Tonight's prayer meeting at the Gruber home felt like Christmas! When we arrived, our host and prayer-leader - Dre' - surprised us by generously gifting each of us with a Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin (bottom-left). It was beautiful, yet sad at the same time, with all it lovely pictures depicting Our Lady's sorrows!
... so to change things up a bit, instead of praying the traditional Rosary this month, Dre' lead us in praying our new rosaries to console the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which had been pierced so painfully by seven sorrowful events that were reflective of the cruelty of mankind towards her Divine Son. A couple of us were moved to tears during the prayer. Even the statue of the Rosa Mystica on the home shrine appeared to take on a deeply saddened expression while the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows was in progress. It only resumed it's normal expression - with its faint smile - once all our prayers were over. As confirmation, another person also reported seeing the same changes in the statue's features.
What others also found very touching tonight was the life of the Spanish founder, Bl. Maria Carmen of the Child Jesus, who was this month's featured Saint (and relic) at the meeting. She was a valiant woman who, through the grace of God, patiently endured an abusive husband for twenty years before he was converted through her devout example. After his death, Maria Carmen founded the congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart to care for orphans and the poor in her community; she died in 1899 with a solid reputation for sanctity and was beatified in May 2007. We prayed for the Blessed's intercession for all our prayer intentions and asked the Lord for her speedy Canonization.
We again closed the evening with a delicous meal and a bottle of wine shared among us... and topped things off with lively conversation and some heartfelt faith-sharing about our personal experiences of God. I left the Gruber home filled with a deep sense of the Lord's peace and also very grateful to Him and our dear Blessed Mother for another great night spent with the both of them... with Bl. Maria Carmen... and with my wonderful spiritual family in Christ.
A couple of prayer group members smiling
brightly after a night of intense prayer and
a wonderful meal of soup and salad.
No comments:
Post a Comment
[Your comment/feedback is welcomed. However, business advertisements of any sort are not allowed and will be deleted. Thank you.]