Prepare for the 100th Anniversary of Fatima: WAKE UP!

2017 sees many Fatima anniversaries: all the apparitions on the 13th of each month from May, the month of Mary, to October, the month of the holy rosary.

What a blessing to have the time to prepare for this important time. One suggestion I'd like to offer is to listen to the talks from a mission given on Our Lady of Fatima earlier this year.

Here is the first talk.

Thought for the Day: On Jigsaw Puzzles as a Metaphor for Life

I'm currently working on a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle called Spring Meadow. It's not a landscape scene, more like a collage with all kinds of images from a meadow: one corner with daffodils, hearts flowers, ferns, tiny birds, a bee -- all in a glorious hodge-podge! It's been lots of fun to work on.

But I'm also reading Dietrich von Hildebrand's book, Transformation in Christ, and I'm in the chapter on recollection and contemplation. So I've been trying to practice being recollected as I go about my daily activities. I pray while I'm folding wash. "Lord bless the little visitors who slept on these sheets during the holidays and the little feet that forgot these socks under the bed....Bless this dinner I'm cooking and the guests who will share it with us."

You get the idea.

Anyway, while I was working on the puzzle after Mass, visiting a local nursing homes, and having breakfast this morning I thought about how much life is like a puzzle. You don't see everything all at once. Each of the bits is like the small and big events of our lives.

Do Something Beautiful for God Today

Wouldn't that be a lovely daily resolution for the rest of Lent? Here are some suggestions to myself:

Call an ailing elderly relative to say I love you and I'm praying for you. 

Read a story to a grandchild. 

Sing a song of praise to God in thanksgiving for all His blessings. 

Pray a decade of the rosary for each of my nine godchildren. 

Send a note to a friend telling her she's a real blessing to my life.