I lost my camera somewhere in all the excitement? And yet, I see in this the hand of our loving Father too. At the very least, His hand is keeping St. Anthony's tied so that the camera remains lost! But more than that, He's protecting the anonymity of my dear East Coast family. They are, you see, better looking than all the most beautiful and handsome movie stars in Hollywood, and yet they enjoy their privacy, their un-discoveredness, their sans-paparazzi life. Ah, were they discovered on this blog in all their blonde, brunette, and beyond-words-beauty, the jig would be up and the work of celebrity life beginning, so I am at peace with the loss of my camera and its pics of these darlings. Their anonymity is worth such a small price! Besides, I have two consolations: First, I console myself that there are pictures on others' picture-making-machines - whether it's that coveted photo of "The Ten" or that never-failing source of delight, the original Three lined up a la "the piano bench," with faces matching their childhood smiles and pouts . . . But second and most importantly, when I think back on our visit and the plethora of two generations of nieces and nephews, plus sisters-in-law, parents-in-law, and not least my dear husband and two wonderful sons, all of their images somehow remain vivid in my mind and heart, and that's infinitely more precious than any digital (or even printed out!) photos. Ah, what a miracle that we were together! And God's bounty surrounded us, not only in each other, but in the gorgeous weather, the sun and surf and sand, the pool and the meals, the kitchens, the living rooms, the laughter and occasional tears. What a richness! For years I've happily accompanied my husband to his family's home in south Florida. For decades I've loved his sisters and his parents as my own, and we've all of us gone through many a visit together over summertime or Christmas vacation. This year, though, it was with a fresh and greater anticipation that we met, for there were new spouses, new babies, new pregnancies, even new college-to-come experiences for three of the cousins, all adding up to so much more joy than ever before! And so, with thanks to God for this huge clan, I want to dedicate today's post to the next generations: to my East Coast nieces and nephews, and for those of you who are married, to your wonderful spouses and spectacular children as well - this one's for you! Thanks for making it to Florida, thanks for the love you shared with us and each other, and thanks most of all for the love you daily share with your amazing children. Thanks for the example you give to us of selfless love and patience, even when you might not feel loving and patient inside! And thanks for all the laughter! Oh, and I've learned so much from you - oldest to youngest and everyone in between! Just to take one small example, I found out last night (and what a terrible thought that I might have missed this, but my miracle-working sister-in-law who had gathered us all together for the reunion shared this fact with me at the eleventh hour): that one single young woman, after less than a full day at the beach, can actually empty out half the sand and shells of the Atlantic Coast into a normal sized borrowed bathtub! And when she does, much laughter ensues!! But besides this kind of random fun fact, I learned the much more important truth that where there is love, nothing is impossible, or to put it another way: anything is possible! You, my nieces and nephews, lived this truth before my wondering eyes - in your treks south to arrive at Grandma and Grandpa's and in your treks north again; in your kindness, your sacrifices, your loving care of your children: I only have to close my eyes to see the fathers among you soothing restless or over-excited little ones, and in alternating images, I can still see mothers rocking, carrying, attending, and reassuring one overtired (but ultimately happy, thanks to your ministrations) child after another. What exquisite love! And then there was your solicitude for each other. I hope I never forget the sound of one sister offering to another a huge sacrifice and act of kindness, then being asked, "You'd do that for me?" only to reply, "I'm your sister! I'd like to think a sister would do that for me if I needed it!" What I love about this world is that our learning never ends. St. Therese wrote in her Story of a Soul, "My nature was such that fear made me recoil; with love not only did I advance, I actually flew." I have seen such love lately that it's a struggle to keep my feet on the ground. . . Okay, full disclosure - I am, to be honest, flying! Flying home after our reunion, flying home after a second week in Florida where, even amidst concern for Grandpa's fatigue, I saw over each succeeding day the most magnificent joy and love shining from Grandma and Grandpa's faces when we reminisced about our week-of-everyone. Thanks, Nick, for your dream and your persistence - it so paid off beyond our wildest hopes! I'm posting this now from betwixt and between - way up high in the sky half way between homes - and as soon as it's up, I'm going to get comfy and say a Rosary for all of your intentions: P & L; C, T & N; and the 10 and their many: D & M (thanks for letting them come, M!), P, M, T, C & D; B (we did it! we finally celebrated your feast day together!!!!); C & P (with thanks to Louis and Zelie for your new job!), G, O, C & P (cuties!!!); V & A (so glad to finally meet you, A! I love you!) & sweet M and baby; T & M (looking forward to meeting you, M, in God's perfect timing!) & baby; M & Z & darling N & baby; E (you are so beautiful, E! Thanks for singing for us the last night!!); and last but never least: G & M & M - you guys are awesome!!! May our beloved Jesus supply St. Therese with untold and innumerable roses to shower upon each and every one of you - and now that we know dreams come true, let's have huge hope and confidence in all our needs and desires! As little Therese never tired of repeating with St. John of the Cross: "We can never have too much confidence in the good God, He is so mighty and so merciful. We obtain from Him as much as we hope for!" I have so much confidence in Him that I'm sure He'll answer your prayers. He doesn't want us to worry and so He sent Jesus to tell us, "Fear not, little flock; your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom!" We know, also from Jesus' words, that those who seek the Kingdom are given everything else besides, so no more worrying, about anything, ever! We have a custom here at Miss Marcel's Musings of ending with a simple prayer. It's a line from the beginning of the Song of Songs in the Bible, and St. Therese talks about it toward the end of Story of a Soul, saying it's a way to pray for everyone we love because Jesus will draw them all with us when He draws us to Himself. Or, as I like to say, just tell Him, "It wouldn't be Heaven for me without . . . ." and start naming away! What can He do but make Heaven a real Heaven for you by drawing in those you love right along with you! And so, with all the love and thanksgiving a heart can hold, let's pray: Little Jesus, Draw me, we will run!!! p.s. G in VA and D in CA: Photo at the top is specially for you! If you ever feel alone, remember your cousin-friendship that goes all the way back to twin-spiderman days! And know too that there is a whole heaven full of Saints who love you - including Pope John Paul II, who you can see is ready to receive all your secrets and prayers and take them straight to Jesus! He loves you both with Limitless Love! Another post so soon? Well, yes, if we're going to rashly announce novenas right and left, I think it only fair to follow up with a little celebration at their culmination, though I'll be honest and tell you I've been particularly pitiful about this one!
I was so lucky and blessed to be at the relics of Sts. Louis and Zelie two months ago, and when there, I told them how grateful I was for their giving us St. Therese, and how sorry I was to have so little devotion to them. I wanted to do more, and this past week I determined, again, to read Louis and Zelie's letters (or rather Zelie and Louis' since the vast majority are from her pen) but somehow it isn't happening. Ah Louis and Zelie! I say it again: Forgive me! But in honor of your feast, I need to say something, so I will say this: I thank you, dear Saints Louis and Zelie, for loving God and your children so much, for loving our holy Faith, and for loving the priesthood and religious life as well as your own vocation to marriage. Thank you especially for giving us little Therese, who has given us little Marcel, who has made us happier than bugs in a rug. (I just looked that idiom up, and it should be "snug as bugs in a rug," but I think snug is very happy indeed, so it still works as far as I can tell!) Ah, Marcel! Here is what I read in your book of Conversations today, and I want to share it so we can all, in honor of Louis and Zelie's great love, absorb Jesus' love like a pile of dry sponges absorbing the living water! On December 27, 1945, Jesus said to you (and to us through you): So, what is it that you were asking me, Marcel, that I replied thus? You asked to be buried in my heart. It is good, I agree to it most gladly and, even if you did not ask for it I would not neglect to bury you in it anyway. Come on Marcel, say after me: 'Jesus, I love you.' Little Marcel, why do you not say a word of love to me? Yes, why? Is it that you have already forgotten the word Love so that I must urge you to say it? In order to prove to me your love, Marcel, you have only two things to do, to say to me: 'Dear Jesus, I love you a lot.' Then look at me. Marcel, when you enjoy my conversation, you must say to me, 'Dear Jesus, I love you greatly.' This will be one way of answering me. As for looking at me, you will do so at the times when your heart feels bitterness and is unable to say a word to me. You will use this glance to give me a sign of your love. But you must make us of it only when I am not speaking to you. When I speak to you, don't just be content to remain there, leaning forward open-mouthed listening to me speaking without deigning to reply to me. My little Marcel, you get younger every day, so much so that I must begin again to teach you even the first words that I have already taught you. Why do you forget so quickly? However don't be sad because you have such a short memory. Even if you forget, you please me nevertheless, on condition that you do not worry about it. + + + There is more, and it just gets better, as we just get younger! But I don't want to tire you, dear reader, and so let me conclude by saying simply, "Don't be sad!" and too, "Don't worry!" Louis and Zelie, pray for us! And little Jesus: Draw me, we will run! This photo is very deceptive, because here is little Van dancing before a statue of Mary, but in reality he's now dancing with Therese and Little Jesus before the REAL Mary, his mother and ours!
You may think I'm jumping the gun, but I can't wait any longer to rejoice with you over our brother Marcel's 60 years in Heaven! And since I found the following wonderful quote in the Church's Manual of Indulgences (which makes for spectacular reading, by the way!), I've become not only intractable, intransigent, more determined than ever, and even obstinate about the onset of a Feast, I've also become much more fun! For what is more fun than a family Feast? The quote which has done this happy work reads as follows: "If a visit to a Church or an oratory is required to obtain an indulgence attached to a particular day, this may be accomplished from noon of the preceding day until midnight of the particular day." Now doesn't that just sound like party-time to you? I don't mean to imply there's a particular indulgence attached to July 10, but I do mean to say that it's time to indulge our joy because our little brother is THERE - with JESUS - at LAST!!! They say Heaven can wait, but I don't believe it, and I can't wait either! Sometimes Heaven must wait - our Father there knows exactly the right moment for everything, and consequently poor Jesus must continue on His obedient path of restraining His Limitless Love, though I bet if He had His way, He'd kiss us all right now with the Real Kiss and then - whoosh, the party in heaven would be The Party in heaven. But no, I don't think the Father or the Holy Spirit are letting our Jesus win us entirely just yet. Though He's certainly won our little brother for good and keeps, and it was on this day (July 10 - and if you are further East in the time zones than I am, you might be there already! but if you're not there yet, just think "from noon the preceding day"!) - it was on this day 60 years ago that Jesus just had to give our Marcel that first real kiss that landed him in everlasting bliss. I don't know about you, but I'll say it again: I can't wait. I will, though. Wait, I mean. Because like I said, the Father knows the perfect time for everything! So now that it's the perfect time to rejoice, dance, sing, and thank the good God for Marcel, the second Therese, and the day upon which he finally got to really talk with Jesus, what shall we talk about? First off, let me clarify. I don't mean to say that Marcel's Conversations with Jesus weren't real, but I came across something in them yesterday that delighted me - I can't be bothered with chapter and verse today (or rather with date, page, or parenthetical Marcel's-page-number), because it's a feast of the lowest order. Haha, I was going to say of the highest order, but stopped myself in time, because technically, a feast of the highest order would be a solemnity. And I'd say since our darling Marcel isn't yet beyond "Servant of God," his feast must, for the nonce, be lower than the lowest official type feast, which is an optional memorial I think, so we'll have to call his day "a very optional memorial," don't you think? And isn't that fitting for least of flowers along the Little Way? But back to the delightful (if unreferenced) passage. Jesus was saying to our little brother that someday Marcel really would get to go to Heaven. And then, Jesus said, then they could really talk. Isn't that marvelous? And He said Marcel would be able to say everything! I love it, because I don't know about you, but my conversations with Jesus fall into two categories - Those which consist of my trying to converse with Him, and then I start thinking about what I might eat next and Those which consist of my reading Conversations, and then things go much better, and if I read more than two paragraphs, Jesus usually tells me that's enough, I'm tired, time to go to bed! It's really all good! All a grace, as Therese said, even though sometimes (often?) mingled with degout. No, that's not a new French dish, but just plain old blah-de-blah. Still, with food and sleep to look forward to, I count my blessings! Getting back, though, to the whole question of conversations and real talk, I have something so funny to tell you! Just today for the very, very first time, I realized that St. Therese's Last Conversations (that her sisters wrote down for the last several months of her life - every word!) has the word Conversations in the title - just like Marcel's book Conversations! And if that isn't funny enough (first that they have the same name, and second that I never noticed til now), how about this for the coup de grace, or the icing on the cupcake: St. Therese's Last Conversations were most definitely not really her last conversations, since even before she started talking to Marcel she insisted on "coming down" as she foretold, and chatting it up with all kinds of people!! I just love that! When all this occurred to me earlier today, I made myself roar with laughter (interiorly, of course, as I try not to scare those in my immediate vicinity with too many private - as in really private, just me getting the punch line - jokes!). And what was so very, very funny? Well when I realized that Therese's last words were not her last words by a long shot, and in fact her last conversations were not her last conversations at all because she keeps talking and talking and talking (like Marcel and Jesus, which is why I adore them so!), I thought, "Now isn't that just like a woman!" Ha! I'm allowed to say it because I'm a woman too! Not to change the subject, but I forgot to mention cupcakes when I was vividly painting the happy portrait of our celebratory feast. Just keep in mind that was a terrible oversight, and they're included too! But back to Therese and Marcel, and their Convos. What I love is that in both cases, both books (her Last Conversations and his Conversations) have dated entries, which means (I am incorrigible!) more anniversaries!! Yesterday (July 8), was, then, the anniversary of a GREAT saying of Therese. A real doozy that explains so much of life. And the lovely part is that I didn't just see it yesterday - I found these words of hers about a month ago and I've been waiting for yesterday ever since, so I could celebrate the day she said this . . . Ready? On July 8, 1897, Therese said to her sister Pauline (Mother Agnes of Jesus): "In heaven, I shall obtain many graces for those who did good to me. For my little Mother, everything. You won't even be able to make use of them all, there will be so many for you to enjoy!" (And here I think of Fran Renda, who recently joined Marcel in heaven! And I think of Jack Keogan, who recently turned 88 and continues to brighten every heavenly and earthly day by doing good for Therese through his work of spreading Marcel's books around the globe. And I think of Fr. Olivier, Marcel's postulator, working at his task of spreading Marcel's good news, a task which he fits into the spaces left in his life after a full day of Benedictine ora et labora (that's prayer and work) for the Church. And oh! Smack dab between Marcel's day and Sts. Louis and Zelie's will be St. Benedict's! Holy Father St. Benedict, bless Fr. Olivier and all who share your name! If we muse on that quote for a minute though (you know, the one that said, "In heaven, I shall obtain many graces for those who did good to me. For my little Mother, everything. You won't even be able to make use of them all, there will be so many for you to enjoy," perhaps you're thinking, "Well that's all pretty thrilling for Mother Agnes, and even Marcel and Fran and Jack and Fr. Olivier, but what about me? I hope you are NOT thinking that, but if you are, we can work with it. For today, July 9, Therese said more - and I take these next words as the tenderly solicitous answer to our fears that perhaps her words weren't meant to apply to anyone but Pauline, who did even then work so very hard for her. Ever on the lookout to stem to the tide of our fears, though, she went on to say, "Sister Genevieve" (this was her sister Celine, much more ordinary and unimpressive than Mother Agnes) "will need me. However, I will come back." , Oh my stars! You have to love it! And if you don't believe it even yet, well you simply have to go to Lisieux. There you will see, as we did, the very stones praising God reflected in this little maiden! For there in the enormous Basilica, the beautiful Basilica, the teaching Basilica, you would see the words up in the dome, the HUGE dome: our sister's own words, "I will let fall from heaven a shower of roses." But again, lest that leave you imagining her keeping her distance, around the dome in the ceiling are these four cool triangles (forgive my pathetic description; I do what I can!) which each have a picture and some words. And the words say: "I will aid priests," and "I will aid missionaries," and "I will aid the whole Church," and then - can you guess? My favorite: "I will come down!" And you know what? She did come down - to little Van who became little Marcel who became the second St. Therese, that's how very much she didn't forget her promises! I may seem to be talking more about the sister than the brother, but you know it's all their doing. Ah, Marcel, you would happily remain the hidden apostle of love, now that you've discovered your vocation. I even teased your postulator about this - perhaps you don't want to become BIG and famous like your erstwhile little sister Therese!? Don't worry, he just laughed and refused to worry. (Quite right of him, and showed he's been reading Conversations too!) He's not afraid because he knows how captivating you are. Who doesn't love a little child? But no more hiding today Marcel - maybe someone new is visiting here who can take this chance to get to know what beautiful things Jesus did in your life! So here, to make up for all this blog can't say (not enough time, and as I've mentioned before, not enough room on the internet to say all we could and would like to say about Vietnam's little flower) - here is a link to the incomparable Jack Keogan's website, and in particular, to the page there with a MOVIE! Yes, for our feast, a movie! What could be more fun? Nothing I can think of, and I do like fun! Here, then, will be our link, right after we repeat our novena prayer and our signature prayer. And remember, no excuses, it's a quite optional feast on July 10th, and I'm praying you'll do it justice by smiling, laughing, and kissing little Jesus with Marcel and me! Oh, and don't forget the cupcakes too! Now for our novena prayer: Along the road you have traveled, We follow in your footsteps, Forever committed to our sacrifice, No matter the hardship. Ardent peaceful blood pumps through our hearts, With the life force that you left us. You are no more, but you will remain forever among us. Dear Marcel, please intercede with our Heavenly Father for Karl and his family, and for Jack and his family, and for all of us and our families and our intentions! Thank you, little brother, and please kiss Jesus and Mary and Joseph and Therese for us too!!! and our other novena prayer (leading up to July 12, Sts. Louis and Zelie) - Saints Louis and Zélie Martin, after having had the desire for religious life, you heard the Lord's call to the vocation of marriage. You are the "incomparable parents" of whom your daughter St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus speaks... You love us as your own children, with the heart of a father and the heart of a mother, because you are the friends of God, and the parents of our sister, St. Therese. Listen to our prayer and our requests and intercede for us with God our Heavenly Father, through Little Jesus, in the grace of the Holy Spirit who is Love! Draw me, little Jesus . . . we will run!!!! + + + I would say we've earned a movie and a cupcake, wouldn't you? Click on the title below, click again when you get there, and enjoy! HIDDEN APOSTLE OF LOVE Happy 4th of July! For some of you (far, far away), that might mean nothing, or very little.....For those of you closer to home in the U.S.A., it means a day off of work in honor of the red, white, and blue, not to mention hamburgers and hot dogs, corn on the cob, watermelon, and apple pie - plus fireworks!
Ah but to those of us who are living in the Communion of Saints where far and near are relative and so are the saints (relative to us - our brothers and sisters - it's a really bad pun!!) ... today is (tada!) --- Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati day!!! Which means this one is going out to Lizzie M, with thanks for her indomitable and contagious enthusiasm! And to a local JB who let me know of this fabulous feast, as well as telling me about the novena to our sister Therese's parents - who must be our parents too, since she is our sister! - Saints Zelie and Louis, which novena started yesterday if you are a let's-finish-the-novena-the-day-before-the-feast type person, but it starts today (alleluia!) if you are just doing your best to get out of bed in the morning and so are happy to finish on-the-feast-day. (And here's to my amazing husband who got out of bed, had breakfast, said prayers, and then went back to bed! That's an option too!) So, first our novenas - they seem to be piling up, so let's have a quick review: 1. in anticipation of Marcel's big day, the day he ditched exile for heaven, which is coming up on July 10.....and we are on day 3 of his novena. Officially we are on day 3, but join in whenever! You can read the post below this one to discover our intentions, or simply toss yours into the basket and let's go! Here is our prayer, mainly composed of a poem written by a prisoner (of the Communists in Vietnam) who had heard stories of our little Marcel's heroism and love in the camp: Marcel, Along the road you have traveled, We follow in your footsteps, Forever committed to our sacrifice, No matter the hardship. Ardent peaceful blood pumps through our hearts, With the life force that you left us. You are on earth no more, but you will remain forever among us. Dear Marcel, please intercede with our Heavenly Father for Karl and his family, and for Jack and his family, and for all of us and our families and our intentions! Thank you, little brother, and please kiss Jesus and Mary and Joseph and Therese for us too!!! 2. Time to start our novena to Sts. Louis and Zelie, in anticipation of their feast - July 12th. Is that the day they (or one of them) departed exile (i.e. died, as we say, but really meaning) and entered eternal life? No, in fact, it is THEIR WEDDING DAY!!! And yes, they wed only 3 months after they met! So...how about we say this one for all of "nature's unclaimed treasures" as a dear priest I know once put it. This one is for the single gals, in petition that Saints Louis and Zelie will help them find their vocations, and hey, why not make it all happen in 3 months?! Marriage to a holy and wonderful earthly spouse or betrothal to the King of kings - either one works, and both are SO beautiful. Louis and Zelie are in a unique position to know, since they wanted to be only Jesus' spouse, but He had other plans. Thank Heaven! Where would we be without their marriage, without their children, without St. Therese? Marcel and I don't even want to think about it! So here is our prayer - to be said (a) for the next 9 days or (b) 9 times in a row right now since you know you'll forget to keep going or (c) now, once, as you read it, and may our guardian angels help us either say it again in these next days or do some other worthwhile thing (like eat apple pie and watch fireworks, our hearts singing for the joy of God's goodness all the while!)..... Saints Louis and Zélie Martin, after having had the desire for religious life, you heard the Lord's call to the vocation of marriage. You are the "incomparable parents" of whom your daughter St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus speaks... You love us as your own children, with the heart of a father and the heart of a mother, because you are the friends of God, and the parents of our sister, St. Therese. Listen to our prayer and our requests and intercede for us with God our Heavenly Father, through Little Jesus, in the grace of the Holy Spirit who is Love! + + + And now, a word (or several) on Blessed Pier Giorgio! I don't know enough about him myself, which I guess we could all say about all the saints - and Heaven will be so much fun getting to know each other! But for now, here is a "brief bio" I'm borrowing from frassatiusa.org: Pier Giorgio Michelangelo Frassati was born in Turin, Italy on April 6, 1901. His mother, Adelaide Ametis, was a painter. His father Alfredo, was the founder and director of the newspaper, “La Stampa," and was influential in Italian politics, holding positions as an Italian Senator and Ambassador to Germany. At an early age, Pier Giorgio joined the Marian Sodality and the Apostleship of Prayer, and obtained permission to receive daily Communion (which was rare at that time). He developed a deep spiritual life which he never hesitated to share with his friends. The Holy Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin were the two poles of his world of prayer. At the age of 17, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society and dedicated much of his spare time to serving the sick and the needy, caring for orphans, and assisting the demobilized servicemen returning from World War I. He decided to become a mining engineer, studying at the Royal Polytechnic University of Turin, so he could “serve Christ better among the miners," as he told a friend. Although he considered his studies his first duty, they did not keep him from social and political activism. In 1919, he joined the Catholic Student Foundation and the organization known as Catholic Action. He became a very active member of the People’s Party, which promoted the Catholic Church’s social teaching based on the principles of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical letter, Rerum Novarum. What little he did have, Pier Giorgio gave to help the poor, even using his bus fare for charity and then running home to be on time for meals. The poor and the suffering were his masters, and he was literally their servant, which he considered a privilege. His charity did not simply involve giving something to others, but giving completely of himself. This was fed by daily communion with Christ in the Holy Eucharist and by frequent nocturnal adoration, by meditation on St. Paul’s “Hymn of Charity” (I Corinthians 13), and by the writings of St. Catherine of Siena. He often sacrificed vacations at the Frassati summer home in Pollone (outside of Turin) because, as he said, “If everybody leaves Turin, who will take care of the poor?” In 1921, he was a central figure in Ravenna, enthusiastically helping to organize the first convention of Pax Romana, an association which had as its purpose the unification of all Catholic students throughout the world for the purpose of working together for universal peace. Mountain climbing was one of his favorite sports. Outings in the mountains, which he organized with his friends, also served as opportunities for his apostolic work. He never lost the chance to lead his friends to Mass, to the reading of Scripture, and to praying the rosary. He often went to the theater, to the opera, and to museums. He loved art and music, and could quote whole passages of the poet Dante. Fondness for the epistles of St. Paul sparked his zeal for fraternal charity, and the fiery sermons of the Renaissance preacher and reformer Girolamo Savonarola and the writings of St. Catherine impelled him in 1922 to join the Lay Dominicans (Third Order of St. Dominic). He chose the name Girolamo after his personal hero, Savonarola. “I am a fervent admirer of this friar, who died as a saint at the stake," he wrote to a friend. Like his father, he was strongly anti-Fascist and did nothing to hide his political views. He physically defended the faith at times involved in fights, first with anticlerical Communists and later with Fascists. Participating in a Church-organized demonstration in Rome on one occasion, he stood up to police violence and rallied the other young people by grabbing the group’s banner, which the royal guards had knocked out of another student’s hands. Pier Giorgio held it even higher, while using the banner’s pole to fend off the blows of the guards. Just before receiving his university degree, Pier Giorgio contracted poliomyelitis, which doctors later speculated he caught from the sick whom he tended. Neglecting his own health because his grandmother was dying, after six days of terrible suffering Pier Giorgio died at the age of 24 on July 4, 1925. His last preoccupation was for the poor. On the eve of his death, with a paralyzed hand he scribbled a message to a friend, asking him to take the medicine needed for injections to be given to Converso, a poor sick man he had been visiting. Pier Giorgio’s funeral was a triumph. The streets of the city were lined with a multitude of mourners who were unknown to his family -- the poor and the needy whom he had served so unselfishly for seven years. Many of these people, in turn, were surprised to learn that the saintly young man they knew had actually been the heir of the influential Frassati family. Pope John Paul II, after visiting his original tomb in the family plot in Pollone, said in 1989: “I wanted to pay homage to a young man who was able to witness to Christ with singular effectiveness in this century of ours. When I was a young man, I, too, felt the beneficial influence of his example and, as a student, I was impressed by the force of his testimony." On May 20, 1990, in St. Peter’s Square which was filled with thousands of people, the Pope beatified Pier Giorgio Frassati, calling him the “Man of the Eight Beatitudes.” His mortal remains, found completely intact and incorrupt upon their exhumation on March 31, 1981, were transferred from the family tomb in Pollone to the cathedral in Turin. Many pilgrims, especially students and the young, come to the tomb of Blessed Frassati to seek favors and the courage to follow his example. + + + Wowie zowie! Not to wake you from you awed reverie, but man-oh-man, what a cool cat Pier is! So, no novena to him (we're a little late for that this year), but how about a rousing: Pier Giorgio, pray for us!!! And while we're at it, another tiny prayer, our favorite: Little Jesus, draw me, we will run!!! Happy 4th, and may the freedom and peace of God be yours! p.s. one last prayer and a gift: Dear Blessed Pier, Please help Finn get well soon, and help the doctors and his family to help him get well too! And now the gift!! From Finn's mom, the amazing original MM - click on the bold title below and have fun!!! The Hidden Truth about Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati I think the photo above is the last that was taken of our dear Marcel - at least on this earth! I am guessing Celine may have managed to bring her camera to heaven (or Therese procured one for her there), and I bet the photos in that LIght are great!!
Meanwhile I chose the photo above because today is a day to think, just for a moment, of Marcel heading North - to Jesus, to love Him amidst the Communists in North Vietnam . . . I won't tell you the whole story, because we have it below (much better than I could relate it) from Marcel's British agent, Jack Keogan. I have a friend who used to love to say, "Feast or famine!" referring to how it was either all the good things at once, or a long wait. These days we're in feast mode - a new blog post so soon after the last (if you haven't seen it yet, just below this post is our latest Book Club meeting, and it was FUN, so do enjoy reading along when you have time) - but today is even more of a feast because HAPPY HAPPY news in my inbox today - a letter from Jack Keogan! First off, Jack had his 88th birthday recently, and naturally, I missed it! You'd think that Marcel would have tipped me off, and actually I think he did because I kept thinking vaguely, "Isn't it Jack's birthday around now?" but sadly, for all birthdays but my own (most frivolous of solemnities and celebrated for a triduum ahead and an octave after), I can be rather dense. Anyhow, a huge belated (or really early for next year!) Happy Birthday to Jack! and now, let's take a moment to say a Hail Mary to our loving Mama, that she will give him a huge hug. And no doubt that monkey Marcel will be in her arms too, so Jack will get a double hug! Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb: Jesus! Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us poor sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen. There! Prayers by the zillions ascending up to heaven for good Jack K, our fearless translator - or if he had fears, he managed to just keep translating anyhow, and aren't we the lucky recipients of his perseverance?!?! All of Marcel's four books in English!!! Sheesh, after what he's done for us, we should be saying whole Rosaries for Jack, not just Hail Mary's.......unless you realize that Rosaries are actually sort of "just Hail Mary's"......and now I realize I'd better end this paragraph before I get too confused to go on! Let's just say: Heaven help Jack! That covers all our bases :) And now, for the feast! Okay, so in Jack's email, he tells a great story about Marcel, and then commends to our prayers (our novena prayers) a wonderful man who needs them, whose name is Karl. I don't want to give all the details about Karl, because while Jack asked if Karl would like prayers, he forgot to ask if he would also like tremendous media attention after Miss Marcel posted the novena request on this blog. Well, sure, we may not be on some Top 10 Catholic Blogs List quite yet, but knowing how love of Marcel is likely to "go viral" any minute now, we don't want to turn K's life upside down! Instead, then, we will simply pray for him, and you'll soon see what we will pray, and, well, let me just give you Jack's "guest post" and let you see for yourself! There are three parts to Jack's post, so I will put in headings. I can't wait for you to read the amazing words that made today a feast for me, and will make the next 9 days super special for all of us! From Jack Keogan, whose true love is Jesus-Marcel: Dear Friends, Marcel's Story On September 14th. 1954 Marcel returned to Hanoi on the last plane leaving from the South to the North. He had pestered his superiors for permission to go to the north "so that there would be someone to love God among the communists." Reluctantly, permission was granted. Eight months later, on a trumped up charge, he was sentenced to 15 years in a camp of re-education. He spent three of these years living the life of the "little redeemer", the "hidden apostle of love." He died of illness and exhaustion on July 10th, 1959. Fourteen years after his death, in 1973 prisoners were comforting each other by talking about him. One of them who had never met Van wrote a poem about him urging the others to remain steadfast. Along the road you have traveled, We follow in your footsteps, Forever committed to our sacrifice, No matter the hardship. Ardent peaceful blood pumps through our hearts, With the life force that you left us. You are no more, but you will remain forever among us. KARL'S STORY A few weeks ago I met Karl, a very pleasant, engaging young man who is suffering from a rare kind of cancer for which there seems to be little hope of a cure. I mentioned my work with Brother Marcel Van, and it turned out that Karl is a Catholic. I asked his permission to try and engage your prayers for Karl and his family, and he simply replied that he would like that. So, it is 9 days to the anniversary of the death of dear Brother Marcel. You know what I am getting at! Would you join with me in making a little novena, through the intercession of Brother Marcel, for Karl and his family? We won't ask for anything in particular, we will simply ask little Van to intercede for Karl and his dear family. We could even use the prayer composed by the prisoner in memory of Brother Marcel and simply add: "dear Marcel please intercede with our heavenly father for Karl and his family." On Karl's behalf I thank you. Marcel's Story, Part 2 I received an email from a lady in Korea this morning who informed me that she has had the privilege of choosing the baptismal names for her 3 nephews. The youngest: Marcel Van is preparing for his first communion but cannot find anything about his baptismal patron. Can I help? I was thrilled and surprised that Marcel is known in Korea. I received Aunt Clare's request at 11.42 this morning and at 13.22 she wrote to thank me for the offer of a copy of Van's autobiography but she did not know who would be happier, herself or nephew Marcel Van. If you are still reading......May the example of Marcel, the guidance of Therese and the love of Mary be always with us, Jack. * * * Don't you love that last line? "If you are still reading . . ." There would have to be more than your ordinary California earthquake to shake me out of my chair! And even then I'd be holding the laptop as I fell, still reading this fascinating account of (1) Marcel's last days and the amazing beauty of the prisoners who remembered him, or even without remembering him personally, shared in the Communion of Saints' memory of him to keep up their courage! WOW! and (2) Karl, who so humbly accepts our prayers for him and then (3) somehow most thrilling of all - a little Marcel Van about to make his first Holy Communion in Korea! God is so good! Now I know it would be asking too much to have you scroll up to find our novena prayer each day, so instead you can pop over to MMM and scroll down to the roses below, and right above them will be the prayer we're saying up to June 10th, our little bro's feast day (in our hearts, if not on the universal Church calendar yet). And yes, the roses are those that Therese and Marcel are going to pour out on Karl, and Jack, and us all! I told you this was fun! Think of it as a pre-paid novena!! Speaking of Church calendars and saints-in-the-making and so on, I peeked into a little library book the other day, a small sweet book about visits to the Blessed Sacrament. Wanting to encourage the reader, the author included stories of those devoted to Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, and here is what I LOVED - he recounted an incident (of course by this point Marcel and I have forgotten the story, except for this part) about a holy woman who had done good work in our own country (the author was in the USA), a certain "Mrs. Seton." He was talking about Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton! But you know, before she was St. Elizabeth, she was simply "Mrs. Seton." Do you love this too? It means that one of these days we might all be remembering (vaguely, if you're like me!) the times when we used to call St. Marcel simply "Marcel Van." "We obtain from God as much as we hope for," our sister Therese liked to remind her novices. So let's hope big! Here is our novena prayer for Karl, and for all your intentions too: Marcel, Along the road you have traveled, We follow in your footsteps, Forever committed to our sacrifice, No matter the hardship. Ardent peaceful blood pumps through our hearts, With the life force that you left us. You are on earth no more, but you will remain forever among us. Dear Marcel, please intercede with our Heavenly Father for Karl and his family, and for Jack and his family, and for all of us and our families and our intentions! Thank you, little brother, and please kiss Jesus and Mary and Joseph and Therese for us too!!! And Little Jesus, by the way - Draw me, we will run!!! |
Miss MarcelI've written books and articles and even a novel. Now it's time to try a blog! For more about me personally, go to the home page and you'll get the whole scoop! If you want to send me an email, feel free to click "Contact Me" below. To receive new posts, enter your email and click "Subscribe" below. More MarcelArchives
December 2024
Categories |