FAITH. FAMILY.FULFILLMENT

FAITH LIKE A MUSTARD SEED...

It's no typo. Fulfillment. Abundance. I am full. I am just enough. Unlike Dorothy in the hot air balloon in OZ and the appearance of Glinda the Good Witch, I've always known what I have; appreciate what I have; have the gratitude for what I have. I know. There is no place like home. I know deep in my soul. I feel it in my roots. All we have is each other and family. It's what sees us through. My family are tired of my one-liners, "We are not here to see through each other; we are here to see each other through." 

September's Theme for our family is "FAITH". You may recall that July & August (because so many of our family members were away at camps, etc....) was "PRAY" and we also spread the Vocations Cross around the Diocese for the rest of the 2014 to PRAY for VOCATIONS. But, perhaps, even more importantly, I want to PRAY here and now, in this space, the Prayer that I have been praying all by myself and passing it along every chance that I get: I pray for the families of our community, of our Commonwealth, of our Nation and of our World. It seems somewhere, even with the anniversary of 9/11 that we have forgotten as a people, as human beings what it means to be FAMILY. To be connected. It is hard to be a family right now. It is hard to be a mother and a father. The devil is in all those details. Families of all kinds, colours, and creeds. All families. I won't discriminate. I PRAY for all families, of all stages and ages. Everywhere. Because I feel right now that if I had a Mission and I chose to accept it: It would be to Protect, Preserve and Defend Our Families.

I have FAITH. Maybe like a mustard seed....but the Times, they are a-changin', they are a-changin'. I see change on the horizon, yet, again. There is Honey from The Rock. [More later] Mother Mary, the Original First Flock of The Faith...even the Duh-ciples did not BELIEVE in the ways that Mary readily accepted The Truth. Hubby and I started our married life in Ephesus where she is supposedly buried and absolu, it's well documented, spent her final years after Christ's death. After almost two decades, I know NOW it was no accident. It wasn't because I wanted HAWAII and he wanted ALASKA and the Marco Polo was 'available'. It was because He was calling us to His Holy Place. And, not for us, but for others, some of them souls yet to be...but Mary, Madonna, the One the Only, the Original Mother, kept all these things in her heart. 

It's a sad, sad, sad trinity of sadness type of day, today. I live outside of Richmond, Virginia. Today, the Headlines make me just, well, ...sad. But, I see Fruit in the Headlines; fruit that no one else can yet see; but it's there. It's tiny. It's planted. It's FAITH like a mustard seed. I have to get down on my knees in humility and remember the words that I was taught, the catechism of my childhood, and wrap my tongue and my integrity and my values around The Truth of His Divine Words truly, sweetly spoken.  But, the hardest part, is what Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi and Mother Theresa all talked about and lived: I have to be the change I want to see. I have to Be. But, at some point, I also have To Do. Shakespeare said it best, so much so that we all parrot his words, "To Be or Not To Be; that is the Question." And, that is never an easy proposition. But, it is trebly hard in my case, as a mother and as a modern-era wife. So much change. So many transitions about to happen..but I have FAITH. Who we choose to marry is so critical to our journey here on Earth to Heaven. Bless my sweet husband, he didn't ask for a lot of the things he has personally experienced in our married life, but we are better, more Holy people, for our journey. And, we work daily, sometimes hourly, to be open to the assistance that God gives us to get each other and our progeny to Heaven. For my part, I have many, many people waiting there that I know...some of them our own dear, tender little ones. It is important to me, I value and find worth in reaching for Eternal Heaven...there is so much Goodness and Truth in the journey towards there. But, I still PRAY because sometimes that is all one can do and sometimes, that is ENOUGH....who we chose to Love is not so critical. We should not have that choice; we should love the way Jesus taught us to love, openly, unconditionally. But, who we chose to love with focus and intention that is something that we can all learn to do well and with excellence.

I remain, Joyfully,

Fondly in Our Faith,

The Catalyst Pioneer

Please continue to PRAY with me for the families in the world, who are touched by trouble and sadness and experience real, true, sharp pain. Pain is Pain. It is not the same as Joy. All people feel both. But, real, pain is just that...pain. There is only one way in and one way out, and nobody asks for pain. We all PRAY for JOY. We receive both. Recognize the Gifts that we have and the Fruits of the Spirit that we both gift and receive and know the difference. Gifted in Glen Allen.