Category: Glorious Mysteries

Fifth Glorious Mystery – the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven

On December 8, 2010, Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay celebrated Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion WI, and declared the appearance of Mary to Sr. Adele Brise in this very spot in 1859 to be worthy of belief.  My friend Mary Ann, a third order Carmelite, had been offered a seat , along with a  guest, to attend the Mass, and she invited lucky (blessed) me 🙂  Neither of us knew that Bp Ricken was going to make the announcement that day – we just thought it would be a blessing to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception at the Shrine with the Bishop, which indeed it would be apart from anything else.  To actually be there when the pronouncement was made was truly a blessing – I’m so grateful to Mary Ann for inviting me!

     When Adele had asked the beautiful Lady who she was, Mary identified herself as the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners.  

      I had been to the Shrine a few times prior to the elevation of its status, but now Mary Ann and I both decided what a blessing it would be to volunteer there and be able to go more often, helping visitors on their pilgrimages.  We’ve been doing that for the last few years, and it’s always a grace-filled experience.  The Shrine is another oasis of peace, and Mary’s presence is sometimes  tangible.

      I’ve been blessed to make pilgrimages to Medjugorje, and to Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, WI and in Mexico City.  More and more I recognize this life as a perpetual pilgrimage to Heaven, with each day offering the opportunity to journey both inward and outward seeking a deeper relationship with the Lord.  Mary’s help along the way is that of a beautiful companion and gentle mother.  

As I’ve been able to make these pilgrimages, it’s become apparent that heaven is not far away, but rather more often encountered in unexpected familiar surroundings.  Each day opens the possibility of meeting the Lord and receiving His blessing and grace – life has become an adventure filled with good surprises!

 Lord God, thank You for all the times throughout history when You have appeared to simple people, often through Your Blessed Mother, bringing messages of hope and mercy.  May we be open to receive these graces in our everyday duties and interactions  with others ~

Fourth Glorious Mystery – the Assumption of Mary

When I meditate on the mystery of the Assumption, I’m reminded of an experience as a hospice volunteer that’s been a blessing in my life.  I was spending time with a lovely elderly lady who was dying of cancer, providing respite care so her husband could have time to run some errands.  She looked very beautiful, despite her sickness, with a radiance about her that testified to her deep faith.  She usually was sleeping or resting while I stayed with her, and it was the story a nurses aide related to me that I remember.

       The aide would help to give her a bath and help with personal cares, so she was often awake to interact with this aide.  As she was nearing death and that time when a person is living both in this world and beginning to enter the next, the aide was asking her about her life and what she had experienced in all those years.  The lady spoke about a dream she had had to run a day care center and take care of little ones, but that  dream had never materialized. The aide suggested that in heaven she could have a beautiful day care for all the children there, and the lady smiled at her and said yes, and she would take care of the aide’s three little ones who were in heaven.

     The aide was taken aback, and asked how could she know that she had lost three babies to miscarriages – she had never told her about that.  But the lady knew – she was so close to the other side that she knew, and the smile on her face at the happy thought of caring for them affirmed that inner knowing.

      Mary our Mother was assumed body and soul into heaven; this is our faith, and the witness of a kind and gentle soul who was about to go to meet her has reassured me of the truth of this belief…

     Lord God, thank You for the gift of faith that beckons me to the eternal life promised in the Scriptures.  May the knowledge of Mary’s entrance to heaven console and encourage us as we mourn the loss of those we have loved here on earth ~

Third Glorious Mystery – the Descent of the Holy Spirit

Our parish participated in the Renew program, and it was a real blessing to many of us.  It reawakened our faith, with a new and deeper desire to live the Gospel life.  One part of the program was a large group gathering with speakers from the diocese doing a presentation.

      There weren’t very many of us there that night, and the couple presenting said they felt led to change their original presentation.  The core of the message they felt led to give was how to fulfill the desire within you to experience God’s power in your life.

     I knew that something was missing in my spiritual life.  All of my life I had been trying to live the Christian life, but it was obvious to me that something was lacking – my walk was so far from the Gospel life I desired.  I listened intently to the words I hoped would bring me the answer I sought.

      The couple said, if you want to experience the power of God in your life, do three things:

  1. pray
  2. get to know Jesus personally
  3. invite the Holy Spirit into your life

      I could remember a simple formula like that, so first, I made a commitment to spend 15 minutes a day in prayer.  Secondly, I had been teaching 3rd grade CCD, and the need came for a 7th grade teacher.  I agreed, and found that the 7th grade curriculum centered on the life of Jesus.  Third, a prayer to the Holy Spirit literally fell out of two different books at me!  So I began to pray that prayer daily also.

      In our Renew group, I had begun to recognize more clearly the difference between my walk and my talk, especially in the matter of prayer.  I talked about it a lot, taught it to  the kids, but wasn’t consistent in my own prayer life.  One of the ladies in the Renew group was a member of a charismatic prayer group that had formed in our parish to pray for Renew – so I joined them.  I also joined a Moms in Touch prayer group that met weekly to pray for our kids and the schools.  The three points were in place now, and I found a gradual sense of growth in my faith life.  It made a huge jump when our prayer group went through a Life in the Spirit video seminar, and I was prayed for to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit.  The Lord had been preparing my heart, and I was finally ready to give Him a solid Yes.  

     I experienced what have been almost universally agreed as fruits of receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.  My knowledge of God’s deep love for me moved from just in my mind into my heart; the desire to pray grew stronger; I had a desire to read the Scriptures, and they came alive for me in a new way; the Mass became more meaningful; and perhaps most noticeable was a gift of courage to do things that I had always been fearful of before.  To speak before a group, even a small group of people I knew, would paralyze me, whereas now I found myself taking on leadership roles and speaking in front of people with an inner strength that wasn’t my own.

     I realized that although I had been trying so very hard to live the Christian life, I had been doing it in my own power, which was painfully inadequate.  The Lord was showing me how to begin to live it in the power of the Holy Spirit.  There’s still so very much more to grow into, but I’m incredibly grateful for the gift of the Holy Spirit to lead me on the way!

     Lord God, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit! Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in us the fire of Your love.  Send forth Your Spirit, and we shall be created, and You shall renew the faith of the earth…

Second Glorious Mystery – the Ascension

It was Pentecost weekend, and we were about to celebrate the Feast Sunday morning at Holy Name Retreat House on Chambers Island.  The retreat team had inflated bunches of bright red helium balloons, and called us all outside to watch them ascend up into the blue sky above the trees.  There were about 30 of us – a good sized group, all standing still with our eyes looking skyward as the balloons were released and bobbed and floated their way higher and higher above our heads.

      A clear voice of authority broke the silence.  Jean spontaneously proclaimed from Matthew Chapter 28, “Men of Galilee!  Why are you standing here? I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.  He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.  Come and see…” and she pointed to the chapel, where Jesus is Present in the Eucharist.  We filed in and celebrated Mass, knowing in a deeper way than before that indeed, Jesus is HERE!  Present to us in the Eucharist…

      Lord God, thank You for the incredible mystery of Your True Presence in the Eucharist, coming to be with us always in the Blessed Sacrament.  Help us to believe with all our hearts in Your True and Loving Presence with us, and to live our lives in such a way that we witness to that belief ~