The Corpus Christi feast octave finished yesterday. But I’d like to go back in memory to our Lord Jesus, whom we met at the bus stop in Wisełka, during the Corpus Christi procession in the parish neighboring the retreat House of the Holy Family.

He was standing there and waiting. Not for the bus, to be sure. For me, totally surprised at where He’d taken a break, for us all. For you, Dear Reader. To tell you that He is with you, also when it seems that nothing is happening. And when you are in between point A and B of your daily schedule. And when you’re in a hurry, and don’t know what to start with. Or when you’re alone with your thoughts and it no longer matters what scientific degree you have and who the others think you are. And also when you are so troubled that you cannot speak. He’s listening to your heart and waiting for you to tell Him all. He puts His arm around you to assure you that He always lifts you up, rescues and defends. He defends you also from your own self, when you lose patience with yourself.

Today is the feast of His Most Sacred Heart. The Heart full of love to be given away. It’s waiting for those who will come and take it as it is. He is asking you to let Him love you. In everything. And in time, everything will change.

M

I woke up around 5 o’clock local time (around noon-time in Poland), not knowing whart to do. It was dark outside, the whole house was asleep. A wonderful time for prayer and meditation. After the rosary the meditation led me to our recent days. I was still between Polish and local time and I rememberd Friday’r reading on the feeding of multitude (John 6: 1-15).

I was struck by the Apostles counting on their own strengths only, on what they had. The first thing they thought about on hearing Jesus’ question (“Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”) was how much money that had and how much food one of the listeners had. They never thought about the Lord being with them and they felt helpless. And Jesus? He made use precisely of what seemed to them too modest and insufficient in this situation.

Jesys did not perform the miracle of creating of food (although he was able to do it) but the miracle of multiplication. As if he’d wanted to say: you don’t need what you haven’t got. All you need I have given into your hands. But remember just one thing: Me. With Me you’ll have enough of everything.

I have to make myself aware of it constantly, too. Especially here, thousands miles from home and the nearest and dearest and with a widow’s mite – as seen from the local point of view – in my pocket. The most important thing is that the Lord is here with me. He’s using my reality and especialy the people in it.

Today all the media are focused on one thing – the Pope has been elected! Thousands of journalists have come to Rome just for this one purpose: to report the few days of the conclave, which have become the major interest also for those who were never interested in the issues related to the Church.

Who is that man, or that Office, all the media want to write about?

We know that we mean a man who stands out from the rest through his love to our Lord Jesus, who is ready to walk on the water, who will lay his life for Him.

And that is how we receive him, with the greatest joy that he is among us again – God’s chosen one to represent Him on earth, the man who’ll lead the Church.

We hear his name – Francis. And in it we see the simplicity, poverty, being oridinary – but we also hear Lord Jesus’s words to St Francis: “Rebuild My Church.” The Church never stops renewing to be closer to man.

And from today on, the whole world will pray for him in the Eucharistic Prayer – for our Pope Francis.

So good you are with us!

Fr Jay

My daughter is in a football ream with a girl who hasn’t got one hand. She’s doing really fine. She plays fantastic. All of them seem the happiest people in the world, when I look at a fragment of the workout.

Sometimes we think that if we haven’t got something, have lost it or it has been taken from us – it is our curse. “We lived in poverty, we couldn’t afford anything”,  “the father never talked to me”, “I was the smallest in the class”, or “I have been used”. But deficiencies may be a powerful driving force. “I did not have many things, but I learned Spanish on my own”. “I talk a lot with my son so that he has better memories than I have”. “I was small, but the fastest runner”. “I shall never use another person”.

These are only examples. You are who you are thanks to what you have been given. But your uniqueness and beauty also result from all that you didn’t get. And you have so much more richness – yes, in the “failure” and “suffering” compartment – which you can use once it’s been healed and changed, and employ as your greatest talent, your personal gift.

M

Don’t tell God that you’ve got a great problem. Tell the problem that you’ve  got a great God.

With Him, we’ll do the difficult things tomorrow, and the impossible ones – a bit later.

Good morning!

It’s now!

It’s already here!

The New Year!

Indeed, it sneaked in awkwardly between Monday and Tuesday. Some greeted it with fireworks, dances and toasts ;), and some – with prayer. 🙂

In our home we even prepared a special place for it – on the wall! In place of the old calendar, of course.

Even though I don’t know what this year will bring, I’m looking forward to it. And I’m happy it’s come, becuase today the Lord blesses us so aboundantly! With such a blessing you can move the mountains. 🙂

May the Lord bless you
    and keep you;
May the Lord make his face shine on you
    and show you His favour;
May he Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.

So they will put My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.

(Numbers 6:24-27)

Dosia

When we give vent to our imagination, a fragment the Gospel for today can really frighten us. It is the description of things to happen shortly before Jesus’ second coming (Luke 21, 20-28). It’s so good that we’ve been warned! It’s so much easier to face up to difficult things when we can prepare for them beforehand. It’s a little bit like preparing for the marathon:) It’s necessary.

Jesus doesn’t want us to be helpless in fear. So we’ve received the guidelines:

‘.. stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near’.

We can start today, practising standing up and lifting our heads, with optimism and hope for the good that awaits us- and especially when we experience fear and oppression, when reality seems unbearable. We can always look ‘up’ – up there there’s always consolation and peace.

Basia

After several months of slow and painful dying my godmother, my mother’s sister, has gone away to eternity. The one who who carried me to be baptised, now was accompanied to the place of eternal rest by her godchild. The rhythm of holy sacraments. The rhythm of the Church that reveals with its Liturgy the sense of each stage of our lives.

I’ve remembered this tomb since I was little. We would come here to pray for my Gramdma, then for my Grandpa, and later for his sister, Today they are joined by their daughter. The family is united at the tomb. I saw my sister and my cousins for the last time at my sister’s wedding. Today, 12 years later, I learn again the names of their children and the first granddaughter. We are happy about the meeting, although somewhere at the background we are aware of the circumstances. It seems, however, that Auntie does not mind us being joyful as in death there’s also joy of eternity, the joy of meeting Jesus, the joy of a life fulfilled.

Today we also learned that our Dosia’s husband’s mother has gone, too.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. One day we shall meet in heaven.

Fr Jay

when we endure patiently in everyday life.

Something wonderful has been happening in the last 19 years: FertilityCare/NaProTECHNOLOGY has become available to Spanish speaking nations.

The largest Latin American delegation ever took part in Pope Paul VI Programs this year: 7 professionals and 3 priests – from Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil. A strong branch of a beautiful tree of life.

Dream began in ’94 with a Mexican doctor who knew how to persevere in fruitful prayers, which caused a crazy, fearless and inspiring Mexican woman, Eloisa, to join Education Program in Omaha in 2009 and become a representative for couples for this part of the world. Since then, almost 15 FertilityCare Professionals, and also priests, from Mexico, Costa Rica, Spain and Colombia, have completed PPVI I programs and have been working silently as the apostles of Humanae Vitae at many fronts of their places of origin, as well in the US.

Inquiries grew and took Dr. Hilgers, Dr. Keefe, Dr. Aldana and Dr. Diaz to Costa Rica, Colombia and Argentina. Some FCP programs are already being taught in those places.

By 2013, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Gibraltar, USA and Spain will be home to at least 11 FCP programs taught in Spanish!

This confirms that great things happen when we endure patiently in everyday life. A great opening of the Year of Faith for the global FertilityCare community!

Beatriz

Beatriz Gonzalez, Mexico, wife and mother. Social entrepreneur and development consultant. Committed promotor of FertilityCare in Spanish ever since she and her husband became clients in 2006. FertilityCare Practitioner Intern at Pope Paul VI Institute. She leads a CrMs FertilityCare Program/Vida Florida Latinamerica based in Mexico City, which reaches to date clients of México, Colombia, Argentina, Costa Rica and Chile. Translates the Family Support Foundation blog into Spanish.