I really like the IDEA of blogging...
I have not be very consistent with this blogging thing. Maybe it is almost not really a "thing" anymore. However, here I go with another try.
I have a few wonderful friends who are always finding what they call "connections" in their lives. An example of a connection would be one of those serendipitous moments when a thought or action coincides with a specific Saint or Saint's day.
The conversation might be something like, "I woke up this morning with a picture of St. Wigbert in my brain. I seldom think of him. I really don't know much about him or have a devotion to him So I was really surprised when I saw on the Saint of the Day website that it was his feast day."
Now...these particular friends are especially adept at finding connections. I sometimes make lite of it. I will say something like, "Look, I found a one dollar bill in my wallet. I didn't even remember that today was our Green Scapular prayer group." Connections.
Some people may call these little signs or "signal" graces. I may tease my friends quite a bit about this, but I do think that there are daily connections to be found between our rather mundane actions and our rather spectacular, though often overlooked, spiritual lives
In fact, I had a "connection" just this morning!
Here is how Today's Connection went:
After morning Mass I felt a need to connect with my old friend, Fr. Benedict Groeschel. I really miss him, though I am so grateful for the gift of eternity in which he is now sharing. I pray for his soul all the time. And if you already "made it" to heaven, Fr. Benedict, perhaps you could apply some of those graces and prayers to my priesthood. I want to be a good and holy priest. Ta Dah!
I digress...Since we just began the Jubilee Year of Mercy, I chose to listen to a talk he gave at the Institute of Catholic Culture regarding Divine Mercy. Lovely!
During the course of this talk he mentioned his patron, St. Benedict Joseph Labre.
After the talk, I went to the Saint of the Day site. I really didn't have a particular devotion to any of the saints whose feasts fall on Dec. 10. I read about a few, and then decided to go a site on the net that lists Marian Feasts for each day of the year. I was excited to see it was the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto.
I had been privileged to make a pilgrimage to the Holy House of Loreto about 10 or 12 years ago. I LOVE the Litany of Loreto, and often pray it.
Now...if that is not enough of a connection...get this:
I decided to do a bit of research on Our Lady of Loreto and the Holy House. I clicked on a link labeled "Saints and Loreto". Behold, I found the following:
If one were to single out a Saint who was particularly attached to Loreto, it would seem that the pilgrim saint, Benedict Joseph Labre, would have first place. After finding out that his vocation was to be a rather exceptional one-----literally a pilgrim beggar-----Benedict left his home in France in 1770 for Rome at age twenty-two. On this first journey, he stopped on his way at Loreto and Assisi. He stayed in Rome for nine months visiting all the holy places, but was back in Loreto in September of the following year. In June 1772, he was back again at Loreto. He then extended his pilgrimages to all the famous shrines in Europe. At the end of 1776, he settled down in Rome, leaving only to make an occasional pilgrimage to his favorite shrine, the Holy House. He continued this each year until his death in 1783 at the age of 35.
I have not be very consistent with this blogging thing. Maybe it is almost not really a "thing" anymore. However, here I go with another try.
I have a few wonderful friends who are always finding what they call "connections" in their lives. An example of a connection would be one of those serendipitous moments when a thought or action coincides with a specific Saint or Saint's day.
The conversation might be something like, "I woke up this morning with a picture of St. Wigbert in my brain. I seldom think of him. I really don't know much about him or have a devotion to him So I was really surprised when I saw on the Saint of the Day website that it was his feast day."
Now...these particular friends are especially adept at finding connections. I sometimes make lite of it. I will say something like, "Look, I found a one dollar bill in my wallet. I didn't even remember that today was our Green Scapular prayer group." Connections.
Some people may call these little signs or "signal" graces. I may tease my friends quite a bit about this, but I do think that there are daily connections to be found between our rather mundane actions and our rather spectacular, though often overlooked, spiritual lives
In fact, I had a "connection" just this morning!
Here is how Today's Connection went:
After morning Mass I felt a need to connect with my old friend, Fr. Benedict Groeschel. I really miss him, though I am so grateful for the gift of eternity in which he is now sharing. I pray for his soul all the time. And if you already "made it" to heaven, Fr. Benedict, perhaps you could apply some of those graces and prayers to my priesthood. I want to be a good and holy priest. Ta Dah!
I digress...Since we just began the Jubilee Year of Mercy, I chose to listen to a talk he gave at the Institute of Catholic Culture regarding Divine Mercy. Lovely!
During the course of this talk he mentioned his patron, St. Benedict Joseph Labre.
After the talk, I went to the Saint of the Day site. I really didn't have a particular devotion to any of the saints whose feasts fall on Dec. 10. I read about a few, and then decided to go a site on the net that lists Marian Feasts for each day of the year. I was excited to see it was the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto.
I had been privileged to make a pilgrimage to the Holy House of Loreto about 10 or 12 years ago. I LOVE the Litany of Loreto, and often pray it.
Now...if that is not enough of a connection...get this:
I decided to do a bit of research on Our Lady of Loreto and the Holy House. I clicked on a link labeled "Saints and Loreto". Behold, I found the following:
If one were to single out a Saint who was particularly attached to Loreto, it would seem that the pilgrim saint, Benedict Joseph Labre, would have first place. After finding out that his vocation was to be a rather exceptional one-----literally a pilgrim beggar-----Benedict left his home in France in 1770 for Rome at age twenty-two. On this first journey, he stopped on his way at Loreto and Assisi. He stayed in Rome for nine months visiting all the holy places, but was back in Loreto in September of the following year. In June 1772, he was back again at Loreto. He then extended his pilgrimages to all the famous shrines in Europe. At the end of 1776, he settled down in Rome, leaving only to make an occasional pilgrimage to his favorite shrine, the Holy House. He continued this each year until his death in 1783 at the age of 35.
I have to admit that the "connection" bells were ringing.
So, I am going to start writing a little blog entry entitled, "Today's Connections".
It may not be daily. I most certainly will turn out to not be daily. I do, however, want to start recording some of those wonderful connections in my life which are moments of grace. In recording them, I will assist my memory.
Our Lady of Loreto, pray for us.
St. Benedict Joseph Labre, pray for us.
O Most Sacred of Jesus, have mercy on us.
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