Miracle Moments

  Emily, Ben, Johnny, me, Mac, Jake, Zack and their dad John last Thanksgiving. Friday August 22 on the Queenship of Mary I celebrated my birthday with my sons and my daughter-in-law Emily who thanked me on mother's day for giving  her her best friend.  Isn't that who every girl wants... to marry-their best friend?!  Anywho I'd now like to share this blog I recently wrote but never posted because, quite frankly, I couldn't get the picture uploaded.  Technically challenged. So I woke up tonite as I often do in the middle of the night..and I thought of how grateful I am for my five sons….I’ve written   in the past about our struggles, however today, I want you to know the power of unrelenting prayer. My oldest son Johnny is getting his Doctorate in International Development.  He is a missionary in Liberia west Africa where he spent 8 years….earned his mba (straight A’s) online to run a Catholic school there for orphans and other children…now he’s statesi...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       SECOND ACT                                                   ...

  Ed and Rita Agape Love    

    Sometimes God gets our attention through miracles, meteor explosions, and mind blowing human beings. The latter is my friend Hedy. On this day -July 3-many moons ago, God sent her into the world to rock our reality. She single-handedly infuses God‘s presence in our lives. She never shys away from cultural expectations and judgments, which demean and even deny the one and only God of creation. Her love for Jesus and his mom Mary pours forth a resounding and anointed spirit of heavenly grace and light that transfigures each and every life that is blessed to come to know her🌅 Praying for amazing supernatural blessings on this your day of birth🙏💝🌹 2 Corinthians 12:2

I’m in Germany, helping my uncles …one of them had to go to the hospital because his wounds were infected…and as I returned home from the hospital -this is what I saw “in the car driving through the lush green countryside of Germany the Lord gave me a glimpse of his over arching presence in my life, the miracle of the sun I always like to call it…a solar heartbeat…….the pulsating sun with a disk that looks just like the Eucharist …tonight the colors were just beautiful. …rose and blue and then as time went by - more vibrant, royal blue, lime, green, deep rich violet it was just amazing and it was like it was following me and my second cousin Ursula. Such a beautiful anointed gift and all I could say was I love you Jesus because I knew he wanted me to know I’ve got this. I’m here, it’s OK and I have felt a tremendous peace this entire trip so thank you for all your prayers. 

 I’m in Germany helping my two uncles who are 89 and 90 because they have leg wounds that have caused them a lot of issues and my second cousin is worn out so I’m here to help. I don’t know how much help I can actually give but I know I can help reduce the stress. Stress is a killer…and as I took a few moments to relax, I was looking through some of my old blogs cause I haven’t written in a very long time …I came across a comment from an old friend, Matthew, who apparently still reads my blog and I was praying that he’s happy that he’s found his purpose and the people that make him happy. I don’t know how to contact him , but I want him to know that  you can reach out and connect… Through helping the elderly who are my friends I’ve learned that life is a very short journey and connecting with those we love and giving of ourselves -breathes resurrecting life into us… through their suffering, and our yes-life begins anew💝

Link to  I am writing to all the precious human beings who have been ravaged by the soul binding effects of rape by memb ers of the  Catholic clergy.  My heart bleeds for you and I’m so sorry  for the systemic coverups ,  and  that you have not received more public empathy from the  Church hierarchy or the  Catholic laity.   However,  I am very grateful to all the voices that have cried out in this darkness :  my son, the press ,  and the lawyers.   I am a mom of two sons victimized by a pedophile,  as well as  a Catholic  graduate of Notre Dame Seminary  who  continues to  kneel before the Lord at daily Mass.  I want you to know that I see you, that I am here for you, and that your lives matter to me.  I want you to know that you are God’s beloved and  that  he sees clearly  the evil that has been inflicted upon you by those who  stand in persona Christi who...

  i felt the holy spirit urging me to re-post this today.... The deeper meaning speaks volumes to me... A little over a year ago I sat with a half dozen other women waiting for a mammogram. The lady next to me asked, “How long has it been since you had your last one?” Taking a deep breath I replied, “Several years.” “So, you’re that woman?” She asked in disbelief. “Yes-I am,” I answered. I didn’t even try to explain why, because in that moment, the reasons rang hollow. The next day I got a call to return for a follow up mammogram because of suspicious calcification. After the experts read that one, I got another phone call. I would have to go under the knife for a breast biopsy to see if I had cancer. At that point I was really worried. My dear mother had died of breast cancer. So I told the Lord begrudgingly, “Fine, if you want me to have cancer for the conversion of so and so and so and so, then fine…I’ll accept it.” I was convinced it was a done deal. God however, was just begin...

                                                       Dr. Benjamin

Please Pray for Peace in Ukraine       Thirty five years ago , April 27, 1987 the Blessed Mother allegedly appeared in Hrushiv Ukraine with a warning and words of consolation. She came on the Feast of the Ascension, exactly one year after the nuclear reactor disaster at Chernobyl saying "Do not forget those who have died...Chernobyl is a reminder and a sign for the whole world." In 1990 while producing a television documentary in Ukraine, I visited Hrushi and interviewed a handful of people who had witnessed the apparition above the church of the Holy Trinity. In all, some five hundred thousand witnesses claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary over a four month period. Mary apparently told them she came to thank the Ukrainian people because they had suffered so much at the hands of a raging lion who had been prowling around seeking whom he could devour. She said their suffering would come to an end and one day Ukraine would become an independent state. She then urged discipl...

                                                    Discovering the Christian meaning of                                                                             "Suffering"            The Christian meaning of suffering as explained so beautifully by Pope St. John Paul II in “Salvifici Doloris,” is deeply rooted in our Christian anthropology and correspondingly, in our corporal and metaphysical intelligence. “Suffering seems to belong to man’s transcendence…” (Salvifici Doloris 2). We are actually wired by God, to benefit individually and collectively from the experience of suffering which, paradoxically, has the capacity to push ...

I am publishing this blog today asking for prayers for a friends 20 year old son who is entering Comunita Cenacolo today, after a long, difficult battle with his addiction to opiates, cocaine and other life threatening substances. I first wrote this for a blog published by my professor at Notre Dame Seminary here in New Orleans. From the Darkness Into the Light There is no challenge that will stretch a parent’s capacity to love with the merciful heart of Christ more than when their child is suffering from the brain disease of addiction. This is one darkness that will also push a parent to climb up on the cross with Jesus and cling in desperation to his battered and bloody body. The agony of the crucifixion and the pain wrought by active addiction are parallel journeys intimately embedded in the mystery of the Cross where victory over sin has been claimed ...

So many of you are “Finding Dory” on the movie screen. I found Dori in 1986 high atop a mountain in Medjugorje Bosnia Herzegovina. “This is a holy place, not a Catholic place, a holy place.” Dori’s words of wisdom captured my heart as I interviewed her for a television documentary on the reported apparitions of the Blessed Mother to six young visionaries. "...a holy place." This profoundly simple proclamation of heaven’s earthly anointing spoke to my soul-and I immediately felt drawn to Dori! Who knew that this groundbreaking news assignment would lay the groundwork for a deeply spiritual connection with Dori that has spanned nearly 31 years. What touched me back then and continues to inspire me to this day is Dori’s natural willingness to look at life through an unfiltered lense of universal love; her deeply pragmatic yet prophetic view of the gifts that God has given her; and her willingness to carry her crosses and imperfections with quiet dignity. Dori’s ste...

“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven..." Matthew 18:3-5 Out of the mouths of babes! World Youth Day in Krakow Poland announced to the world that God is very much alive, hope is in endless supply and the future of humanity rests in the energizing faith of our youth! Hundreds of thousands of young Catholics from around the globe converged to make this the largest gathering of its kind in the world! They inspired unity among diverse cultures and their obvious joy yielded an outpouring of love that is certain to spread far and wide well into the future. On a personal note I am so proud of my friend Benny's son Daniel who is on the video! Go Comunita Cenacolo! Check out this story at the link below- https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154005834943821&id=181277843820&_rdr

My friend Karen bid farewell to her husband this weekend and I know the passing of his life from here to eternity has been painful. She celebrated anyway, because that’s what loving someone is really all about; celebrating their life and their love and their unique imprint on our world…even when they are no longer here. Great loves always leave an indelible imprint that never fades. It is as though an ethereal spirit remains to remind us of the value of that person and their place in our life. We feel them in the raw and rigorous process of grief that only time can carry away. We embrace them in the joy that, for now, is secondary to the loss that lingers longer than we would like. We hold them in our hurting hearts because it is so true, “parting is such sweet sorrow.” In a special ceremony Karen celebrated Mel in one last dance of love that honors the gift of their marriage, the joy of their lives together and the hope that they brought to so many by their bold choice to...

Where there is life there is hope and where there is hope, there is God. I’ve always believed in that uncompromising truth despite the debilitating darkness that refuses to dissipate during active addiction. As I watched my oldest son Johnny slipping deep into the abyss I clung to hope, praying through the paralyzing terrain of relapse and recovery, believing with every fiber of my human will in the saving grace of God who is the source and the summit of all hope! Last December I witnessed the powerful manifestation of hope in action during my 24 day visit to Liberia West Africa where Johnny has now been a missionary for 31 months. I watched with gratitude as he juggled his daily work routine, which is wrapped around prayer, with his responsibilities to the other missionaries and to the orphans, 31 children ages 1 and a half to 17. I marveled at his strength and resiliency amid the long hours, the sweltering heat, and the humble living conditions. I was deeply touched by his...

“God calls us specifically to love this world, to be carriers of hope and sparks of light and kindness that resurrect humanity.” Mother Elvira Dec. 3-4, 2015 In the chalice of my being I could not contain my joy! Ripples of laughter flowed across the vast ocean from Brussels to Africa as my new friend and fellow passenger Margiah and I joked about the comedy of errors that brought us to this space. Providence had provided me with a seat on the final flight to Liberia, right next to a wonderfully entertaining Liberian woman! Margiah wore a festive skirt called a Lapa and a headdress which only accentuated her colorful personality. She told me she lived in Houston but was returning to her homeland for the holidays. Since neither of us could sleep we giggled away the miles like two school girls on Christmas break! I felt warmly connected to her spirit and the peace that flowed heart to heart. In fact, I felt at home among all the passengers the majority of whom were African. ...

“We believe that in the darkest night, it is possible to find light again.” -Mother Elvira Petrozzi Lent is a perfect time for me to reflect on the lessons I learned recently in Liberia West Africa thanks to a living saint, Mother Elvira. In the next few posts I will share excerpts from my daily journal. December 3, 2015 As United Flight 1140 taxies down the runway in New Orleans, my heart is overflowing with gratitude! Divine intervention is literally leading me to Liberia to spend the next few weeks with my Catholic missionary son Johnny; to walk in his shoes; to learn the Lord’s will for my life. Johnny has been in Liberia for two years so initially I think this trip is about seeing him. However, something is telling me this is a mission of mercy for the benefit of my soul! Today is the Feast of St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit missionary Priest who-yes-traveled to Africa to share his contagious love...

I felt vulnerable and weak. It was an uncomfortable feeling because I generally feel in control and strong. However, in late October I tripped on a hidden vine at the top of a small hill and the next thing I knew, the full weight of my body slammed down onto my left arm and the side of my face. One moment I was standing, and the next moment I lay on the ground in searing pain. “Please don’t be broken,” I whispered. It was. The x-rays showed not one but two breaks in my upper arm. “I don’t think you’ll need surgery,” the doctor said. Thank you Jesus I thought. However, the doctor told me he couldn’t cast the upper arm, so I would just have to wear a sling and be very careful. “How long will it take to heal?” I asked worried. “I’m going to Liberia West Africa in December to be with my son.” “You won’t be fully healed,” he replied “But you should be able to travel.” I was worried. Here I had waited six and a half years to do an experience with my son who is in Comunita C...