7 months without our angel

                                7 months without that smile....MISSING YOU LIKE CRAZY!!!

 

Today this is my screen saver, because these are the two faces that make me smile and make me cry.

My Daughters...you will never know the love I have for you, the constant Joy you give me and the memories I will always cherish.

You are my heart, and I count myself blessed everyday.

"Of all the mommies in the world, God chose me!" I've been saying that to them since they were a year old. Because I always felt these two were the most special angels on earth.

You belong to our father in heaven, but for a short while he allowed me to care for you and teach you about his love. I know you learned well, you are both amazing examples of our love and our faith.Thank you for the honor.

I know you are with me

Feeling your presence, seeing your signs....missing you more each day 

Love you my Angel in Heaven

 

     Thank you for the Angel

You lent us for awhile

She brought us laughter

and an everlasting smile.

She loved us,inspired us

our own true guiding light,

now she lives in heaven

with wings so pure and white.

She will forever walk softly 

in our hearts and in our dreams

and when our tears begin to fall

her spirit will surround us

lending comfort to us all.

 We will always miss her,

time can not erase the pain

yet, we are always grateful

That into our lives

Our Precious Daughter Came

                  
                                                        
                                                 

                                                         

Divine Mercy

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday

Jesus said  to Saint Faustina,

"Say unceasingly this chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great Mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this Chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My Infinite Mercy. I desire that the  whole world know My Infinite Mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those who trust in My Mercy...." (Diary 687)

"....When they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person not as the just judge but as the Merciful Savior".

 1. Begin with the Sign of the Cross, 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and The Apostles Creed.

2. Then on the Our Father Beads say the following:
Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

3. On the 10 Hail Mary Beads say the following:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

(Repeat step 2 and 3 for all five decades).

4. Conclude with (three times):
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

With our focus on prayer, and trust in God's will, we are able to allow a tragedy to change us for the better. Each of us has a purpose here, if we allow emotions to get the better of us we loose site of good that can come. Let God mold you into who you are supposed to be. Not you trying to mold yourself into what you want to be.....be still.... listen...God speaks to our hearts not our heads. If not for Nicole, this public blog of our grief would not exist. 

People who read it and find comfort, or seek the loving God who is waiting for them, are doing so because of a beautiful soul in heaven. 

She has gained us a glimpse of what we may obtain if we seek our faith. 

In all things Thank God for what you have~Trust God for what you need

On Grief

Grief is a tidal wave that over takes you,

smashes down upon you with unimaginable force,

sweeps you up into its darkness,

 

where you tumble and crash with unidentifiable surfaces,

only to be thrown out on an unknown beach,

bruised, reshaped.... 

grief will make a new person out of you, if it doesn't kill you in the making. 

 In grief  this is a daily occurrence, something you cannot cope with without prayer, meditation, and daily support.

 Prayer is the only way through the grief, 

God's grace allows you to cling to Hope.

 

 

 

Nicole you were our gift and we treasured your life

We thank God again and again for the honor to be your family

HAPPY EASTER

 

Our Hope restored!

Thank you, Jesus for suffering at the hands of the unjust for me

Thank you, Jesus for dying on the cross for our salvation

Thank you, Jesus for loving me, for I am nothing without you

Prepare the Feast

Our Easter tradition of preparing the Feast last year

Grandma helping helping out         making Pizza Rustica

                        

                   

A family event at our house...that takes the entire day

 Pizza Rustica

Making The Pastiera Di Pasqua

                                                                   The Easter Wheat Pie

                                                                    

Always wearing our Italian shirts while we cook : )

 Nicole's shirt: "Not only Am perfect, I'm Italian Too!"

 Nothing is the same without you,Niki

WE WAIT

  On Holy Saturday the Church waits at the Lord's tomb, meditating on his suffering and death. The altar is left bare, and the sacrifice of the Mass is not celebrated. Only after the solemn vigil during the night, held in anticipation of the resurrection, does the Easter celebration begin, with a spirit of joy that overflows into the following period of fifty days.

 The Sacrifice made for our sins

  The day is and should be the most calm and quiet day of the entire Church year, a day broken by no liturgical function. Christ lies in the grave, the Church sits near and mourns. After the great battle He is resting in peace, but upon Him we see the scars of intense suffering...The mortal wounds on His Body remain visible....Jesus' enemies are still furious, attempting to obliterate the very memory of the Lord by lies and slander.

             Mary and the disciples are grief-stricken,  the Church  mourns.

The Church keeps vigil at the tomb while awaiting the celebration of his resurrection.

GOOD FRIDAY

The Passion Of The Lord

  On Good Friday, the entire Church fixes her gaze on the Cross at Calvary. Each member of the Church tries to understand at what cost Christ has won our redemption. In the solemn ceremonies of Good Friday, in the Adoration of the Cross, we unite ourselves to our Savior, and we contemplate our own death to sin in the Death of our Lord.

    On this day we experience our sense of loss because Mass throughout the year reminds us of the Lord's triumph over death, the source of our joy and blessing. 

The desolate quality of the rites of this day reminds us of Christ's humiliation and suffering

during his Passion. 

The Veneration of the Cross

 In the seventh century, the Church in Rome adopted the practice of Adoration of the Cross from the Church in Jerusalem, where a fragment of wood believed to be the Lord's cross had been venerated every year on Good Friday since the fourth century. According to tradition,  the wood of the cross was brought forward. The bishop placed the relic on the a table in the chapel of the Crucifixion and the faithful approached it, touching brow and eyes and lips to the wood as the priest said (as every priest has done ever since): 

 'Behold, the Wood of the Cross.' 

Adoration or veneration of an image or representation of Christ's cross does not mean that we are actually adoring the material image, of course, but rather what it represents. In kneeling before the crucifix and kissing it we are paying the highest honor to the our Lord's cross as the instrument of our salvation. Because the Cross is inseparable from His sacrifice, in reverencing His Cross we are, in effect, adoring Christ. Thus we affirm:  

'We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee because by Thy Holy Cross Thou has Redeemed the World.'

Each of us has our own cross, this is a time to unite our cross to the cross of Jesus, to see the love and sacrifice made for us.

In the symbol of the Cross we can see the magnitude of the human tragedy, the ravages of original sin, and the infinite love of God. Lent is a particularly appropriate time to attempt to penetrate the true meaning of this sacred image represents through prayerful contemplation; and to study the traditions surrounding the Christian symbol of the Cross. 

On this day, may you feel the Love Of Christ surround you to help you carry your cross.

The Lord's Supper

We prepare tonight for the Last Supper

Holy Thursday is the day that Christ celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples, four days after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Only hours after the Last Supper, Judas would betray Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, setting the stage for Christ's Crucifixion on Good Friday.

Holy Thursday is the day that Catholics commemorate the institution of three pillars of the Catholic Faith: the Sacrament of Holy Communion, the Priesthood and the Mass During the Last Supper, Christ blessed the bread and wine with the very words that Catholic and Orthodox priests use today to consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ during the Mass and the Divine Liturgy. In telling His disciples to:

 "Do this in remembrance of Me,"

He instituted the Mass and made them the first priests.

Near the end of the Last Supper, after Judas had departed, Christ said to His disciples,

 "A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another."  

HOLY WEEK

Lord Jesus,

You are always my strength, my refuge and my hope. 

Bring me to the Father's care even when I seem worn with cares and worries. Let this Holy time fill my soul in gentle peace so that I may be willing to give you my all.

Thank you for the forty days and nights I have been privileged to be with you. May the graces given never be worn out but always renewed in your mercy. Allow me to see the JOY in all things from you. Amen

 Don't write your name in sand, waves will wash it away.

Don't write your name in the sky, wind will blow it away.

Write your name in the 

hearts of people you come in touch with,

That's where it will stay.

GIVE THANKS

Dear God, I want to take a

minute,not to ask

 for anything from you, 

but simply to 

say thank you, for all I have

The Week That Changed The World

 

 This is the week we as Catholics unite ourselves to the sacrifice and suffering of Jesus. I have always taken special care in this week to prepare my heart and humble myself before our God. This year it is much more intense for me. In September, I was at the foot of the cross with Mother Mary watching my child suffer. It is agonizing, and although I did not know the outcome I trusted the will of God.

 As a mother's love is like no other, you can understand how I have gotten to this place of pain and sometimes disbelief . I was numb for a while, angry and sad all part of the process, I'm told. But I think my heart will be broken forever...that's just a fact.  Some days have been worse than others,and even though I cry myself to sleep some nights,this morning I read some of my letters from nights before,and found that to be healing. I have increased my prayer during Lent and received many graces and comfort.

This week I will unite myself to that cross again, and focus on the Love of Jesus. I encourage anyone who has not seen The Passion of Christ to watch it this week...prepare your heart for the sacrifice that was made for us. We understand better the Resurrection, when we walk the walk to Calvary.

 

It is because of the peace of God that our hearts are protected and consoled our faith is holding us together