Holy Relic Visitation: Our Lady of Fatima Prayer Group, 1/31/2015

My ministry's veil-relic of
Our Lady makes a hospital visit
to comfort a sick relative.

Today was one of those days, which felt "ultra-productive" - I cleaned my small apartment (a.k.a. "Guadalupe House"); finished some important chores I had been putting off for a while; exercised; made a hospital visit to pray with a sick relative; then ended the day with an uplifting Rosary Prayer Meeting. Right now I'm tired but, at the same time, I feel highly contented with a sense of accomplishment.

So today was the first meeting of 2015 for Our Lady of Fatima Prayer Group at the Gruber/Lee home in Mililani.  Only a small group of us managed to make the meeting tonight, but it was fine - we had a wonderful time, as always.

Our Saint of the Month was St. Charles of Sezze (d. 1670), a stigmatized Franciscan Friar who in his life was considered too simple and uneducated to become a priest, and was assigned the lowliest tasks in his friary.  Yet through his deep, personal relationship with the Lord, he was blessed with a gift greater than earthly wisdom; he was granted the grace of understanding the most sublime truths of God and the Catholic Faith.  St. Charles received 'infused knowledge' from the Holy Spirit, which came with it a wisdom that enabled him to counsel not just common folk, but even the most learned of men came to him for guidance.  Through the life of this humble Francsican, we were reminded to also pray for this special wisdom that only the Holy Spirit can give us.

            

Our prayer group members enjoying our

fellowship meal. On the menu tonight were

Fried and Roasted Chicken, Pork Adobo,

Somen Salad, and Mango Chiffon Cake.

Of course the dinner that followed was great, too.  This time around the funny stories we shared with each other from our past personal experiences had us all howling with laughter.  By the time I left the meeting, my cheeks and stomach were a little sore from laughing so hard.  But it was fine with me - it just goes to show that the Holy Spirit was truly present in the Gruber/Lee home, as JOY is one of the fruits of his presence.  Thank you, Jesus, for blessing us abundantly with gifts that truly matter: Peace, Joy, Faith, Love, Hope, Health... and Friendship!  God is Good!