Last weekend, I thought I was going to see Father Michael E. Gaitley, MIC speak about
Divine Mercy and after just completing his book, 33 Days to Morning Glory,
(which I highly recommend)
I was very excited to see him!
He was unable to be here though, so they
sent another man, transitional Deacon Chris,
from the Marion Fathers of the Immaculate Conception,
in Stockbridge, MA
(to be ordained a priest in May 2014)
He was a dynamic speaker and talked about the Shroud of Turin,
you know this picture I have pictured on my blog:
The shroud of Turin, believed to be the cloth that Jesus Christ was wrapped in.
He spoke all about the Shroud, and all the amazing findings
and then, he talked about Divine Mercy, St Faustina
and the image
she had painted of our Lord.
And then, at the end of his first talk,
he ended it with this image of the two combined,
The Shroud and the Divine Mercy Image.
It was found by accident when somewhere they were able to hang an image of
the Shroud and an image of Divine Mercy was already up,
with the light shining through both,
this was seen:
It brought tears to my eyes, just seeing it,
as the Shroud has always been a favorite of mine,
so much so, that I have His face
(an actual picture of our Lord!)
hanging all over my house!
And
in our living room, I have the two right next to each other.
When they compared the two originals, they matched with a
99.5% accuracy.
Amazing!
When they compared the two originals, they matched with a
99.5% accuracy.
Amazing!
I took away so much from this speaker.
I get very excited, I can hardly contain myself.
I'm reminded of my vocation of motherhood
and although, my heart wants to be in prayer,
at Mass, at the Adoration Chapel, I know
and am thankful for what I am called to do at this time.
I am reading another of Father Michael E. Gaitley's books,
A book, I've had a hard time putting down
to do those vocation of motherhood things!
I have to say it has been life changing,
or even better, soul changing.
I hope to write about it this week.
That is so cool how the painting of Jesus and shroud form the same image. Sounds like a great and inspirational speaker. So glad you could participate! Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteOh, it was great to go, to get out, without the kids and be inspired! To re-fill with zeal!! You have a great week too Deb!
Delete"I'm reminded of my vocation of motherhood
ReplyDeleteand although, my heart wants to be in prayer,
at Mass, at the Adoration Chapel, I know
and am thankful for what I am called to do at this time." so many of us need to remind ourselves of this prior to beating ourselves up over not being in Mass or at the Adoration Chapel. I need to remind myself of this more often. These are also beautiful words to share with a new homeschool mom in our group. She would truly appreciate it at this time when she is struggling with what isn't happening more often than she wants, i.e. daily mass.
So true, it is so easy to be upset or almost look at the kids and my "job" as a burden, but it is a blessing, the two, the yearning and the vocation seem to be intertwined...
DeleteThat's incredible. I, also, have a devotion to the shroud, but I never saw the similarity to the Divine Mercy image! 33 Days to Morning Glory was awesome, but Consoling the Heart of Jesus is life-changing. I highly recommend the whole program with the video series and group discussion. For both of them, actually.
ReplyDeleteMe either!! I was amazed, it made me just get goosebumps and go, "Wow" especially since I have them pictured together at home!! I was wondering about the workbook...is it only for groups? I'd love to start a book club using these books.
DeleteYou should! I did 33 days on my own, and then facilitated a group the next year, and it was so much more intense and fulfilling! Then I participated in the CHJ via google hangouts. You could do them alone, but you really need the DVD's and workbooks.
DeleteI agree with Patty...
ReplyDeleteThat is something I struggle with too.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful post, dear friend. : )
OH, I think we all do. Sometimes, I think , "Oh, I'd love to run to the chapel right now!" Then I get busy with the kids or whatever and just do not have time to do it as much as I'd love to.
DeleteI've always been fascinated by the Shroud of Turin ever since I read my first book on it when I was about 13 or 14. You've inspired me to go and research more on it. I'm so glad you got to go to such a great event!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to watch the video that I linked, I'm sure it is really good. This man talked about all the findings in the shroud and that the Church was finally going to give all to conclude all findings, to basically say YES this was from Jesus, but that very day, October 13, whatever year, the Pope was shot, (Pope John Paul II) so they dropped it and never proceeded to complete it. SO he just said, all the findings that have been proven are enough for us to go on faith for the rest. He said, possibly that is what God wants us to do, just believe--faith. From everything I've read, I do not know what else could be "proven"!! Let me know what you read or find, I'd love to read more!
DeleteThere are ties to the image given by Our Lady to Juan Diego and the Shroud/Vilnius image as well. It's amazing stuff. We went to a Divine Mercy Image Crusade event about 5 years ago. My husband was given a relic to transport to Iraq when they found out he was headed there. Their goal was to have them all over the world. His went to a priest in Baghdad. It's so powerful, I hope more and more people embrace the Vilnius image through fr gaitley!
ReplyDeleteOh, my gosh, Lisa, what a blessing your husband was to be able to carry the relic and to deliver it to where it was needed!
DeleteI think we need to pray for Fr Gaitley, I'm sure he's under a lot of trials...want to join a book club using his books? My house? Your house?
YES! Maybe! I just started a Well- Read Mom group. (joined, not running one) but, so far, I have read Kristen and picked up The Good Earth for discussion next month. I enjoyed neither of them. Both left me feeling dissappointed and wondering, "How is this making me a better Catholic Woman?" Perhaps I am missing the mark since women everywhere seem to be raving about the intellect of reading WRM. So far, I'm not getting it. I'm even dreading having to go talk about it, except for seeing my friend who is hosting!
DeleteGaitley reading, however, I'm sure could make, even me, a better Catholic woman.
What do you think about a Google Hangout Book group? I've never used it, but when my daughter heard me talking about this last night with my husband, she said, "Mom, you wouldn't have to add more than an hour to your calendar if you did a Google Hangout group and you could do it from home!
When I did the CHJ study group, we did it via Google Hangouts. The hostess had to have a laptop on which to show the dvd that we could all watch, then we could discuss. There were some technical issues, but it was basically easy and very inspirational!
DeleteYou know you can always go visit the shrine in MA, and you would have some friends more than willing to put you up!
ReplyDeleteOh, gosh!! That would be wonderful!! Double blessings!! Have you met any of the seminarians? Like Deacon Chris?
DeleteThis is amazing. I still need to get my hands on those books. Need to get Brian on the computer to order them for me.I am hopeless! Our vocation as mamas and wives are so important and such a blessing.
ReplyDeleteChristine, all you need is the credit card number that you are using and the VC code...on the back, and your address. If you are ordering from a legitimate company, you would have no problems...like the one I linked. You can do it!!
DeleteLife changing, I tell you, life changing--SOUL changing.
ReplyDeleteJamie,
I love these books too. Did you know that you can also purchase a "Consoling Jesus" prayer book? It's awesome. I highly recommend it.
I found a website that gives away the second book for free (I'm sorry, I forgot the website right now!). They sent me two free copies. I still have one left. If I can find the extra book, I wonder if your friend Christine might enjoy it? Let me see if I can find it! By the way, Jaime our Franciscan Third Order Group had a retreat this past weekend on a beautiful campground near a lake. We had daily Mass for three days, adoration, Confession, and talks on Jesus and the Blessed Mother. I offered up my Masses and Holy Communion for all Mamas including you Jaime and Marijanna (I prayed for you by name) and your families. I wish I could join your book club! Boy, would I love to chat with you someday! You should come to Mass and visit the Divine Mercy Shrine - it is so beautiful and peaceful!
Love,
Maria
I did NOT know that, I'll have to check it out!! OH, thank you so much Maria Therese for always praying for me, you are such a wonderful, thoughtful woman. It would be fun to meet someday...but vacation to me is to someplace warm!! But, you never know....with Colleen's offer! HAHA!
DeleteAlso, I have links to where the Consoling Jesus Companion Prayer Book (as well as the other books) can be purchased on my blog - hope that helps!
Deletehttp://hailmaryfullofgrace-mt.blogspot.com/
Jamie, did you know that the Divine Mercy Shrine here in MA publishes a wonderful little magazine for no charge? I believe you can sign up for it on the website. You can also read the magazine online:
ReplyDeletehttp://thedivinemercy.org/library/download.php?subjectID=2
PS. I prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet this afternoon at 3 pm and prayed for you and your family!
Oh, Maria Therese--you are wonderful--:)
Delete