Prepare Ye the Way of the LORD!

“Repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life], for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” ~ Matt 3:2

St. John the Baptist, pray for us.

Bee City for Father's Day

What a Dad! Dagny and I made a request to go to Bee City and Michael took us. We've not been to a zoo, let alone a petting zoo, in years. It was so fun to see the animals, feed some of them--lemurs have the softest paws. And we even got to talk to some bee keepers. But, as much as I enjoyed it, I wanted the animals to be free as Isaiah prophesizes: The wolf shall dwell with the lamb: and the leopard shall lie down with the kid: the calf and the lion, and the sheep shall abide together, and a little child shall lead them. (Is. 11:16)  A happy Father's Day to all the wonderful fathers in our lives! You help us to experience our Heavenly Father's love. May God bless you abundantly and grant you peace!

Garden

See how our garden grows! We've been eating baby peaches and plums and peppers. The squirrels are helping themselves. Rabbits too. The deer would like to join them, but they have plenty to eat outside the fence. Sunny keeps watch. I love my gardener husband! 

June is the Month of the Sacred Heart

Summer is going by much too quickly. We've been on a spiritual high since Easter, celebrating so many feasts with High Mass (posting links so that I can find them)--Ascension, when our risen Lord Jesus ascends to heaven in glory. He doesn't leave us orphans but sends us the Holy Ghost, which we celebrate on Pentecost. Trinity Sunday comes next when we celebrate that God is three Persons in One. We Catholics are always blessing ourselves with the sign of the Cross in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. It is a mystery as so much of our faith is. But I love how it builds throughout the liturgical year, beginning with Advent and Christmas, the coming of the long-awaited Messiah.

All public revelation is compiled in the Bible yet we have many feasts based upon private revelations. For instance, the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, we celebrate Corpus Christi--the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Because not only does Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit, but in His immense love for us, He allows the priest to turn ordinary bread and wine into His own Body and Blood. He is with us, really and truly, physically, and we eat Him. For My Flesh is true food, and My Blood is true drink. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him (John 6:55-56). This is a hard teaching for many but Jesus doesn't try to explain it away. Nope. Yet, priests too, can have doubts. And one such priest is given the grace to see a miracle--a bleeding Host. He contacts his bishop and the rest is history.*  Catholics have a very physical relationship with Jesus. He is with us in Word. He is with us when two or three are gathered in His Name. He is present in a special way in the priest (he is in persona Christi at the Altar when he offers the Sacrifice of the Mass and during confession when he forgives sins). And He *is* the consecrated Bread and Wine. We worship Him in the Blessed Sacrament. We do not worship people. 

Although Jesus instituted the priesthood on Holy Thursday, the apostles don't fully realize the miracle until after the descent of the Holy Spirit. So it is beautiful to have a feast after Easter and we did with a High Mass and a Procession afterwards. Today is the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus! Although a relatively new feast (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque received a private revelation in AD 1675  to promote devotion to His Sacred Heart it wasn't put on the universal Church calendar until AD 1856) many saints have had a private devotion to His Sacred Heart. Its history is beautifully documented in Sacred Fire: Practicing Devotion to the Heart of Jesus by Phillip Michael Bulman. It isn't enough to just worship His Body but to specially recognize the seat of Love, His Heart. May the Heart of Jesus, in the most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored, and loved, with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. Amen.

We celebrate the culmination of all these revelations with a High Mass for the Feast of the Sacred Heart. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). May we grow in our capacity to love!

As if this was not enough, we had the most wonderful time at the Cathedral the last night Max was home, a special celebration, a votive Mass in honor of St. Joseph on Wed., June 2nd. The choir (all professionals!) sang Palestrina's Missa Brevis. Sublime!  

*Blessed Carlo Acutis compiled a list of the known Eucharistic miracles.