BEADS OF JOY 01-19-18
“They Came To Him”
©2018 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
Today’s Gospel: Mark 3:13-19 (Mission of The Twelve)
“And he went up on the mountain, and called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons: Simon whom he surnamed Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, whom he surnamed Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then he went home.”
Reflection:
Isn’t it so wonderful for the Apostles? Jesus Himself, appointed and chose them personally. Even though they may not have known the road ahead, they knew who they would follow and soon they knew God’s calling in their lives. So many of us wish it would be that easy. How do you know, that you know, that you know, that you are doing what God has appointed you to do, in this life? I can’t provide a generic answer or a simple code that makes it easy to figure out. All I can do is share how I feel I knew that I knew and how Chrissy shared with me how she knew that she knew. Were we right? Are we right? Hopefully! But after many decades of serving our Lord, we were pretty sure we were right... ok, at least closest to what we should be doing.
If you ever read “My Story” you can see how the Lord made His presence known to me
during the Our Father. I did not understand it at first, but I did recognize
His Voice. I know that don’t make any sense to some, but God’s voice was very
distinct in my heart and even though at that point of my life, I was not living
a life celebrating Him or sharing Him, I just knew it was Him. That experience led me to pursue and begin,
what is now a 35-year journey serving Jesus and sharing the Rosary. And I
still feel like I have only just begun. One thing I will say, this journey with
our Lord and our Lady and the Rosary; is not a wearisome, exhausting journey.
No! It is a robust, exciting, fun journey that has brought my life to many
places (not all physical) that has
only deepened my love for my Lord, our Lady and the Rosary.
Upon going to my first prayer meeting, a statue
of Our Lady was up on a top shelf and that drew my attention, wanting her to be
with us as we prayed. Well, after I pursed that with people I only just met, I
thought I would never be welcome back. Praise Jesus, the second time I went,
our Lady was at the greeting table for all to see and for her to be with us. I
can’t explain it in words, but I knew this special bond with our Lady that was
burning in my heart, and so I began to share the Rosary, on typed out sheets I wrote
the mysteries, scripture and all the prayers (we didn’t have fancy computers back then..lol). So, my mother got
me my first rosary beads. Yes, I still have those beads. My mom’s mom (Susan DePete) was devoted to the rosary.
It was then, that I was beginning to connect the dots as to what I was supposed
to be doing my entire life. So, back then I made a promise before the altar, to
Our Lord and to Our Lady, to always pray and share the Rosary with everyone all
the days of my life.
Pondering these thoughts today: I didn’t forget Christine. She and I talked a lot about our Lord and our
Lady, the Rosary and the Mass and our family and what God wanted of us as a
couple. She said to me, “Jim, I honestly
don’t know what God wants of me, I didn’t experience what you did; but I do
know this, He wants me to love Him, share Him with our children, and do all I can
to live a life that would make Him smile.” Remember I shared how early on through
Chrissy’s suffering, she wrote “As Jesus
Is, I am” and put it on her jewelry box, on her dresser. Christine said
that meant, "As Jesus suffered for
us, I suffer for others, so they don't have to." She knew her purpose
and calling in this life. And we knew as a couple, that no matter what we would
remain together, we wanted that, and we knew our Lord wanted that too. We saw
many friends and family members divorce. We used to pray for them so much, hoping
they’d work it out. We promised each other, that no matter what, we’d never ever,
ever, ever, ever leave each other. I strongly believe that with Jesus at the center
of our relationship, He made sure our hearts were always connected. We took our
vows very seriously, not because of the words, but because of our true love for
one another. “…to have and to hold from
this day forward, for better (yes), for worse (yes), for richer (yes), for
poorer (yes), in sickness (yes) and health (yes), until death do us part.”
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
Today is Friday: We pray the Sorrowful Mysteries:
The Sorrowful Mysteries
1. Agony on the Garden (Sorrow for sin) –Matt 26:36-46
2. Scourging at the Pillar (Purity) –Mark 15:1-16
3. Crowning with Thorns (Moral Courage) –Matt 27:27-31
4. Carrying of the Cross (Patience) –Mark 15:20-22
5. The Crucifixion (Perseverance) –Luke 23:33-46
Thank you Lord for loving us so much…
Rosary Man Jim’s Sorrowful Reflection: http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-sorrowful-mysteries_11.html
FRIDAY’S
I share this meditation I wrote back in 2010. Here I share my own personal insight and experience, as I journey with our Lady from station to station.
Many Franciscan groups around the world use this for their own group gathering while they meditate the Stations with our Lady. http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2010/03/marys-way-of-cross.html It is unique and emotionally very moving as you move from station to station… From my heart to yours.
