Just a Fat Sassy Grandma

Father, thank you for being here present for me to adore. I know that Jesus is truly here, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist. I also know that where Jesus is present, so too are you and the Holy Spirit for I believe you are One God.

I bring my heart heavy for families torn apart by the lusts of this world. It can only come from one, and that is the devil, whose goal it is to trample all that is good, and family is at the top of that list. If he can succeed in tearing families apart, he will succeed in tearing society down, bit by bit, making us believe it’s all for the best.

Lord, please hear my prayers, not only for my own family but also for another family that I hold in my heart and You know their names. I ask that you send their Guardian Angels to nudge them and whisper to them to do what is right and good.

I ask that You dispel any and all greed or pride that is standing in the way of healing. Please give them the wisdom to know what is most important in this world, and it has nothing to do with material goods.

I pray for the relationship for grandparents and grandchildren as it is a bond that cannot be replaced. They need each other!

Father, please surround those families in crisis with Your Love. Send Your Holy Spirit to shower them with gifts of strength, compassion, wisdom, fortitude, forgiveness, humility and peace.

Dispel all darkness from their lives and let them feel the warmth and comfort that comes from walking in Your Light!

All of this I beg of You, through Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit, for you are One God, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

Mary, Mother and Queen of all, pray for us.

Saint Anne & Joachim, pray for us.

Saint Michael, defend us from the evil one.

Saint Gabriel, bring us God’s peace.

Saint Raphael, bring us God’s comfort.

Saint Jude, pray for us.

Saint Rita, pray for us.

Saint Francis, pray for us.

Saint Monica & Saint Augustine, pray for us.

Saint Joseph, foster Father of Jesus, protector and provider of the Holy Family, pray for us.

Jesus, I trust in You.

Thank you Lord, for leading me to be here with You during this hour. I know it was Your hand that nudged me to be here when no one else was.

Please bless those who come to spend time with you today. Hear their prayers and answer them in Your will.

Lord, I continue to beg of you to show Your Holy Face in the Eucharist to the priests who confect your Sacrament. If they believe, strengthen their faith, if they doubt, erase that doubt, if they refuse to believe, please let them walk away. Give us holy priests, strong in faith, willing to lead all souls back to You, no matter the cost!

Please hear the intentions in my heart.

Mary, Queen of Heaven and earth, pray for us. Pray for priests.

Oh Mary, on this, the feastday of your birth I ask, I implore, that you intercede for mothers who have lost their sons to worldly tragedies like greed and pride. Ask your Son, Jesus, to heal these relationships and if that’s not possible to give these mothers the faith and strength to face each new day and each new challenge. You, Mary, above all, know the pain of losing your son.

I also request the intercession of your mother, Saint Anne, for those who cannot see and be with grandchildren because of rifts. The bond of a grandmother with her grandbabies is one that cannot be compared to another. They need each other. Please Saint Anne, ask your Grandson, Jesus, that if it is not possible to mend the parent child relationship, to please make a way for the grandparents to see and be with their grandbabies.

I pray for all families this morning and beg that we wake up to what is truly important.

Oh Jesus, give us souls on fire with your faith and hearts inflamed with your love! What a birthday present that would be for your mother!

Happy birthday Mary! Thank you for being my mother and thank you for your prayers and intercession.

Father, this morning as I light my bonfire of prayer please hear and know my intentions. Please watch over, lead and guide those in my heart and prayers.

I pray especially for strong and holy marriages, for the poor souls in Purgatory and for all who will die today.

And Father, please let your priests see your Son in the Eucharist they confect. Make them holy, faithful priests in love with your Church. Let all your clergy set an example of holiness and charity for your people.

Mary, Queen of Heaven and earth, pray for us.

Mary, Mother of us all, pray for us.

As I was coming to adoration this morning, I was listening to Relevant Radio and they were discussing the abuse crisis in the Church. The only thing that kept going through my head was the song “What if His people prayed” and I wonder how much we are at fault for not hitting our knees in adoration, contrition and thanksgiving.

If you are told you will be strong and beautiful if you spend an hour a day in the gym, chances are you would find that hour.

If you were told you would have all the money you would ever need or want if you spent an hour a day with your financial advisor, I bet you would find that hour every day.

Both of those can be noble goals, but we do we ignore? Who do we ignore?

An hour a day with Jesus does not promise you a good body or material wealth. An hour a day with Jesus prepares you for the challenges we face in this world. An hour a day with Jesus takes you out of yourself and leads you to care more for others.

An hour a day with Jesus prepares you for eternity. This hour is how you get your spiritual body in shape. This hour is how you recognize all the wealth that has been given you. This hour humbles you to your knees to worship He that deserves our all.

How sad it is that in all of Lexington there are not 336 faithful, believing Catholics willing to take one hour per week, (not per day), to spend in adoration with Jesus.

What if His people truly prayed? A committed Holy Hour will change your life, it will change your family, it will change your world and it will change His Church.

This morning I pray especially for our Church, His pilgrim Church on earth. Father, help us come to and face the truth. Lead us to cleansing and healing. Make your children and your church firm in faith, filled with hope and overflowing with charity.

Send reminders to your priests that the Gospel was not a Gospel of social justice, but it IS a Gospel of charity. Where there is true charity there will always be social justice. Help them unabashedly preach the Truth in order to lead souls to spend eternity with you. No more pussy footing around to keep those who hear from being uncomfortable in the present. I ask to be uncomfortable here, in this life, in order to be comfortable in your arms in life eternal!

Give us true faith.

Let us be filled with the only Hope there is.

Lead us to practice the real virtue of charity.

Mary, Queen of Heaven and earth, pray for us!

Saint Monica, pray for us!

Saint Augustine, pray for us!

Saint Ambrose, pray for us!

In his epistle to the Romans, St. Ignatius of Antioch stated the importance of truly being Christian, not just being called one: “Only request in my behalf both inward and outward strength, that I may not only speak, but truly will; and that I may not merely be called a Christian, but really found to be one. For if I be truly found a Christian, I may also be called one, and be deemed faithful.”
It’s all a matter of being humble. Once, St. Bernard of Clairvaux compared the proud man to the top of a snow-capped mountain at the beginning of spring and the humble man to the valley below. The melting snow, which is God’s grace, cannot flow upwards to the proud man: Through his attitude (he thinks he is at God’s level), he has put himself in a position in which he is incapable of receiving God’s grace. On the other hand, the humble man, since he is at the bottom of the mountain, fully receives the water of God’s grace, and therefore he can bear abundant fruit. Only the humble man can be truly in contact with God and let God’s grace work miracles in his life.
Lord, help me to value my Christian identity. I know that to live in a Christian way does not come naturally to anyone. It can come only with your light and grace. Give me the grace to contemplate you more deeply, so that you can be the standard for my actions and reactions.

From Regnum Christi daily meditation

August Queen of the Heavens, heavenly Sovereign of the Angels, Thou who from the beginning hast received from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan, we humbly beseech Thee to send thy holy legions, so that under Thy command and through Thy power, they may pursue the demons and combat them everywhere, suppress their boldness, and drive them back into the abyss.

O good and tender Mother, Thou wilt always be our love and hope! O Divine Mother, send Thy Holy Angels to defend us and to drive far away from us the cruel enemy. Holy Angels and Archangels, defend us, guard us. Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.
Virgin Most Powerful, pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.
All You Holy Angels, pray for us.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This morning Father, I pray especially for those who preach your Gospel and for those who confect your Eucharist, that they fervently believe in the words of Christ in the Gospel today, and have their souls set on fire with the gift of faith in the gift of your Son’s Body and Blood. Show them the Face of Christ in the Eucharist.

Mary, Mother of God, our Mother, pray for us!

What a memory we have that I would not trade for anything! After a cancellation in July of a lunch tour at the Kentucky Castle we were finally getting to go on Friday! And our 3 princesses wanted to dress for the occasion. Here they are all ready to go!

As we pulled up to the castle the giddiness and giggles of the girls was infectious and I think Skip and I were just as excited! Doesn’t it show in the stoic expressions? That’s royalty for you!

The girls Stopped to take in all the sights as we went through the gates. The oohhs and the aahhs were priceless!

The adults there could not understand why the girls would be so dressed up and if we heard it once, we heard a version of this question 15 times or so – “Is it a birthday party they are dressed up for?” And our answer, repeatedly – “If you bring princesses to a castle they should dress like the royalty they are!” Too many adults have lost their imagination!!

The most beautiful princesses in the world – Princess Izzy, Princess Colette and Princess Kayla on the stairs of the Kentucky Castle.

The girls were greeted by all the staff and the staff knew they were visiting princesses. It wasn’t long before Patrick, our tour guide, came out and greeted the girls and introduced himself.

We still had about 20 minutes before the tour started so the girls wanted to walk around a bit.

In the library/gift shop

Checking out the window of one of the ballrooms

And the tour begins – notice how the adults don’t mind standing in front of the little ones? Too many adults don’t look at for the little ones around them!

So after some history and trivia here we go! To one of the towers – which is also one of the hotel rooms.

Of course, the adults all went first, up the stairs to see the room and tower, so the girls and I went outside to have Grandpa take a picture of me with my princesses.

And soon we could go up the stairs

The view from the balcony of the tower

Then back inside to see the main house

I can’t sing Patrick’s praises enough! He made my girls feel so special! When we returned to the main house he climbed a few of the stairs and said he had a special announcement  – and this was that there were 3 visiting princesses who were on this tour. Once again, all the adults had gone in front of the girls so they couldn’t see, so Patrick asked them to make room for the princesses to come through and come forward.

Patrick even remembered each of their names and presented them by name – Princess Kayla, Princess Colette and Princess Izzy.

This also gave the little girls a chance to be in front of the adults so they could see what Patrick was pointing out.

Now upstairs to one of the rooms and look who we found –

Princess Colette pointed out that the Queen was made of cardboard.

Hallway before we go to the roof

On the roof

Princess Kayla and Princess Colette wanted to pose with Patrick – Princess Izzy was done with it! She wanted lunch.

Princess Colette said her favorite part of the tour was Patrick, and she couldn’t stop talking about him! She said “My heart was so full when he presented us that I thought I was going to cry!”

And we have to check out the huge fireplace!

One curtsy, one look of surprise and one fainting.

With their serving wench and man servant.

https://www.thekentuckycastle.com/