January 2023

     Where do I begin to share my story?  This question made me pull up a song I hadn’t thought about in a long time, the Andy Williams song, “Where Do I Begin.” I searched iTunes for the lyrics and replaced the pronouns she/her with He/Him. It became a beautiful love song to God, who has been with me my whole life.

“Where do I begin, to tell the story of how great a love can be?
The sweet love story that is older than the sea.
The simple truth about the love He brings to me.
Where do I start?
With His first hello
He gave a meaning to this empty world of mine.
There'd never be another love another time.
He came into my life and made the living fine.
He fills my heart!
He fills my heart with very special things.
With angel songs, with wild imaginings.
He fills my soul with so much love that anywhere I go, I'm never lonely!
With Him along, who could be lonely?
I reach for His hand; it's always there.
How long does it last?
Can love be measured by the hours in a day?
I have no answers now, but this much I can say,
I know I'll need Him until the stars all burn away
And He'll be there!”

     At an early age, my “first hello” came in the form of those special people who offered guidance the best they could with their unconditional love and life experiences.  Those were my parents, Grandma Frenchie, the Divine Providence sisters from Italy, and the Irish priest assigned to O.L.D.P. in the late 60’s and 70’s.  

     My parents were my first teachers, who protected me and gave me the love I needed to grow in our large family of eight children.  Their examples of resilience and perseverance were instructive during those rough times, teaching me to endure with faith and hope in God. I would hear them say regularly, “God will provide,” as they struggled to keep us fed and in Catholic schools.  Even though life was rough, through my lenses, I only saw goodness and love.  My second grade teacher, one of the sisters, made a lasting impression on me during instruction for First Communion. It was then that I truly experienced God’s love!  Through Sister’s patient guidance and gentle love, I began to see God’s love in action from someone other than my parents or Grandma and to experience the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. In fourth grade, it was the priest that took the time and effort to teach us about our Catholic faith even more.  He would sit the class down around the altar to explain why we genuflect, why the priest elevates the host and chalice, why we kneel and sit, how important it is to listen to the Gospels, and so much more about the symbolism and the meaning behind the Mass. All these simple life lessons about my faith, directed with such love, were taken into my heart and ignited a burning desire in me to learn more and to love more!

     Fast forward to the beginning of COVID when the world went silent.  I hear many people say how very difficult those times were, and they were!  However, for me the silence wasn’t deafening, it was peaceful.  It gave me the time to draw nearer to God through prayer.   During that time, after years of caring for my Dad, he passed.  That profound loss was not steeped in sadness, but in a rich fulfilling peace.  I saw what a beautiful Christ-like Daddy I had and I knew now he was home!  Three weeks after he died, the lenses I was looking through changed.  Through fervent prayer and silent listening, I heard God speak to me so gently and peacefully through the Holy Spirit and I knew I had to listen and make some changes in my life.  

     I moved from my home of twenty-three years to my present home in Old Metairie.  I sought God’s will and had the fortitude to surrender to it through His mercy and love.  I felt His graces come pouring in and doors opened wide!  One such door was becoming a part of the St. Catherine Parish family.  The fellowship opportunities made me feel like I was back in high school.  Everyone supported each other in their faith and beliefs.  I joined ALPHA 7, Bible studies, Altar Society, the prayer gatherings, signed up to pray for vocations, and with Fr. Tim’s approval began to lead the Divine Mercy Chaplet every first Thursday.  I have been able to dive deeper and to grow more in my faith here. The churches finally opened and I was able to receive my Jesus in the Eucharist!  It was then that I realized how very much I missed Him.  “He gave a meaning to this empty world of mine”.  With my heart full and my spirit yearning for a stronger relationship with Him, I turned to scripture and pleaded for an increase of faith in the Eucharist.  

     I was getting there slowly.  I was “off like a herd of turtles,” as my Daddy used to say, teaching lessons of patience. Those patience prayers paid off as Jesus revealed Himself to me during one of my visits to an Adoration Chapel in South Carolina.  My son and I were in the chapel giving thanks after his white coat ceremony.  He had stepped out and I remained.  I knelt down in front of the monstrance to say good-bye, head bent down.  When I looked up, within the host there was Jesus’ face, like that seen on the shroud!  I was frozen!  I began to weep and looked away several times thinking I was seeing things from my own imagination, but He never left.  Finally, I pulled myself from Him and went to find my son.  I asked him to kneel down in front of the monstrance and asked him, “Do you see it?  Do you see Him?”  He finally said, “No. I guess it was meant just for you, Mom.”  Several weeks later, I attended a talk on the miracles of the Eucharist and I understood that what I had experienced was meant to be shared and was real!  

      My sufferings, especially the loss of my brother in November, have drawn me even closer to God.  In my darkest hours, He never leaves me lonely. “The way Jesus shows you is not easy.  Rather, it is like a path winding up a mountain.  So do not lose heart!  The steeper the road, the faster it rises towards ever wider horizons.”  (St. John Paul II) The blessings and miracles in my life affirm my trust in Him and I know He’ll never leave me lonely.  “I reach for His hand; it is always there!”